ANIMALS

So, how do you top two consecutive masterpieces (The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here) that will forever leave their marks on progressive rock? Easy. You just make another one. And that's exactly what Pink Floyd did with Animals, a musical Orwellian experience where everybody is divided up into Dogs, Pigs, and Sheep. It paints such a bleak picture, but boy does this one get your brain going. Indeed, if this hasn't happened already, the intricacies of this concept would make a fascinating subject for an academic thesis.

Musically, Animals is the most energetic collection of songs Pink Floyd ever made and probably the most progressive work of their long catalogue of studio releases. Lyrically, Roger Waters hit his peak with this album. Waters also shows much improvement in his vocals here too, as he takes the lead on most sections of the album. Wright contributes many lush synths, though not as forward in the mix as on Wish You Were Here. Gilmour is still the guitar god as usual.

Is this better than Wish You Were Here? Lyrically, yes. Musically, maybe, maybe not. One thing Animals lacks that Wish You Were Here has is memorable melodies. What Animals has more of is raw energy and a more thought out concept. After many years of listening to these two masterpieces, I still lean towards Wish You Were Here. But Animals is still an essential must-have and in my opinion is better than the classic The Dark Side of the Moon. Definitely a five-star effort and probably one of the top 10 or top 20 greatest progressive rock albums ever released.