ANIMALS

If you think that makes no sense, well, yes, you're right. It makes zero sense. Let's see if I can try to make it make sense.

By know you probably know that "Animals" is loosely based off the novel Animal Farm by "everyone's favorite communist" George Orwell, so the lyrical subject matter is based off similar themes presented in the book.

Of course I could care less about lyrical themes, I'm a musician, I need the music, and luckily for me, there's plenty of music. But while "Wish You Were Here" chugged along at a steady speed, there wasn't a whole lot of activity, save for the intermittent guitar solo and electronic ambiance. "Animals" is a bit different though. The pace is still quite leisurely, but there seems to be quite a lot more going on without dismissing their signature jams. "Pigs" is an excellent example. The addition of voicebox "wah-wahs" as I call them add a cool effect to the traditional Floydian jam, but the verses and choruses by Waters add additional elements that don't seem out of place, but they also don't sound like they're just offspring of the main jam and the body of the song like "Shine On You Crazy Diamond".

It is a rather different album than previous discs. "Dark Side" took the tunes and squished the length of the jams and soundscapes into individual tracks, or between verses and choruses. "Wish You Were Here" opened them up and expanded them into the actual songs, keeping catchy choruses to a minimum and leaving the main jams as the body of the song. "Animals" though, has a trend of interspersing these jams between different verses of different textures, especially on "Dogs", where there isn't really a chorus per se, but a number of verses that connect through slow jams and synth-swathed soundscapes, all the while dogs are howling int he background as their masters whistle to them. The jams are there, but they just seem a bit more... sophisticated here.

Same thing with "Sheep". Wright's absolutely hypnotic intro is full of bluesy, jazzy goodness that you'd expect another 10 minute jam, and so you relax in your recliner and get ready for the long haul. Except less than 2 minutes in Waters comes belting out of nowhere and shakes yo up, as if he doesn't want you to sleep. But that's a good thing though, because apart from the reprise of "Pigs On The Wing", this is the true closer, and it's a beauty. This is the first Floyd track in a while that really seems to pick up steam, a song that wants to push forward. I also hear an odd similarity to "One Of These Days" in here as well, or is it just me?

Either way, Animals is my champion of the Floyd discography. It's just a fun listen, it's loaded with jams, it's great to rock out to. Now, it's not as catchy as "Wish You Were Here", but I definitely considered this to be their apex of their careers. With "Dark Side", "Wish You Were Here" and now "Animals", the fun could only last so long, and after "The Wall", the party was well and truly over, but it left behind some tunes no one will ever forget.

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