Roger Waters and

composed "Animals" at a time in England when the face of rock music was drastically changing, 1977. Punk bands were forming everywhere, and they all hated Pink Floyd's brand of drawn-out, ethereal music -- stuff they felt was pompous. Thus, given the times, "Animals" turns out to be an impressively guitar-driven album, musical compositions that, despite it all, are also drawn-out and ethereal as only Pink Floyd can be. The middle of this great album courageously contains three lengthy songs, much too long- winded for radio, thus spoiling the album's commercial viability. Also, "Animals" strangely opens and closes with two short and melodically pleasing acoustic songs about love gone bad; "Pigs on the Wing," parts 1 and 2, somehow work well with the overall vibe of the album. Call it a settling of the nerves.

In many instances, "Animals" is fairly stripped-down, with Gilmour's soothing voice completely missing, and Richard Wright contributing absolutely nothing, thus nixing past creative keyboard elements. The possessive Waters writes all lyrics, and the concept of "Animals" is entirely his. In his harshest manner, Waters rips apart late-1970s society through the use of three types of animals: dogs, the materialistic and glib "yuppies" of a decade later, concerned only with wealth, good times, power and their own well-being; "Pigs" are no less flattering, high-positioned and self-righteous, they preach and dispense their high-minded, moralist views from atop the world's ranks; "Sheep" are the aimless and docile masses who get used and abused by the more powerful Dogs and Pigs in society. It's pretty acrimonious stuff, and downbeat lyrics like "all alone and dying of cancer" don't do much to lighten the mood. Weary of the corrupt and crumbling society surrounding him, Waters went on a musical rampage. Political foes, economic hardships and sleazy low-lifes all get their medicine from the non-apologetic Waters, within the confines of these thematically devised tunes.

Though he writes good, astute, observational lyrics, Waters is a bit of a "dog" himself, and he often comes across as self-imposing and self-righteous as the album moves on. Ultimately, "Animals" is great because of the actual MUSIC. Enter Gilmour, thankfully rescuing this one-man monopoly on creativity. Gilmour remains his usual melodic self, pushing forth the fairly paltry compositions with his brand of tunefulness and soaring guitars.

On "Dogs," an interesting moment occurs after Waters cheerily wails, "Have a good drown/Dragged down by the stone." The word "stone" is then repeated countless times through a haze of electronic muffling as dogs bark chillingly in the background and a synth sizzles quietly. Music like this is not heard everyday, and Pink Floyd should be commended for seriously reviving their music and changing with the times a bit back in 1977. The band's more quaint and drug-induced days of singing about lazy nature scenes or fairy-tale scenarios where one merely observes (see

) were long over by "Animals." It became socio-political music with a harder edge, all run by Waters and Gilmour. There's a sense of purpose and direction from Waters on "Animals" that is eerily one-dimensional, but it's a prelude to an even better concept album to come. Though it's not Waters' creative apex (that would be

, "Animals" is astoundingly excellent, profound music, and the continuation of the civil war within this band.

So enough has been said about this album in many other Amazon reviews. This is my favorite Pink Floyd album, although it didn't always hold this status. On first hearing, it can seem very dense and inaccessible, given the length of the three main tracks. But the old addage of "rewards repeated listens" certainly applies here. The only real knock is that Rick Wright seems missing-in-action on this record, a fact generally attributed to his heavy cocaine use during the recording of this record (and which would eventually lead to his outster after "The Wall" was recorded). So while I would rate "Wish You Were Here" a VERY close second, this remains the best PF album, IMO.

So....the big question is the sound quality. I owned the original CD pressing of this album, the 1992 box set version, the 1996 remaster, and now this version. My overall opinion is that there have been discernible improvements with every release, and this time is definitely no exception. The closest parallel I can think of is the Beatles' 2009 remaster campaign. This album, like those, seems to have a deeper sound, with more resolution around the bass end. The drums have a nice, throaty sound (most evident in the verse of "Pigs"), and I can definitely hear the bass line better now (and this is even more noticable on "Dark Side of the Moon," as an aside). During the acoustic portion of "Dogs," I swear I can hear the clicking of Gilmour's pick on the guitar strings. And the last verse of "Dogs" packs a bigger punch than on any version I can remember.

But with Pink Floyd, the silent parts are almost important as the notes they play, and it's here where I can really hear something different going on. Its the space BETWEEN the notes that sound really quiet and clean here, giving everything that much more punch with each drumbeat.

If you are an audiophile with even a modest setup, and if having the best version of the album is important to you, grab this release, and for $11.99 (at Best Buy), you will definitely not be disappointed. If you do most of your listening on an MP3 player at low encoding rates, the improvements here may be lost on you.

This album is simply amazing. When I first bought this, I wasnt real impressed because i was used to hearing the spacey-layed back sound of Dark Side, and the beautiful textures of WYWH. This is more of a fast-paced, complex album and it really works for the Floyd. I'll describe each song:

'Pigs on the wing (pt. 1)' - nice acoustic & vocal song from roger waters. Like a previous reviewer said, "the calm before the storm"

'Dogs' - awesome acoustic intro with some nice keyboard touches. Builds up into an amazing guitar solo, slows down, then goes into an even more amazing solo. The vocal melody is flawless and i must say, this is probably one of the best floyd tunes out there.

'Pigs (three different ones)' - cool intro with the pig and keyboards. Great lyrics to this one (roger waters basically bashing some british people). Got a really cool talkbox solo that sounds like pig grunts. This tune has an amazingly amazing outro solo that makes Dave Gilmour shine.

'Sheep' - The fastest (and probably heaviest) song on the album. Great keyboard work. Its awesome how when roger waters sings, he holds out those notes, and then they turn into synthesizers. Amazing production on this tune. cool outro with some nice guitar chords.

'Pigs on the wing (pt. 2) - basically the same as the first pigs on the wing, but with different lyrics and its at the end.

Hope this was helpful. If you like this album try to download 'Gotta be Crazy' and 'Raving and Drooling', you'll be pleasantly surprised....

If Wish You Were Here is an internal cry of disconnected sorrow, then Animals is a caustic scream of venomous rage. This often-overlooked masterpiece was yet another leap forward for Pink Floyd. Coming off the bleak sad beauty of Wish You Were Here, the band lashed out with an edgier more aggressive sound to match Waters' vicious lyrical attack. The result was three brilliant sprawling tracks of anger and frustration sandwiched between two intimate acoustic moments of optimism.

Animals represents Waters' view of the avarice in modern society that divides people, creating the harsh, cold, uncaring environment in which he feels we live. His Orwellian world is broken down into three basic types: pigs (those who have and hold control with a self-consumed greed); dogs (who aspire to "pig status" and forsake everything and everyone in order to gain it); and sheep (the mindless masses who quietly accept all that is thrust upon them). Though a knee-jerk reaction is to view this work as a statement against capitalism, it would be more accurate to say this as an attack on anti-humanism. The subjects in Roger's lyrics are belittled for their pursuit of self-serving agendas at the expense of all else. The basic human needs of connection and understanding should not be compromised. This is clearly illustrated in the album's opener and closer, Pigs On The Wing, and is an obvious undercurrent in all of Roger's work.

As is typical of Pink Floyd, the band's music compliments and lifts Waters' poignant lyrics, painting images that words alone could never do. David Gilmour in particular shines throughout, showcasing his incredible guitar mastery in all its passionate glory in several very spectacular guitar solos. Richard Wright's keyboards are both fiery and surreal, creating a chilling feel of unease in many spots to underscore Roger's lyrical intent. Nick Mason's ever-mindful focus on dynamics proves why he is the consummate drummer. His galloping attack in the first and final sections of Dogs seems to spur Gilmour on, as Dave unleashes his stinging, gnashing guitar to dramatic effect. Roger Waters works his bass as sympathetically as Mason does his drums, creating funky pulses and palpitating rhythms, as well as adding to the harmonic alchemy. Throughout the entire album, lead vocals are sung almost exclusively by Waters who rises to the challenge with his inimitable style, injecting the lyrics with just the right amounts of bile and venom. The only exception is Dogs, where the lead vocal is split between Gilmour and Waters, Dave taking the first half and Roger the second. The Timbre on Dave's voice is akin to that of the vocal he laid down for Money, and remains one of my favorites performed by him. In my opinion, the music on this album contains every element that makes Pink Floyd, PINK FLOYD: It is dynamic, dramatic, moody, powerful, and very visual. This is illustrated best, I think, in Dogs, an epic song of uncompromising brilliance that surely stands as one of Pink Floyd's greatest and most ambitious creations. During one section, a dark moody atmosphere is created perfectly with Gilmour strumming a lonesome acoustic as dogs can be heard in the distance, barking and howling in the moonlight. Suddenly, a snap of Mason's snare ignites Gilmour into a torturously aching solo coaxed from his Custom Telecaster. It is truly a moment that could only be created by Pink Floyd. And that is just one highlight of many. Check out the middle section of Pigs (Three Different Ones) where real pig noises, embellished with a vocoder, are joined with Dave mimicking pig grunts and squeals on his guitar courtesy of a talkbox. This is nothing, however, compared to his spectacularly climactic guitar solo at the song's end. Unison bends climb the fretboard; notes stagger and sputter; bends scream and cry as Dave punishes his guitar, climaxing with a series of rapid-fire triplets during the fadeout. I could go on, but I've yammered on enough!

This is a brilliant, BRILLIANT album. I suppose it is often overlooked due in large part to the non-radio-friendly structure of the songs. Most of the general public has never heard a single note, and this is a shame. Animals remains the most underrated of all of Pink Floyd's work. It stands as one of the four primary albums from their golden era and is an absolutely essential piece of music history.

While it may be true that Roger Waters' songwriting ability truly shone in The Wall, David Gilmour's guitar playing on this album is absolutely staggering. This CD truly shows off the highly underrated ability of Gilmour, as well as the drumming skills of Nick Mason and the keyboarding ability of Rick Wright. It is a heavily guitar-dependent album, so even those who find Floyd too spacy (crazy though you are) will enjoy this. It is their greatest album, but is often forgotten in the name of The Wall and Dark Side. If you buy this, you won't regret it.