After Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd came out with the more hopeful and less conceptual Wish You Were Here.  On Animals, they make a U-turn, pairing a heavy-handed concept with their most cynical music yet.  It isn't the equal of their previous two efforts, but it is still a considerable achievement.

The concept is this:  Everybody can be represented between three types of animals, each with their own song.  "Dogs" is a song about the backstabbing corporate world, and it is easily the highlight of the album.  In fact, it is likely a top-5 Floyd song, period.  Clocking in at more than 17 minutes, the song has Roger Waters spinning a wonderfully biting (no pun intended) character study of a self-serving business man who steps on everybody on his way to the top, then acts shocked when he is given the same treatment.  "And its too late to lose the weight you used to need to throw around," has got to be one of the most well-crafted lines in rock history.  Despite the great lyrics, and competent playing by the rest of the band, "Dogs" is really a David Gilmour showcase.  Displaying some of his most incendiary guitar-playing (not an adjective I would often use for Gilmour), he finds a way to keep us interested through multi-layered soloing and multiple extended instrumental sections.  Yes, it is all a little self-indulgent.  What is Pink Floyd, though, if not self-indulgent?

"Pigs" keeps things rolling with a great groove and even-more-caustic lyrics by Waters.  The subjects this time are politicians, mostly, although it targets anyone who is self-important, self-righteous and pretty much worthless to anyone else in the world.  Another lengthy song, but again made interesting by the group's great playing and the strong song-writing.  On "Sheep", things start to drag a little.  Even though it is the most dynamic song, in terms of changes and different segments, "Sheep" manages to be the dullest song on the album.  Part of it is the subject matter.  Calling the consumer world sheep is not exactly a groundbreaking concept.  Musically, Floyd ups the tempo for a more propulsive track, but it never really comes together the way the previous tracks have.  The most exciting thing going on is the first minute and a half of Richard Wright's soulful organ playing.  The robot-voiced skewering of the 23rd Psalm is proof that Waters was stretching a bit to flesh out another ten-minute opus.

Bookending these three tracks is the lovely, acoustic "Pigs on the Wing", which offers the slightest glimmer of hope on an album that is otherwise relentlessly dark.  Overall, Pink Floyd continued their string of great albums with Animals.  "Sheep" isn't weak enough to detract from the album really, except that it makes up 25% of the material.  Out of the big four Floyd albums (Dark Side through The Wall), this is probably the slightest, but definitely worth picking up if you are a fan.

P.S. - Waters seems to think of himself as a Dog, but I would suggest he is more of a Pig.  No offense meant, it's his doggedly pessimistic world-view to pigeon-hole everyone into one of three unsavory categories, not mine.  I'm just a lowly Sheep.
After Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd came out with the more hopeful and less conceptual Wish You Were Here. On Animals, they make a U-turn, pairing a heavy-handed concept with their most cynical music yet. It isn't the equal of their previous two efforts, but it is still a considerable achievement. The concept is this:  Everybody can be represented between three types of animals, each with their own song. "Dogs" is a song about the backstabbing corporate world, and it is easily the highlight of the album. In fact, it is likely a top-5 Floyd song, period. Clocking in at more than 17 minutes, the song has Roger Waters spinning a wonderfully biting (no pun intended) character study of a self-serving business man who steps on everybody on his way to the top, then acts shocked when he is given the same treatment. "And its too late to lose the weight you used to need to throw around," has got to be one of the most well-crafted lines in rock history. Despite the great lyrics, and competent playing by the rest of the band, "Dogs" is really a David Gilmour showcase. Displaying some of his most incendiary guitar-playing (not an adjective I would often use for Gilmour), he finds a way to keep us interested through multi-layered soloing and multiple extended instrumental sections. Yes, it is all a little self-indulgent. What is Pink Floyd, though, if not self-indulgent? "Pigs" keeps things rolling with a great groove and even-more-caustic lyrics by Waters. The subjects this time are politicians, mostly, although it targets anyone who is self-important, self-righteous and pretty much worthless to anyone else in the world. Another lengthy song, but again made interesting by the group's great playing and the strong song-writing. On "Sheep", things start to drag a little. Even though it is the most dynamic song, in terms of changes and different segments, "Sheep" manages to be the dullest song on the album. Part of it is the subject matter. Calling the consumer world sheep is not exactly a groundbreaking concept. Musically, Floyd ups the tempo for a more propulsive track, but it never really comes together the way the previous tracks have. The most exciting thing going on is the first minute and a half of Richard Wright's soulful organ playing. The robot-voiced skewering of the 23rd Psalm is proof that Waters was stretching a bit to flesh out another ten-minute opus. Bookending these three tracks is the lovely, acoustic "Pigs on the Wing", which offers the slightest glimmer of hope on an album that is otherwise relentlessly dark. Overall, Pink Floyd continued their string of great albums with Animals. "Sheep" isn't weak enough to detract from the album really, except that it makes up 25% of the material. Out of the big four Floyd albums (Dark Side through The Wall), this is probably the slightest, but definitely worth picking up if you are a fan. P. S. - Waters seems to think of himself as a Dog, but I would suggest he is more of a Pig. No offense meant, it's his doggedly pessimistic world-view to pigeon-hole everyone into one of three unsavory categories, not mine. I'm just a lowly Sheep.