Anything that Pink Floyd has done has easily stood the test of time. To date, most of their offerings have been reissued in immersive sets and have satisfied the itch of Pink Floyd fans. Except for one highly anticipated one – “Animals.” Remixed in 2018, the new mix found it in a hiatus due to conflict. That now seems to be ending.
“Animals” is the tenth studio album by Pink Floyd, originally released in January 1977. It was recorded at the band’s Britannia Row Studios in London throughout 1976 and early 1977, and was produced by the band themselves. The successful album peaked at number 2 in the UK and number 3 in the US, and is considered as one of the band’s best works. The album was recorded by band members David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Roger Waters and Richard Wright.
Animals 2018 Remix will be released on CD, LP (with gate-fold artwork), Blu-ray, SACD and Deluxe Gatefold formats. The Deluxe Gatefold version includes LP, CD, audio Blu-ray, audio DVD and a 32-page book. The Blu-ray and DVD audio include the 2018 remix in Stereo, 5.1 Surround (both by James Guthrie) and the original 1977 Stereo mix. The 32-page booklet features rarely seen behind the scenes photographs of the album sleeve shoot along with live images and memorabilia. The album artwork has been re-imagined for this release.
“Animals” is a concept album, focusing on the social-political conditions of mid-1970s Britain, and was a change from the style of the band’s earlier work. The album was developed from a collection of unrelated songs into a concept which describes the apparent social and moral decay of society, likening the human condition to that of animals. Taking inspiration from George Orwell‘s Animal Farm, the album depicts the different classes of people as animals with pigs being at the top of the social chain, dropping down to the sheep as the mindless herd following what they are told, with dogs as the business bosses getting fat on the money and power they hold over the other. Although it’s been a long time since 1977, the narrative of the album still resonates today as our social and economical situation mirrors that of the time.
The album’s iconic cover shows an inflatable pig (now known as Algie) floating between two chimneys of the Battersea Power Station, conceived by Roger Waters, and designed by long-time collaborator Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis Studios. For this new release, the artwork has been re-designed for the modern era by Storm‘s Hipgnosis partner Aubrey ‘Po’ Powell. Taking new shots of the building as it appeared during the recent conversion work, Po experimented with new angles and produce some striking new takes on the classic original. Po elaborates: “With the original 1977 album cover being such an iconic piece of stand-alone art, I had the chance to update it, which was a rather daunting task, but Hipgnosis took the opportunity to re-photograph the image to reflect a changing world, and by using modern digital colouring techniques I kept Pink Floyd’s rather bleak message of moral decay using the Orwellian themes of animals, the pig ‘Algie’, faithful to the message of the album”.
Pink Floyd‘s “Animals 2018 Remix” is available to pre-order here.
“Animals 2018 Remix” track-listing:
LP
Side A:
1. Pigs on the Wing (Part One)
2. Dogs
Side B:
1. Pigs (Three Different Ones)
2. Sheep
3. Pigs on the Wing (Part Two)
CD:
1. Pigs on the Wing (Part One)
2. Dogs
3. Pigs (Three Different Ones)
4. Sheep
5. Pigs on the Wing (Part Two)
DVD-Audio:
2018 Stereo Remix:
1. Pigs on the Wing (Part One)
2. Dogs
3. Pigs (Three Different Ones)
4. Sheep
5. Pigs on the Wing (Part Two)
2018 Remix 5.1 Surround – 96kHz/24-bits:
6. Pigs on the Wing (Part One)
7. Dogs
8. Pigs (Three Different Ones)
9. Sheep
10. Pigs on the Wing (Part Two)
Original 1977 Mix – 2011 Remaster:
11. Pigs on the Wing (Part One)
12. Dogs
13. Pigs (Three Different Ones)
14. Sheep
15. Pigs on the Wing (Part Two)
Blu-ray Audio:
2018 Stereo Remix:
1. Pigs on the Wing (Part One)
2. Dogs
3. Pigs (Three Different Ones)
4. Sheep
5. Pigs on the Wing (Part Two)
2018 Remix 5.1 Surround – 96kHz/24-bit:
6. Pigs on the Wing (Part One)
7. Dogs
8. Pigs (Three Different Ones)
9. Sheep
10. Pigs on the Wing (Part Two)
Original 1977 Mix – 2011 Remaster:
11. Pigs on the Wing (Part One)
12. Dogs
13. Pigs (Three Different Ones)
14. Sheep
15. Pigs on the Wing (Part Two)
