Animals

Album review

With pigs, dogs and sheep, Pink Floyd’s Animals is a nod towards George Orwell’s classic Animal Farm. Of course, both works are only about one species in the end: Homosapiens. Released in January 1977, the album puts society under the microscope and dissects the ugliness and brutality of human nature. The record came at a time of huge social unrest in England: class tensions were on the rise, unemployment was skyrocketing and racial divide had hit a high-water mark. Anger was in the air and it bled into every corner of Animals.

Lyrically speaking, this record holds some of the most unyielding, sardonic and iconoclastic poetry that Waters has ever penned. On the 17-minute epic Dogs we are introduced to the predatory businessmen - the cut-throat corporate stooges who will flash you an easy smile and then stab you in the back. Amid dog barks and relentless guitar strums, David Gilmour unleashes some of the finest solos of his career. They’re bluesy, progressive and brilliantly harrowing. Next up is Pigs (Three Different Ones) which details the ruthless, totalitarian leaders who perpetuate injustice and oppression while maintaining a grip on power. Once again, the instrumentals are dark with dystopian synths, driving bass lines and menacing pig snorts played on a talk box. The lyrics describe three swinish leaders. One of the ‘pigs’ is the morality watchdog Mary Whitehouse while the “f***ed up old hag” who “radiates cold shards of broken glass” alludes to Margaret Thatcher (the leader of the opposition at the time and a target in other Pink Floyd songs). Down at the bottom of the pecking order are the meek, mindless and unquestioning herds of Sheep. Opening with an understated doodle from Richard Wright on the keys, Waters’ stretched-out vocals crossfade into synths, giving the song that warped, hallucinatory feel that the Floyd do so well. Sheep contains a revised version of Psalm 23, continuing the traditional “The Lord is my shepherd” with classic Pink Floyd cynicism: “he maketh me to hang on hooks in high places and converteth me to lamb cutlets”.

The album is book-ended by two glimmers of hope in an otherwise bleak world, marking the band’s first love songs. Originally composed as a single track and later split in two, the message on Pigs On The Wing is clear: love thy neighbour, care for each other, because that’s what makes life worth living amid all the bulls**t. An album – and message - that’s just as relevant today as it was in the 70s. © Abi Church/Qobuz