Notes

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Label: EMI 7243 8 29748 2
Produced by: Pink Floyd
Engineered by: Brian Humphries
Recorded at: Brittania Row Studios, London
Remastering supervised by: James Guthrie
Digitally remastered by: Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab, LA
All lyrics by: Roger Waters


Whether you love them or hate them the name Pink Floyd is instantly recognized. Most people know, at least, 1973’s Dark Side of the Moon and 1979’s The Wall. Between these, two other albums were released. 1975’s Wish You Were Here, a loose concept album about and dedicated to their founding member Syd Barrett.

Lost somewhere in the list of landmark albums is 1977’s "Animals" also known as "the forgotten album". This was the album where the power and most influence went toward Roger Waters. Waters was inspired by George Orwell’s fable “Animal Farm” where people are divided into groups represented by animals. While Orwell aimed at communism, Waters was criticizing his own capitalist government. In his version people are Dogs, Pigs or Sheep. The Pigs are the tirans, the Dogs greedy money-grubbers and the Sheep the mindless followers.

The album starts and finishes with Pigs on the Wing, which seems to give the album a sense of balance. I think the song is about the sheep explaining how they feel about the dogs and pigs and naively think that the Dogs and Pigs do care about them: "You know that I care what happens to you / And I know that you care for me too."

The song Dogs is a seventeen minute long ballad. Here the dogs are ruthless and trying to climb to the top and they will do anything to get there. In a capitalistic state the government has no control over buying and trading, businessmen are willing to get very low and dirty to destroy the competition. The lyrics, "You gotta be trusted by the people that you lie to / So that when they turn their backs on you / You get the chance to put the knife in" shows how far they want to go. And that they can "work on points for style" by having a "firm handshake / A certain look in the eye / an easy smile." Later in life they find themselves alone and near death. They are wished a "good drown as [they] go down alone" being dragged down by "the stone" which is a metaphor throughout the album.

The song Pigs (Three Different Ones) is for the people whom Roger considers political hypocrites. It contains a verse that’s as a parody toward the British Moral Majority-like figure Mary Whitehouse. Mrs. Whitehouse appointed herself head of the National Viewers and Listeners Association, which "campaigns for broad national moral standards in radio and TV." Roger adds a sound that suppose to imply her own interest in the filth she rebukes. The words, "ha, ha charade you are" is Roger laughing, "we can see right through you."

The lyrics are:

Hey you, Whitehouse,
Ha ha charade you are.
You house proud town mouse,
Ha ha charade you are.
You’re trying to keep feelings off the street.
You’re nearly a real treat,
All tight lips and cold feet,
And do you feel abused?
(Panting sound)
You gotta stem the evil tide,
And keep it all on the inside.
Mary you’re nearly a treat,
Mary you’re nearly a treat,
But you’re really a cry.

She and the Conservatives were also not amused by Roger’s parody of the 23th Psalm in "Sheep." It was recorded via a Vocoder (voice distortion device).

Floyd’s version is:


The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want
He makes me down to lie
Through pastures green he leadeth me the silent waters by
With bright knives he releaseth my soul
He maketh me to hang on hooks in high places
He converteth me to lamb cutlets
For lo, he hath great power and great hunger
When cometh the day we lowly ones
Through quiet reflection and great dedication
Master the art of karate
Lo, we shall rise up
And then we'll make the bugger's eyes water.

Then the climax of the album is when the sheep, realize that the others have been deceiving them and in a revolt of rage they kill the others.

The concept of the album was about the struggle for power in the government. At the same time Pink Floyd also had a struggle for power. In this album they switched from slow psychedelic melodies and jams to oger’s complaining about the government and how everyone treats each other bad. Many fans didn’t understand what point Pink Floyd was trying to make and didn’t know what to think of Animals. So it was forgotten.

Meloman