YOU KNOW THAT I CARE
WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU
AND I KNOW THAT YOU CARE
FOR ME TOO
Animals
is the tenth
studio album
by the English
rock band
released on
January,21st 1977,
by Harvest Records
and
Columbia Records.
Pink Floyd
produced it
at their new studio,
Britannia Row Studios,
in London
throughout 1976.
The album continued
the long-form compositions
of Pink Floyd's
previous works,
such as
Meddle
(1971)
and
Wish You Were Here
(1975).
A lyrical departure
from Pink Floyd's
previous albums,
Animals
is a
concept album
that focuses on
the sociopolitical conditions
of mid-1970s Britain.
Tension during the
recording culminated
in the firing of
the keyboardist,
Richard Wright,
two years after
the album's release.
The cover,
conceived by
the bassist
and lead songwriter,
Roger Waters,
and designed by
their long-time
collaborator
Storm Thorgerson,
shows an inflatable pig
floating between
two chimneys of
Battersea Power Station.
Pink Floyd
released no singles
from
Animals
but promoted it
through the
In the Flesh tour.
Waters' agitation
with audiences
during this tour
inspired their next album,
The Wall
(1979).
Animals
reached number 2
in the UK
and number 3
in the US.
It initially received
mixed reviews,
but gained more
favorable reviews
in later years,
and is considered
one of
Pink Floyd's
better works.
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Recording
By 1975,
Pink Floyd's
deal with
Harvest Records'
parent company,
EMI,
for unlimited studio time
in return for a
reduced percentage
of sales had expired.
That year,
Pink Floyd
bought a
three-story block
of church halls at
35 Britannia Row
in Islington,
north London.
They converted it into a
recording studio
and storage facility,
which took up most
of 1975.
In April 1976,
Pink Floyd
started work on
their tenth
studio album,
Animals,
at the new facility.
It was engineered by a
previous
Floyd collaborator,
Brian Humphries.
Recording took place
at Britannia Row
between
April 1976
and early 1977.
With the exception of
"Dogs"
co-written by
the guitarist,
David Gilmour,
the tracks were written
by the bassist,
Roger Waters.
Gilmour was distracted
by the birth
of his first child,
and contributed
little else
towards the songwriting.
The drummer,
Nick Mason,
and the
keyboardist,
Richard Wright,
contributed less
than on
previous albums,
and
Animals
was the first
Pink Floyd album
not to contain a
composer's credit
for Wright.
"Raving and Drooling"
and
"You've Got to Be Crazy",
songs previously
performed live
and considered for
Pink Floyd's
1975 album
Wish You Were Here,
reappeared as
"Sheep"
and
"Dogs".
They were reworked
to fit the new concept,
and separated by
"Pigs (Three Different Ones)".
The only other
new composition,
"Pigs on the Wing"
split into two parts
to start and end
the album,
references Waters'
private life;
his new romantic interest
was
Carolyne Anne Christie,
who was married to
Rock Scully,
the manager of
The Grateful Dead,
when she met Waters.
The band had discussed
employing another
guitarist for
future tours,
and
Snowy White
was invited
into the studio.
When Waters
and Mason
inadvertently erased
one of Gilmour's
guitar solos,
White was asked
to record a solo on
"Pigs on the Wing".
Although his
performance was
omitted from
the vinyl release,
it was included on
the 8-track
cartridge version.
White performed on
the Animals tour.
Mason recalled
enjoying working on
Animals
more than
Wish You Were Here
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