Oakland's Vinyl Vault - Animals

Last week we recklessly dove into the mid-80s. This week, the randomizer has been much kinder to us. It's Pink Floyd's Animals.

Release date: January 23, 1977
Singles: (None)

Let's start with the cover. Pink Floyd may go down as the band with the overall best cover art, and this album is no exception. The image of a pig floating over the aging Battersea Power Station is a classic. A striking cover image like this is a great start to any album. Even before putting needle to vinyl, I am happy.

Once the needle hits the vinyl, I am even happier. This is my kind of album: 5 tracks (and really only 4 songs, if you count the bookends, "Pigs on the Wing," as one song), all three main songs are over 10 minutes long, and there's a unifying theme to tie them together. None of the songs were released as singles, so this album often gets overlooked in the Pink Floyd catalog. That's a shame because it really is quite fantastic. Animals is Pink Floyd at their most acidic, with all three songs attacking different aspects of society. "Dogs" goes after cut-throat businessmen, "Pigs" attacks the manipulative people in power, and "Sheep" talks of the masses who simply follow along (until they rise up and kill the dogs). "Pigs on the Wing" is a nice acoustic number that bookends the album, and takes some of the edge off of it.

Rating: Three big pigs - The discord among band members was growing during the making of this album - it was on the tour for Animals that Roger Waters would famously spit on a fan and find inspiration for Pink Floyd's next album, The Wall - but that did not prevent them from putting out another great album. The themes of corporate greed and corrupt officials are, of course, still relevant today, so throw on the album and join Roger Waters in despising the world around you.

Now, for the song. Any of the three songs would be a good choice. I used to be a dog person, but now I have two cats, so I think I'll go with "Pigs (Three Different Ones)." Enjoy!