Animals (Pink Floyd album)
Animals is the tenth studio album by English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 21 January 1977 through Harvest Records and Columbia Records. It was self-produced at Pink Floyd's Britannia Row Studios in London throughout 1976. The album continued the long-form compositions that made up such previous works as Meddle (1971) and Wish You Were Here (1975).
Animals | ||||
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Cover design by Hipgnosis | ||||
Studio album by Pink Floyd | ||||
Released | 21 January 1977 | |||
Recorded | April–December 1976 | |||
Studio | Britannia Row, London | |||
Genre | Progressive rock | |||
Length | 41:40 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | Pink Floyd | |||
Pink Floyd chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
Cover of the "2018 Remix" box set |
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 within the band during production culminated in keyboardist Richard Wright's firing two years after the album's release. The cover, conceived by the band's bassist and lead songwriter Roger Waters and designed by 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-to-positive reviews, but gained more praise in later years, and is considered one of the band's best works.