Nick Mason believes Animals is a Pink Floyd punk album.
The prog-rock band's 1977 LP has been remastered by producer James Guthrie and re-released as Animals 2018 Remix – Dolby Atmos. This is the first time the album will be available in its surround sound format.
For this project, Nick re-examined all the tracks and discovered that the punk explosion that took place in the US and UK in the mid-'70s was inspired by the music he, guitarist and singer David Gilmour, bassist and vocalist Roger Waters, and the late I concluded that it was an influence on keyboard players. Rick Wright wrote.
He said: “It's certainly very simple by our standards. It's interesting to think about that era and what was going on at the same time. We were all influenced a little bit by the fact that punk music was coming up. I think for it to become major, I think people were pretty dismissive of progressive rock, so I think if we embraced a little bit of that, it would have really made a difference. ”
Pink Floyd recorded and self-produced Animals at London's Britannia Row Studios in 1976 and early 1977, at the same time Nick recorded punk band The Damned's second studio LP, Music For・He produced “Pleasure.''
The 80-year-old drummer admits he was influenced by singer Dave Vanyan and his bandmates' diametrically opposed approaches in the studio.
He said: “One of the things that was going on in that studio around the same time was Music for Pleasure by the Damned, which I was involved with. We were inevitably influenced by that kind of thing, and we played endlessly. I think I was holding back on playing “overdubs and layers. ”
Joking about the musical differences between Pink Floyd and The Damned, Nick quipped, “Actually, The Damned made an entire album in the time it took to set up Pink Floyd's drums.”
Mason hadn't listened to Animals in its entirety in decades, but when he returned to the LP for a remix project, he found a new appreciation for it.
He said this at the Animals 2018 Remix – Dolby Atmos playback held at London's Battersea Power Station. The song was used on the album's cover, which depicts pigs flying over buildings, and he said, “It sounds silly to say this, but it was really fun.” It was much more interesting than I expected, and it was the first album I listened to in 40 years, so I was very impressed, especially myself.
“It was really interesting, and there were a lot of elements that I had completely forgotten about. There was a lot of lick playing and the melodic structure of it. It was a lot more sophisticated than I remembered.
“I had forgotten how dark the record was. Lyrically and musically.
“I think this album was always seen as an album that was done a little differently and didn't seem to match up at all with what we've done before, but I think it's a solid album in its own right. I thought it was.”
“Animals 2018 Remix – Dolby Atmos” is available now on compatible digital platforms, Blu-ray, CD, LP (with double-page artwork), SACD, and deluxe double-page formats. The deluxe spread version includes an LP, CD, audio Blu-ray, audio DVD, and a 32-page book.