ANIMALS

Musically, Animals is a solid release. It features all of Pink Floyd's signature elements. It has the atmosphere that is sometimes easy to get lost in (as always), perfectly layering the mood-setting keyboards of Richard Wright, David Gilmour's signature guitar style, and the vocals and bass of Roger Waters. For me, this album has some of the best balance as far as these three go as well. I like how it features some pretty solid lyrics by Waters while still giving the band some time to create some great moods, and the vocals themselves never disrupt the flow of the songs. The vocals are relatively spread out throughout this album, even more so than some of Pink Floyd's other work. The only thing better than the keyboard work in Pigs is how the rest of the band compliments it. I think the two installments of "Pigs on the Wing" serve as great intro/outro pieces, making this album seem complete.

The lyrics themselves are some of my favorite work Roger Waters has done lyrically. Cold, and cynical, they take a long look at the world from a consious and at times harsh viewpoint. Waters focuses on external struggles, rather than internal ones, and takes quite a few brutal, but necessary shots at politicians and businessmen.

Id also like to add that this album manages to use a cowbell tastefully. It is one of the rare occuences where I dont find it annoying.

I know I am supposed to use 5 star ratings sparingly, but this is one of my favorites of all time, and I think this album is needed in ANY CD collection, regardless of genre preference.