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Post by kds on Jan 21, 2020 18:33:35 GMT
ANIMALS (1977)
Starting with Animals, Roger Waters really become the dominant creative force behind Pink Floyd. He's already been the sole lyricist on DSOTM and WYWH, but now he was writing almost all of the music. Other than one David Gilmour cowrote, all of the credits on Animals are Roger's.
Animals is often considered Pink Floyd's "punk" album (although it seems like any band's 1977 release gets labelled as such). Lyrically, it might be, with the theme based on George Orwell's Animal Farm. But, with three tracks going over the ten minute mark, it's hard to consider this anything resembling punk.
Animals flips the script of Wish You Were Here. Instead of a long two part piece bookending three shorter songs, you have a very short two part piece bookending three long songs. Unfortunately, the length of the three key songs makes this the least accessible of the Floyd albums of the 1970s.
The short piece is a solo acoustic song called Pigs on the Wing. The two parts provide a tiny ray of light on an album that's a bit of a dark masterpiece.
The 17+ minute Dogs, featuring the lone lead vocal (the song's first half) and writing credit from Gilmour, is the album's standout song. First played live in 1974 with different lyrics under the title You Gotta Be Crazy, the song is a complete guitar showcase for Gilmour, with the exception of synth workout after the fourth verse. Waters takes over the vocals after the synth break. Waters' vocals starting with Animals are a tad more exaggerated than on previous albums, and this is the vocal style he would feature for the remainder of his time in Floyd. Still an inferior vocalist to Gilmour, and even Wright, it does suit the material well, especially for the climax of Dogs.
Wright begins Pigs (Three Different Ones) with a keyboard riff before giving way to guitars and a somewhat funky mid tempo beat. The instrumental section of this song, with Gilmour's voice boxing, could actually be a bit shorter, but I've never been a huge fan of voice box guitar. Gilmour redeems himself with a blistering solo after the third and final verse.
Like Dogs, Sheep also began life in 1974 as Raving and Drooling. Now faster in tempo, the fastest song on a Floyd album since One of These Days, Sheep is a bit frantic at times. Although like Pigs, I feel the instrumental sections drags slightly with the parody of Psalm 23 in the middle. But, also like Pigs, it doesn't lag enough to detract from the song.
I think Animals is a brilliant album, and a lot of Floyd fans rate it highly, but it's not for everyone. It's definitely a hard left after the pastoral sounds of previous Floyd albums. Floyd's music was never really a beacon of light, but the music here is far more dark and sinister than the previous two albums, which is perhaps why Animals isn't quite as revered outside of the Floyd world as Dark Side and WYWH. In fact, the songs were never performed live by the post Waters Floyd or David Gilmour's band.
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Post by kds on Jan 23, 2020 14:23:16 GMT
Some Floyd related news, Roger Waters announces his 2020 US Summer Tour rogerwaters.com/
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jan 23, 2020 21:57:36 GMT
Some Floyd related news, Roger Waters announces his 2020 US Summer Tour rogerwaters.com/..and, kds, he's coming to Washington, D.C. on July 30th.
Mr. Waters said, "The new tour will be even more political Us + Them was - political and humane."
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Post by kds on Jan 23, 2020 23:55:34 GMT
Some Floyd related news, Roger Waters announces his 2020 US Summer Tour rogerwaters.com/..and, kds, he's coming to Washington, D.C. on July 30th.
Mr. Waters said, "The new tour will be even more political Us + Them was - political and humane."
Oh.....goody. I haven't seen him in 10 years, so Im considering the DC date. Even if I find Waters' political banter tiresome.
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Post by jk on Jan 24, 2020 12:29:55 GMT
Once again it was former BBT poster "leni" who got me to listen to Animals after I'd decided that no way was it going to get any better after WYWH. Unfortunately my ears told me I had been right. It didn't get through to me--why, is hard to explain. But no--WYWH is the end of the line where my PF listening pleasure is concerned.
All the same, I'll try to comment rationally on The Wall (which I've heard) and The Final Cut (which I have) when it's their turn.
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Post by kds on Jan 24, 2020 13:13:32 GMT
Once again it was former BBT poster "leni" who got me to listen to Animals after I'd decided that no way was it going to get any better after WYWH. Unfortunately my ears told me I had been right. It didn't get through to me--why, is hard to explain. But no-- WYWH is the end of the line where my PF listening pleasure is concerned. All the same, I'll try to comment rationally on The Wall (which I've heard) and The Final Cut (which I have) when it's their turn. If you're not into the more Roger dominated bleaker albums of Animals, The Wall, and The Final Cut, you might be more inclined to enjoy the three post Waters albums. While not quite as good as prime Floyd, they return more to the simple beauty of their earlier works without the bile and cynicism that Roger brought to the table.
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
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Post by bellbottoms on Jan 24, 2020 13:32:45 GMT
I can’t seem to make Animals “stick” just yet. There are certainly some really good moments on it, but I have to say that despite trying, a few times now, to give it my full attention, I find my mind taking a leisurely stroll in a number of places. There is nothing about it that I actively dislike, but the space cadet in me can’t seem to help taking mental vacations during the more ambient sections.
Pigs on the Wing parts 1 and 2 are easy. Nice. I liked them both instantly.
As for Dogs, I am there for the first few minutes of it and then I’m back for about the last 5 minutes, but I’ve checked out during the middle a number of times now. I really love the ending section though (that sounds bad, like I’m saying I like that it ends, but that’s not what I mean). If that last 5-ish minutes was a song all on its own, I’d love it.
Also with Dogs… there is a similarity to another song by another band/artist that I hear every time but I cannot put my finger on it. It’s a spacey kind of song. I don’t even know what era or anything. I realize I’m asking the dreaded “you know that song, the one that goes doo doo doo” kind of thing but maybe someone else has heard this similarity too and knows what I’m talking about.
I like a lot of what’s going on in Pigs (Three Different Ones) – the lyrics are kind of nuts and seriously dark, but they’re interesting. The “ha ha, charade you are” line is great, I never get tired of hearing it, so it’s nice that it’s repeated a lot.
Sheep… hasn’t made much of an impression on me. There’s a riff in there that I like.
I’m not giving up on Animals just yet, I’ll probably give it a couple more chances to click. Maybe it needs me to be in a dark room alone with it, free of distractions.
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Post by kds on Jan 28, 2020 16:57:35 GMT
THE WALL (1979)
As Pink Floyd were playing stadiums to support Animals, Roger Waters began to feel isolated from the audience, and imagined a show where a wall would be built between the audience and the band. That idea spawned the idea for Floyd’s next project.
In 1978, Gilmour and Wright, both being under-represented on Animals, released solo albums. Meanwhile, Waters was writing two concept albums for the band – The Wall and The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking. He presented both ideas, and the band chose The Wall (the later would be Roger’s first solo album in 1984).
Floyd’s previous three albums were concept albums, but The Wall was their first full on rock opera. Planned as a double album, concert spectacle, and movie, the narrative is a little convoluted (as rock operas tend to me). The story centers around a rock star named …..wait for it…Pink Floyd. Disillusioned with the out of control nature of his concerts, his wife cheating on him, and his childhood memories of losing his father in WWII, an overbearing mother, and abusive teachers, he builds a wall to shut himself out from others. He eventually descends into madness and puts on a Nazi rally disguised as a rock show before being put on trial and ordered to tear down his wall. The story is very autobiographical with a little bit of Syd Barrett thrown in (lyrics from Nobody’s Home especially).
Now that the story is out of the way, let’s get to the good stuff – the music. The music of The Wall is quite powerful. While, it continues the dark, power chord nature of Animals (In the Flesh?, In the Flesh, The Thin Ice, Young Lust, etc), it also throws in some reminders of Floyd’s more pastoral past (Goodbye Blue Sky, Is There Anybody Out There?, Nobody Home, Comfortably Numb). I think the mix of light and shade (at least musically) and the fact that the songs are shorter is why the album is far more popular than its predecessor.
Credit should go to producer Bob Ezrin for adding some melody to Roger’s ideas and making them commercially acceptable, most notably on Another Brick in the Wall Part II, where he uses a disco influences rhythm while still retaining the essence of Pink Floyd. The disco beats are also used with Run Like Hell. Those two songs remain two of the most popular on the album.
The lead vocals are handled mostly by Roger, but David Gilmour gets his fair share on this album, showing off his full range from the gentle Mother and Goodbye Blue Sky to the rougher vocals on the late 70s AOR pastiche Young Lust. Waters likely won’t admit it, but it likely sticks in his craw a little that most of the album’s popular songs either feature a Gilmour co-write or vocal. Songs like The Thin Ice, Hey You, and Mother (the latter two featuring brilliant Gilmour solos as well) highlight the contrast between Roger and David’s vocal style.
Gilmour’s signature moment is the album’s standout track – Comfortably Numb. The song began life as an untitled instrumental that went unused on Gilmour’s self-titled solo album. Combined with Roger’s lyrics, orchestration from Michael Kamen, and two breathtaking guitar solos from Gilmour, its become a major high point in rock history. The second solo, which makes up the song’s coda, is essential to any collection of guitar solos.
While Waters and Gilmour shine, unfortunately, Richard Wright and Nick Mason play a diminished role. For reasons apparently only known to Waters, Wright would be forced out of the band. He was allowed to remain through The Wall tour, but Fred Mandel played several keyboard sections on the album. Also, Jeff Porcaro plays drums on a few songs. On some pressings, Mason and Wright’s names were listed among the session musicians.
From a Beach Boy perspective, The Wall was supposed to include The Beach Boys on backing vocals, but the Boys passed due to the dark lyrics. However, Bruce Johnston does lend his vocals to such songs as The Show Must Go On, In the Flesh, and Waiting for the Worms. Funny how the most unhip of all Beach Boys appears on a revered Floyd album.
So, while Pink Floyd was beginning to fall apart at the seams, they did deliver one of the great albums of all time with The Wall. Unlike the previous entries, I elected not to touch on all 26 songs here as that would take too much time. But, there’s really not a wasted note on the album, although the climax – The Trial – could’ve benefitted with some different voices instead of Roger playing the prosecutor, school master, unfaithful wife, mother, and judge. At least he elected not to voice the groupie in the dialog between Young Lust and One of My Turns. But, that's a minor quibble as Pink Floyd wind up an unbelievably strong decade.
Non-Album Tracks – What Do We Do Now was cut to prevent the album from being a triple album, but it’s a more fleshed out version of Empty Spaces. It was played on The Wall tour and used in the movie. When the Tigers Broke Free was also used in the movie. The movie features alternate mixes of Mother and In the Flesh (with Bob Geldof on vocals).
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 29, 2020 21:22:49 GMT
I just got an email notification of a Roger Waters show scheduled for August. The promo image reads in part (as a prominent footer) “The Creative Genius of Pink Floyd.”
Seems a bit presumptuous.
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Post by kds on Jan 29, 2020 21:35:33 GMT
I just got an email notification of a Roger Waters show scheduled for August. The promo image reads in part (as a prominent footer) “The Creative Genius of Pink Floyd.” Seems a bit presumptuous. He's been using that as part of his live adverts since he returned to touring in 1999. A bit arrogant, but I don't think it's too off base.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jan 30, 2020 1:19:54 GMT
From a Beach Boy perspective, The Wall was supposed to include The Beach Boys on backing vocals, but the Boys passed due to the dark lyrics. However, Bruce Johnston does lend his vocals to such songs as The Show Must Go On, In the Flesh, and Waiting for the Worms. Funny how the most unhip of all Beach Boys appears on a revered Floyd album. Do you have any more on this?
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Post by kds on Jan 30, 2020 13:00:13 GMT
From a Beach Boy perspective, The Wall was supposed to include The Beach Boys on backing vocals, but the Boys passed due to the dark lyrics. However, Bruce Johnston does lend his vocals to such songs as The Show Must Go On, In the Flesh, and Waiting for the Worms. Funny how the most unhip of all Beach Boys appears on a revered Floyd album. Do you have any more on this? Not really to be honest. I recall reading in a book about Floyd that The Beach Boys were approached about appearing on the album, since I think both the Boys and Floyd were on CBS in the States at the time, but there were no hard details other than the Beach Boys turned down the offer. I'm not certain as to why Bruce decided to participate. It's too bad he didn't take away a thing or two about how to properly do a disco-ish song.
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Post by kds on Jan 30, 2020 16:24:27 GMT
Quick note about The Wall.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Floyd's ambitious Wall concerts. Several shows were filmed, with the intention of using the footage in The Wall film, but the film wasn't used. The concerts have been available on the bootleg market for a long time, and an audio version was released officially in 2000, but it's surprising that Floyd hasn't released a concert film.
There are two films of Roger Waters doing The Wall. One from his 1990 concert, which featured an array of guests, at the former site of the Berlin Wall. And one from the 2010-2012 tour.
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Post by kds on Jan 30, 2020 16:46:45 GMT
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jan 30, 2020 17:42:10 GMT
Great tracklist including "Remember A Day", "Lucifer Sam", "Arnold Layne", "See Emily Play", "Bike" - and "Vegetable Man". A lot of The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn songs. Cool!
With all of these Pink Floyd members with solo careers (and two deceased members), it is eerily resembling The Beach Boys.
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