Released in 1977, the concept album Animals is Pink Floyd’s tenth opus. With its iconic cover and five tracks inspired by George Orwell’s Animal Farm, this legendary record is available for the first time in Dolby Atmos!
Based on George Orwell’s dystopian satire Animal Farm, the 1977 album Animals by rock band Pink Floyd tackles the socio-political conditions of 1970s Britain. Composed mainly by Roger Waters, the five tracks on this album evoke human nature through analogies with animals, dividing humans into three categories: pigs, dogs and sheep.
The cover of Animals is as legendary as the music itself. Based on an idea by Roger Waters, it shows an inflatable pig, now known as Algie, floating between the two chimneys of London’s Battersea Power Station. This image was created by the renowned Hipgnosis collective, made up of art director Storm Thorgerson and graphic designer Aubrey Powell.
Every precaution was taken when setting up the 12-meter-long pig, with a sniper on hand to shoot it down in the event of a problem. However, due to bad weather, the photo shoot was postponed until the following day. But the shooter wasn’t warned, and the balloon broke loose from its moorings and flew off at up to 40,000 feet, wreaking havoc at Heathrow airport. The pig was found the following day at a farm in Kent, 80km from London.
Following last year’s Dolby Atmos reissue of The Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd has announced that a brand new Dolby Atmos version of the Animals 2018 Remix album (developed by sound engineer and producer James Guthrie) will be available on Blu-ray Audio.
Indeed, Warner Music is releasing a special edition of this album entitled 2018 Animals Remix – Dolby Atmos. Available as a Blu-ray Audio box set, it includes the original stereo track, recorded and mixed by Brian Humphries at Britannia Row Studios in 1976. It also features a DTS-HD Master Audio 24-bit/192kHz stereo track, a 5.1 24-bit/96kHz DTS-HD Master Audio track, and a brand-new Dolby Atmos version.
This new Pink Floyd box set also includes a 16-page booklet, a sticker and a postcard. What’s more, the original cover has been reimagined by Storm Thorgerson, while retaining the power station and the Algie pig.
The 2018 Animals Remix – Dolby Atmos box set is available from Son-Vidéo.com for €27.90. The perfect opportunity to rediscover this masterpiece by British prog rock icons!
