Animals | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 21 January 1977 | |||
Recorded | April–December 1976 | |||
Studio | Britannia Row, London | |||
Genre | Progressive rock[1] | |||
Length | 41:40 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | Pink Floyd | |||
Pink Floyd chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
Animals is the tenth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 21 January 1977,[2] by Harvest Records and Columbia Records. Pink Floyd produced it at their new studio, 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).
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 the firing of the keyboardist, Richard Wright, two years after the album's release. The cover, conceived by the bassist and lead songwriter, Roger Waters, and designed by their 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 reviews, but gained more favourable reviews in later years, and is considered one of Pink Floyd's best works.