Pink Floyd is celebrating five decades of Animals in a big way. In honor of the 50th anniversary of their 10th LP, the band announced that they will re-release the album in multiple formats and a deluxe box set.
Due out on Jan. 22, the 50th anniversary edition brings fans fresh insight into one of Pink Floyd’s most visceral and compelling works. The release is set to feature both rare and unreleased music. It will also include unseen photographs that showcase the making of the album.
The box set will include three LPs: the original 1977 album, the 2018 Remix that was remixed by James Guthrie, and a disc of five rarities such as the unheard Roger Waters track “Young Nicholas Jon” and previously unreleased early versions of “Sheep” and “Dogs.”
Additionally, the box set will have five CDs mirroring the LPs, plus a 2-disc set of a 1977 show that was recorded by a teenaged bootlegger, and the 1-disc Blu-Ray, which includes all of the above audio with the 2018 Remix being available in 5.1 and Dolby Atmos.
Also included is a 64-page hardback book comprising new sleeve notes from Jonathan Lethem. There will also be an interview with bootlegger Reinhard Hohlwein. The book will additionally feature an excerpt from Hipgnosis’ Aubrey “Po” Powell’s memoir about the making of Animals’ album art. Previously unpublished images will be included in the book too.
Pink Floyd Speaks Out About Animals
According to David Gilmour, at the time Animals came to be “the mood in music was changing in ’77.”
“Punk music was hitting everything and I suspect that had a little bit of an influence on the way we were working on the Animals album,” he said in a press release. “I mean it’s quite an aggressive, stripped-back album.”
“It was moving away from the sort of soundscapes that we had on Wish You Were Here,” Gilmour continued. “This album is more in your face and more rough and ready. And definitely the lyrics are a lot more aggressive from Roger. We had a lot of fun making it.”
Nick Mason also shared a statement. He noted that, at the time they were making the album, “There were all sorts of differences beginning to surface within the band but in some ways Animals was a remarkably cohesive enterprise.”
Photo by Ian Dickson/Redferns
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