I guess I am late to the party and everyone here has already moved on to the DsotM Atmos mix but I am still obsessed with this 2.018 version of Animals. It really resonates with me on many levels.
I was already blown away by the stereo version available on streaming services before I got my Blu-Ray. It is a very different mix as everyone already knows. "Disrespectful", I dare to say. I get why some fellas hate the new version, it is more like a "revisionist" mix, far from canon, but I love it!
I always thought that the grungy/ cloudy/ dark sound of the original mix was a big part of the atmosphere of the album and without reading the notes of the recording sessions, I thought it was on purpose. But man, the new version with extended range, cleaner sound, and added animal sounds, really grabs me. I do not feel it less menacing, maybe a bit less mysterious but still angry and "about to blow up".
Now for the surround mix: I find it awesome, very tastefully done and following the album concept. For me, that is the key: the changes like the vocoder sound in the psalm section, the different delay and reverb effects, the added detail and so on, all fit nicely with the updated concept. It is like the new artwork, a photograph of the same place, "same pig", at a different time, with clearer lighting. I also love how the mix expands and shrinks, gets dryer or "more wet", depending on the music. Immersive with discrete moments, never distracting.
Finally, I also love the bluray authoring and the content: the original mix along with the new version(s) should be a standard by now. I am not sure about the packaging, but for the pricepoint, I won't complain.
What I would like if they make an Atmos mix:
- In the original mix, Pigs on the wing 1 is basically mono, with a 12 string guitar and voice. It would be interesting to have this only on the center channel instead of stereo. Pigs on the wing 2 on the other hand, has 2 guitars, one with standard tuning and the other one with Nashville tuning, which are panned left and right. I think It would be nice to spread these guitars in the 3d space.