HiRez Poll Pink Floyd - ANIMALS [Blu-Ray Audio/SACD]

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Rate the BDA/SACD of Pink Floyd - ANIMALS

  • Total voters
    170
Floyfn said:
Those who feel this is "perfection", by all means, vote so.

To me a "10" is "perfection".

I didnt' give it a 1.
I gave it an 8 -approaching 9.
I would consider that a very high rating.

I wasn't blown away. probably the fault lies in me considering everyone who just got the disc so far has 10'd it immediately.
I've seen "knee jerk" reactions by folks with high anticipation happen, then have seen them reconsider in the past - in both directions.
perhaps over time I will re-consider (currently on my third listen).
perhaps I will lower, perhaps I will raise.
Click to expand...
Do you have any 10 album you like? Just curious :).
 
Very occasionally the spreading out of the sounds exposes a synth being a little old and klunky or the production being a little uneven - such as when Roger's voice has different effects on it in Pigs ("You're nearly a good laugh..."). These things were masked in the stereo mix. But overwhelmingly the separation adds to the enjoyment. The recording is so complicated that giving it extra space allows all the subtleties to be appreciated:

Obviously Gilmour basically plays a 40 minute guitar solo, but you really appreciate how many different *ways* he plays his guitar.

Nick Mason doesn't just keep time, he uses his drums as an instrument. Never flashy, but constantly changing and full of interest.

Rick Wright is not a virtuoso player, but again he plays so many keyboards: synth drones, heavy piano and tinkling Rhodes.

All topped with Roger's lyrics, which are much more vicious than anything punk managed.

Example of cool surround effect: the bit where Roger's voice seamlessly segues into a synth during Sheep. It starts as Roger front centre and ends up as a squelchy synth in the rear left.
 
Big Floyd fan here as well, and I haven't spun Animals in quite some time both because it's just so finely ingrained on my brain and also because I wanted to clear my palette for the eventual 5.1 mix. So, it's probably been a few years, actually.

Overall what stood out to me this morning with the 5.1 mix is how after all of this time, and with so much supposedly darker, heavier, etc., music being recorded in the meantime to try to take these sentiments into overdrive, how absolutely menacing this still sounds. And I actually think some of the murk being cleaned up to make some of the joins/edits and little bits of humanity more apparent makes it even more so. I was thinking "this would probably frighten my 10 and 12 year olds".

Tough to sound more vocally paranoid than Waters of course, but then add to it the animal noises, more layered guitar squeals than I ever heard before, and the more prominent chunking of dissonant organ chords... dang, that plus the deteriorating interpersonal relationships of the band at the time? The air in and around the studio while they were recording this must have been like concrete. This recording is what anxiety sounds like. Both because and in spite of that, it's a tremendous time capsule and artistic achievement.

As for the 5.1 mix, I've read all of the preceding comments and agree with much if not all of them so I would just add from my perspective a few things I thought/noticed (trying not to repeat things others have said about the increased clarity of the drums and keys, etc., all awesome indeed):

1. It was an artistic choice to make the bookends of Pigs On The Wing completely dry on the vocals, and I'm behind it 100%. I think it works SO well to prep the listener emotionally for what's about to come, and to bring us out of it at the end with some kind of emotional reconnection. It's more powerful than ever presented this way; I love it and consider this definitive.

2. The first time the bass pedal really hits, at "the bad blood slows and turns to stone", it's thrilling. It may just be my specific setup but from there on out those bass pedal hits felt kinda hit and miss; they were sometimes there where I expected, sometimes not, and it wasn't always "musical" to me. Not fully distracting, but I did take note. Also gave it a wide berth because clearly, nobody had this kind of application or equipment in mind for reproduction when recording/editing in '76 and there's a lot going on here beyond just simple instrumentation.

3. Yeah, all of the additional atmospheric detail throughout was a real joy to discover—tons of additional nuance and surprises. One of those for me included the revelation that during the "Mary you're nearly a laugh but you're really a cry" sections in Pigs, Gilmour (I'm pretty sure?) is providing backing vocals... I always thought that song was fully Waters, but it sure sounds like Gilmour in there as well, which is really cool to hear.

4. While I've always known Waters was no Jaco as far as technical ability, I always a) respected that he played for the song, provided only what the song required, and is probably one of the best best players in popular music history on that score b) knew he was capable of more than what he usually put down and better than most people gave him credit for at first blush. This 5.1 mix, with the bass so much more present and able to be studied, is exhibit A. The stuff he's doing during the last verse of Pigs is so scuzzy and funky, the stuff he's playing overall is so melodically effective and inventive... what a joy to (re)discover with this improved isolation.

5. I was expecting a huge difference in the "psalm" section of Sheep based on comments; I certainly can hear the difference but upon A/B with the original mix, it sounds to me at least like the same elements are all there, just given a different priority, especially as the passage moves on. I think it does change the feeling/tonality a bit, but don't think it's all that dramatic (I was expecting like a completely different treatment, like a dry reading or a whisper or something). FWIW. I think it makes little to no difference to a new listener, and it's not like this was something that had to be rerecorded because the original didn't exist, etc. My initial feeling was "wow, they cleaned that up a lot and brought it a bit further forward... almost sounds like how some of the voices in The Wall are treated... cool".

Super enjoyable overall. Based on what I typically consider a 10 I think this one feels right to me at a 9, and that's mainly in that in my mind the 10's are just the completely flawless executions. I think the source material itself likely made this one difficult to get there, but can I put it side by side with my 10's on a technical level, with there never being a moment I'm pulled out of the music by a technicality? No. But on every other score, a niner.
 
Last edited:
Probably my favorite Pink Floyd album.
Since I got into surround sound a few years ago, I have been aching for this one to come out.
Did not disappoint.
Listened to it 5 times in a row last night, fiddling around with settings…think I settled on DTS with the Yamaha receiver on “Direct”.
Could have had a little more going on in the rears for me (yes - I am that person that actually likes a “gimmicky” mix), but not enough to really complain about - still better than stereo!
Only problem was the excessive volume for 4 or 5 hours left me with a bit of a headache at midnight, however I will not blame the album or mix for my own questionable behavior at nearly 60 years old…
Honorable Mention Award for affordable, stand-alone Blu-Ray.
10.
 
I can’t make my mind up just yet, musically it’s amazing, it’s my fave floyd album made better by the 5.1 mix BUT I can’t help feeling that they could have thrown us a couple of extra crumbs, documentary, interviews, extra tracks etc, the packaging is dreadful, impossible to get the disc out without getting fingerprints on the disc.
Giving a 10 means every part of the package is brilliant for me and these admittedly little things have me somewhere between 9 and 10, I will leave it a few days before scoring
 
RustyStatic said:
Big Floyd fan here as well, and I haven't spun Animals in quite some time both because it's just so finely ingrained on my brain and also because I wanted to clear my palette for the eventual 5.1 mix. So, it's probably been a few years, actually.

Overall what stood out to me this morning with the 5.1 mix is how after all of this time, and with so much supposedly darker, heavier, etc., music being recorded in the meantime to try to take these sentiments into overdrive, how absolutely menacing this still sounds. And I actually think some of the murk being cleaned up to make some of the joins/edits and little bits of humanity more apparent makes it even more so. I was thinking "this would probably frighten my 10 and 12 year olds".

Tough to sound more vocally paranoid than Waters of course, but then add to it the animal noises, more layered guitar squeals than I ever heard before, and the more prominent chunking of dissonant organ chords... dang, that plus the deteriorating interpersonal relationships of the band at the time? The air in and around the studio while they were recording this must have been like concrete. This recording is what anxiety sounds like. Both because and in spite of that, it's a tremendous time capsule and artistic achievement.

As for the 5.1 mix, I've read all of the preceding comments and agree with much if not all of them so I would just add from my perspective a few things I thought/noticed (trying not to repeat things others have said about the increased clarity of the drums and keys, etc., all awesome indeed):

1. It was an artistic choice to make the bookends of Pigs On The Wing completely dry on the vocals, and I'm behind it 100%. I think it works SO well to prep the listener emotionally for what's about to come, and to bring us out of it at the end with some kind of emotional reconnection. It's more powerful than ever presented this way; I love it and consider this definitive.

2. The first time the bass pedal really hits, at "the bad blood slows and turns to stone", it's thrilling. It may just be my specific setup but from there on out those bass pedal hits felt kinda hit and miss; they were sometimes there where I expected, sometimes not, and it wasn't always "musical" to me. Not fully distracting, but I did take note. Also gave it a wide berth because clearly, nobody had this kind of application or equipment in mind for reproduction when recording/editing in '76 and there's a lot going on here beyond just simple instrumentation.

3. Yeah, all of the additional atmospheric detail throughout was a real joy to discover—tons of additional nuance and surprises. One of those for me included the revelation that during the "Mary you're nearly a laugh but you're really a cry" sections in Pigs, Gilmour (I'm pretty sure?) is providing backing vocals... I always thought that song was fully Waters, but it sure sounds like Gilmour in there as well, which is really cool to hear.

4. While I've always known Waters was no Jaco as far as technical ability, I always a) respected that he played for the song, provided only what the song required, and is probably one of the best best players in popular music history on that score b) knew he was capable of more than what he usually put down and better than most people gave him credit for at first blush. This 5.1 mix, with the bass so much more present and able to be studied, is exhibit A. The stuff he's doing during the last verse of Pigs is so scuzzy and funky, the stuff he's playing overall is so melodically effective and inventive... what a joy to (re)discover with this improved isolation.

5. I was expecting a huge difference in the "psalm" section of Sheep based on comments; I certainly can hear the difference but upon A/B with the original mix, it sounds to me at least like the same elements are all there, just given a different priority, especially as the passage moves on. I think it does change the feeling/tonality a bit, but don't think it's all that dramatic (I was expecting like a completely different treatment, like a dry reading or a whisper or something). FWIW. I think it makes little to no difference to a new listener, and it's not like this was something that had to be rerecorded because the original didn't exist, etc. My initial feeling was "wow, they cleaned that up a lot and brought it a bit further forward... almost sounds like how some of the voices in The Wall are treated... cool".

Super enjoyable overall. Based on what I typically consider a 10 I think this one feels right to me at a 9, and that's mainly in that in my mind the 10's are just the completely flawless executions. I think the source material itself likely made this one difficult to get there, but can I put it side by side with my 10's on a technical level, with there never being a moment I'm pulled out of the music by a technicality? No. But on every other score, a niner.
Click to expand...

Didn't Dave play bass on some of this?
 
RustyStatic said:
Big Floyd fan here as well, and I haven't spun Animals in quite some time both because it's just so finely ingrained on my brain and also because I wanted to clear my palette for the eventual 5.1 mix. So, it's probably been a few years, actually.

Overall what stood out to me this morning with the 5.1 mix is how after all of this time, and with so much supposedly darker, heavier, etc., music being recorded in the meantime to try to take these sentiments into overdrive, how absolutely menacing this still sounds. And I actually think some of the murk being cleaned up to make some of the joins/edits and little bits of humanity more apparent makes it even more so. I was thinking "this would probably frighten my 10 and 12 year olds".

Tough to sound more vocally paranoid than Waters of course, but then add to it the animal noises, more layered guitar squeals than I ever heard before, and the more prominent chunking of dissonant organ chords... dang, that plus the deteriorating interpersonal relationships of the band at the time? The air in and around the studio while they were recording this must have been like concrete. This recording is what anxiety sounds like. Both because and in spite of that, it's a tremendous time capsule and artistic achievement.

As for the 5.1 mix, I've read all of the preceding comments and agree with much if not all of them so I would just add from my perspective a few things I thought/noticed (trying not to repeat things others have said about the increased clarity of the drums and keys, etc., all awesome indeed):

1. It was an artistic choice to make the bookends of Pigs On The Wing completely dry on the vocals, and I'm behind it 100%. I think it works SO well to prep the listener emotionally for what's about to come, and to bring us out of it at the end with some kind of emotional reconnection. It's more powerful than ever presented this way; I love it and consider this definitive.

2. The first time the bass pedal really hits, at "the bad blood slows and turns to stone", it's thrilling. It may just be my specific setup but from there on out those bass pedal hits felt kinda hit and miss; they were sometimes there where I expected, sometimes not, and it wasn't always "musical" to me. Not fully distracting, but I did take note. Also gave it a wide berth because clearly, nobody had this kind of application or equipment in mind for reproduction when recording/editing in '76 and there's a lot going on here beyond just simple instrumentation.

3. Yeah, all of the additional atmospheric detail throughout was a real joy to discover—tons of additional nuance and surprises. One of those for me included the revelation that during the "Mary you're nearly a laugh but you're really a cry" sections in Pigs, Gilmour (I'm pretty sure?) is providing backing vocals... I always thought that song was fully Waters, but it sure sounds like Gilmour in there as well, which is really cool to hear.

4. While I've always known Waters was no Jaco as far as technical ability, I always a) respected that he played for the song, provided only what the song required, and is probably one of the best best players in popular music history on that score b) knew he was capable of more than what he usually put down and better than most people gave him credit for at first blush. This 5.1 mix, with the bass so much more present and able to be studied, is exhibit A. The stuff he's doing during the last verse of Pigs is so scuzzy and funky, the stuff he's playing overall is so melodically effective and inventive... what a joy to (re)discover with this improved isolation.

5. I was expecting a huge difference in the "psalm" section of Sheep based on comments; I certainly can hear the difference but upon A/B with the original mix, it sounds to me at least like the same elements are all there, just given a different priority, especially as the passage moves on. I think it does change the feeling/tonality a bit, but don't think it's all that dramatic (I was expecting like a completely different treatment, like a dry reading or a whisper or something). FWIW. I think it makes little to no difference to a new listener, and it's not like this was something that had to be rerecorded because the original didn't exist, etc. My initial feeling was "wow, they cleaned that up a lot and brought it a bit further forward... almost sounds like how some of the voices in The Wall are treated... cool".

Super enjoyable overall. Based on what I typically consider a 10 I think this one feels right to me at a 9, and that's mainly in that in my mind the 10's are just the completely flawless executions. I think the source material itself likely made this one difficult to get there, but can I put it side by side with my 10's on a technical level, with there never being a moment I'm pulled out of the music by a technicality? No. But on every other score, a niner.
Click to expand...
'The air in and around the studio while they were recording this must have been like concrete. This recording is what anxiety sounds like.' Nice.
 
rtbluray said:
AT LONG LAST, please post your thoughts and comments on the long-awaited 2018 remix of the classic Pink Floyd album "ANIMALS".
This brand new remix in 5.1 surround and stereo from the band's long-time producer & engineer James Guthrie is available as both a Blu-Ray Audio disc and a Hybrid Multichannel SACD.
(A deluxe edition featuring CD, vinyl, Blu-Ray and DVD will also be available starting October 7th, 2022.)

Pre-release discussion thread: Pink Floyd - "Animals" 5.1 Surround Sound Mix (Blu-Ray & SACD editions out in September 2022!)

Hybrid Multichannel SACD Edition:
CAPP_88271_SA__169989__06212022011506-1747.jpg

CAPP_88271_SA__169989__06212022011413-8572.jpg

Blu-Ray Audio Edition:
CLEG_73193__170072__06302022085435-4104.jpg

CLEG_73193__170072__06272022114549-6872.jpg
Click to expand...
Why doesn't Amazon seem to offer the SACD version?
 
Brilliant and worthy of the epic content. I will write about what I like after a few more listens. But I have a question/complaint. Is Guthrie unaware he can actually use the center channel? It sounds like it's just a muted L+R with the bass boosted to center it, and no vocals or anything else. WTH?

I realize everyone can't be Steven Wilson and understand how the center should be used for vocals etc. But Guthrie panned the vocals to the center anyhow. why use up that sonic territory on the L&R to just put the vocals where the center is already sitting. One of the beautiful things about immersive sound is the air each musical element gets from having 1-3 more speakers to bring it to life.

The sound on this mix is phenomenal and there is absolutely a more spatial feel and clean luscious sound. But I'm stuck wondering how much better it could have been if all the available drivers have been fully utilized.
 
Hot Damn! Animals has been my 6th favorite Floyd album all-time. It’s not a bad album by any means, but for me there are five other albums I like better. Not anymore. This new 5.1 mix catapults this all the way to number three, just behind WYWH and DSOTM! My biggest gripe with this album in the past has been Water’s vocals. The old saying, “Need more Cowbell,” in my opinion the album could have used a little more Gilmour. That aside, the new surround mix is nearly perfect. The fidelity is clean, clear, and robust. The sound field, like the excellent recent Beatles releases, Abbey Road, and Let It Be, just sounds natural and wide without sounding gimmicky. What a treat it is to have all of these excellent surround mixes of these classic albums.
 
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