Pink Floyd - Animals new stereo/5.1 mixes

[M-CORP]

I have a fondness for both Momentary Lapse and The Division Bell, with some lovely melancholic MOR stuff on both of them, but they definitely don't deserve the Pink Floyd name. They sound like someone heard 'Us and Them' and 'Wish You Were Here' and decided to use them as a template for their own far less memorable songs and then claim they're channeling Pink Floyd. I totally get why a lot of people dislike The Final Cut, but it is at least trying to be its own thing.

I quite liked Momentary Lapse and Division Bell when I first heard them a few years back... then I moved on to other releases and seldom had the appetite to go back and hear them again. I suppose the dismissal of those later albums (and Endless River) as MOR bollocks is perfectly valid. That said, I think The Division Bell had a lot of potential - its main issue (apart from how Momentary Lapse impacted the appearance of the band and in turn people's perceptions of its eventual follow-up) is it's just too long. The songs are all great, and it's a lovely-sounding contemplative thing, but Gilmour makes the error of relying too much on the grand long guitar solo to close out each song. Sometimes it works (High Hopes), sometimes it's superfluous (A Great Day For Freedom - this really should have cut out after three minutes).*

I heard the 1994 vinyl edit for the first time the other day, and oddly I prefer that shorter version, if they cut out an extra 10 or 15 minutes by tightening the solos, it would be a 10 out of 10 album for me. I definitely regard it as their true swansong - taken as an evaluation of all that happened with the band, and the aftermath of the Waters debacle, it can be beautiful. But long-winded. Also Poles Apart > High Hopes.

Momentary Lapse is far patchier - I like Yet Another Movie, but yeah it's a bit too generic. The players involved are more out of practice, and seem too anxious about rediscovering the old magic. Not sure if the remix solved those issues.

Endless River has some good moments but in general a bit of a snooze. Which, of course, is the point. But don't get me started on what few lyrics there are.

Sorry, we were talking about Animals, weren't we? Yeah, I like Dogs.

*I also think of Gilmour's last solo album - Rattle That Lock. There's a lovely piano piece called A Boat Lies Waiting, where Gilmour actually shows restraint and doesn't play a solo during the fadeout, and it's brilliant. The piece says all it needs to say, then fucks off. Of course, he had to play a solo during the live version, but take these small victories where you can. Then again, the end of the title track has a solo and also works.

[Pauline Walnuts]

Exactly different to Stalin

[dontpaintyourteeth]

His best guitar playing is on Animals and The Wall.

[Replies From View]

Get out the way! 

🎵Rootootly toot!🎵

I said stop!  Let me past!!

🎵Rootootlytootly toot!🎵

[H-O-W-L]

Momentary Lapse is Dave and Nick trying really really fucking hard to be Genesis IMO. They even use an almost-identical gated drum sample on that fucking drum machine!

[Tikwid]

At the Their Mortal Remains exhibition, seeing all the 70s stuff where by the end of the decade they'd created this mysterious, faceless image it was very jarring moving on to the next section and seeing the Momentary Lapse... stuff.

I've never had much of a problem with the Gilmour years, either the music or the change in presentation ("to be fair, it was the 80s..."), but when I went to see that exhibition there was one piece of AMLOR-era ephemera that baffled me entirely - a Tintin comic in which the mysterious footprints from Explorers on the Moon were revealed to be none other than those of THE TRACED-OVER REALISTIC PINK FLOYDS

[markburgle]

Problem with Dave's soloing post-Roger is there's no gravitas in the lyrics for them to launch off of. It works having a big pompous solo after some well crafted words about serious shit; put the same solo after some clunky platitudes and it sounds silly.

[Shaky]

I think Endless River was OK for what it was, having at least has a certain "Fuck it" attitude, Wright's keyboards to the fore and some minor traces of old Floyd, but it's also a bit like one of those CDs you'd get free with Guitar World magazine in the 90's when they're putting out a particularly edgy issue.

Mason's Saucerful band have done a much better job of keeping the flame lit but then you can't argue with those songs, really. When even Gary Kemp sounds awake you know you've got something.

[Shaky]

That picture has a very pleasing Brass Eye vibe about it.

[SweetPomPom]

That picture has a very pleasing Brass Eye vibe about it.

We are in the realm of the essence of Roger.

[Pauline Walnuts]

It takes some err.. something to pull out a trumpet in a war cemetery to play one of your own tunes as a part of a commercial release.

But I'm not quite sure what, a total lack of irony or self-awareness is only part of it.

[purlieu]

Let's be honest, subtlety has never been his forte. "I've become cold and distant from fans, how shall I express this? A double concept album where I become a Nazi!"
"I hate right wing warmongers, how shall I express this? A song where they're all gassed in a concentration camp named after my dad!"

[H-O-W-L]

"I hate right wing warmongers, how shall I express this? A song where they're all gassed in a concentration camp named after my dad!"

To be fair, Fletcher Memorial Home is a bit tongue-in-cheek. The video EP makes it clear. It's from the POV of the Teacher from The Wall (as is most of the album) wishing he could just shoot anycunt he don't like. But it's not... very well delivered, I suppose. Again, subtlety isn't Roger's forté.

[purlieu]

Oh yeah, it's totally in keeping with the black humour of the second side of The Final Cut. It's just also a very... Roger Waters way of approaching the subject.

[Replies From View]

Oh yeah, it's totally in keeping with the black humour of the second side of The Final Cut. It's just also a very... Roger Waters way of approaching the subject.

Which is a coincidence as well because it is actually him, Roger Waters who did it. 

[Pauline Walnuts]

I always like the woe is me people are being nice to me and giving me things because it's their job to keep me happy rather than being genuine on 'Have A Cigar'.

I really feel for you there guys.

[dontpaintyourteeth]

I always like the woe is me people are being nice to me and giving me things because it's their job to keep me happy rather than being genuine on 'Have A Cigar'.

I really feel for you there guys.

If you think that's bad, you should hear The Wall!!

[dontpaintyourteeth]

I decided to break out my copy of The Endless River, which I probably hadn't played since the week it came out. The artwork is... regrettable. Looks more like something Spock's Beard or Dream "Theater" would do.

The music is... fine, mostly. Clearly relying on old Floyd tropes so you go "oh yeah, this is Pink Floyd that I am listening to, thank you for reminding me". Louder than Words is alright but has shite lyrics, which I suppose puts it at the same level as most of The Division Bell.

[Shaky]

I decided to break out my copy of The Endless River, which I probably hadn't played since the week it came out. The artwork is... regrettable. Looks more like something Spock's Beard or Dream "Theater" would do.

The music is... fine, mostly. Clearly relying on old Floyd tropes so you go "oh yeah, this is Pink Floyd that I am listening to, thank you for reminding me". Louder than Words is alright but has shite lyrics, which I suppose puts it at the same level as most of The Division Bell.

Louder Than Words is the worst thing on there - I can just about get behind the idea of the rest being dreamy, fairly aimless noodling. Nobody wanted it or needed it, but feels more Floyd than those big shitty soft-rock songs.

[dontpaintyourteeth]

I also feel like it would have made more sense if it had been paired with The Division Bell as a bonus disc. It doesn't really stand alone that well. But obviously that wouldn't have made as much money for them.

[H-O-W-L]

It narks me because the last lyrics of Pink Floyd before that were "Forever and ever" and now they're "LOUDER THAN WORDS" which I guess is accurate for the modern mixes [/oohsatire].

That and frankly it clearly only came out because Dave wanted a new conservatory or something.

[Shaky]

"Polly, I want another three houseboats! What have you got for me?"

[SweetPomPom]

I never bothered downloading it but someone with too much spare time created a combined version of Division Bell and Endless River. I'm sure it's still out there in the torrents etc.

[SweetPomPom]

"By the way, with all due respect to the Weeknd or Drake or any of them, I am far, far, far more important than any of them will ever be, however many billions of streams they've got," Waters said. "There is stuff going on here that is fundamentally important to all of our lives."

On tour, making new friends..

[Pauline Walnuts]

I don't know anything about them, but my note for note live renditions of 40 year old songs is more important than whatever it is they're saying/doing.

Here's the orginal article apparently: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/article-roger-waters-i-have-no-idea-what-or-who-the-weeknd-is/

[SpiderChrist]

"By the way, with all due respect to the Weeknd or Drake or any of them, I am far, far, far more important than any of them will ever be, however many billions of streams they've got," Waters said. "There is stuff going on here that is fundamentally important to all of our lives."

On tour, making new friends..

What a tit.

[dontpaintyourteeth]

A deeply silly man.

[Bennett Brauer]

His voice sounds pretty good for 78, especially on Sheep about halfway through this.

Better than he sounded at the Live 8 reunion 17 years ago anyway.

[Pauline Walnuts]

Not as good as he did here, it's almost as good as sitting at home listening to the CD.

[Pauline Walnuts]

Gawd, I really am turning into a H8er.