Pink Floyd • Animals Pink Floyd Records/Sony PFR288D
Pink Floyd • Animals Pink Floyd Records/Analogue Productions PFRSACD28
inally! The 2018 remix of Pink Floyd's Animals is now available in high-resolution formats, on both Blu-ray and SACD. After years of nigh on legendary internal fighting amongst the band, they finally agreed to release the remix of this classic album, which has been sitting for four years. Was it worth the wait? Well, hey, it’s Pink Floyd, it’s Animals, and it's high-resolution audio, so, yeah, it was. First, let’s list the pros of each release. On the Blu-ray you get both the uncompressed 24-bit/192kHz remix and the original mix in 24-bit/192kHz DTS-HD MA, plus a 5.1-channel mix in 24-bit/96kHz DTS-HD MA. The Blu-ray release is also about half the cost of the SACD, although it comes in nothing but an oversized cardboard jacket with a rather skimpy booklet. The SACD release, on the other hand, was produced by Analogue Productions and comes in its own box containing a beautiful bound booklet and the SACD tray -- a much more premium package. Cons? Outside of the skimpy packaging of the less costly Blu-ray, I can find very, very little to complain about. Both come with stereo and multichannel options; while the Blu-ray also gives you the original uncompressed stereo mix, which I find essential for comparison’s sake, the SACD offers a CD layer, which lets you more easily rip the album to digital files. Musically, this is prime-period Pink Floyd. The band was at their creative peak and, while many found Animals to be overly dark in its themes (especially compared to its predecessor, the nostalgic Wish You Were Here), if you take the time to really listen to the album, it’ll grow on you. The songwriting, mostly by Roger Waters, is top-notch, and the musicianship is first-rate. Surprisingly, given the tension between Roger Waters and David Gilmour, Gilmour’s guitar work is really the driving force on Animals. Both discs offer excellent sound, but I found the SACD to sound ever so slightly better. To my ears the bass seemed, while no deeper, a little better defined, and imaging was also slightly better, with the animal sounds coming from more defined spots. To my ears, James Guthrie and Joel Plante’s mastering of the remix sounds better in DSD on the SACD than on the PCM-based Blu-ray -- maybe due to Gus Skinas's involvement in the DSD authoring? It’s not a huge difference, but it is there, and it is noticeable. How does the remix stand up to the original mix? Well, with the 2018 remix, I hear greater clarity, definition, detail (both micro and macro), and better instrumental separation, a more expansive soundstage, and both Nick Mason’s drums and David Gilmour’s guitar benefit from the remix the most. But also, the late Richard Wright’s keyboard work, which was so buried in the original mix to make it seem insignificant, has been brought forward so Wright now seems a part of the proceedings and we get a better sense of how important his contributions were. And as noted above, Roger Waters’ bass seems both deeper and better defined. All in all, a most worthy effort that truly improves this classic album and makes it a more enjoyable listen. Hands down, my vote for reissue of the year goes to the 2018 remix of Animals -- Blu-ray Audio, SACD or vinyl, as well as high-resolution streaming audio formats. This is my absolute favorite Pink Floyd album, and its release on two different high-resolution physical formats is huge news to fans the world over. Plus, if you’re a digital listener, you get your choice of which physical format floats your boat, either Blu-ray or SACD. I suggest buying both. Yes, you’re getting the same 2018 remix (in stereo and multichannel) twice, but you’re also getting the extras that come with each release, and, believe me, they’re worth it. It’s been a long, frustrating wait for Pink Floyd
fans for Animals to finally see the light of day, but, wow, it was absolutely
worth the wait. Pink Floyd’s darkest album now shines like never before. |
