Listen to Pink Floyd ‘Animals’ reissue that was four years in the making
Back in 2018, Pink Floyd were set to release a remixed and remastered version of their seminal 1977 album Animals a year after the LP celebrated its 40th anniversary. The new version was complete, but a snafu regarding the liner notes put a pause on the album’s release, with Roger Waters and David Gilmour once again feuding over their respective contributions to the band.
“These mixes have languished unreleased because of a dispute over some sleeve notes that [journalist] Mark Blake has written for this new release,” Waters said back in June 2021. “Gilmour has vetoed the release of the album unless these liner notes are removed. He does not dispute the veracity of the history described in Mark’s notes, but he wants that history to remain secret.”
“This is a small part of an ongoing campaign by the Gilmour/Samson camp to claim more credit for Dave on the work he did in Pink Floyd, 1967-1985, than is his due,” Waters wrote at the time. “Yes he was, and is, a jolly good guitarist and singer. But, he has for the last 35 years told a lot of whopping porky pies about who did what in Pink Floyd when I was still in charge. There’s a lot of ‘we did this’ and ‘we did that,’ and ‘I did this’ and ‘I did that.’”
Water eventually posted the liner notes in question on his personal website, the likes of which unsurprisingly highlight his own contributions and minimise the work of his bandmates. “Both the album and the tour signposted the way to Pink Floyd’s next release, The Wall, and to Roger’s ever more ambitious ideas, both in terms of his music, narratives, politics and stage shows,” the liner notes in question read.
“David and Roger had a major disagreement about the liner notes,” Mason told Consequence about the disagreement, “And like all great world wars no one can quite remember what it was about now and what the problem was. But there was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing.”
Now, the remixed version of Animals that was supposed to come out in 2018 is getting an official release. Check out the 2018 mixes for Animals down below.
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