To me, this is the last great Pink Floyd album. It’s the last album where they were a band, and not a Roger Waters dictatorship. I was never a fan of The Wall as I thought it was overblown self obsessed nonsense from Waters. Sure, there were some good songs on subsequent records, but this is the last true Floyd album. This was released in ’77 and was the 10th Floyd studio album. It was a concept album based social and political unrest in Britain in the mid-seventies. Two of the songs were actually leftovers from Wish You Were Here and reworked/renamed: Sheep and Dogs – they just happen to be the best two tracks on the album. This is prime time Floyd – huge overblown songs that go on forever, deep lyrical content, and killer production.
There’s only two tracks on Side 1, the short intro piece Pigs On The Wing, and Dogs. Dogs is such a huge song that if you switch off in the middle, there are virtually no reference points to remind you what song it is. Again, beautifully written and played – lots of room for the music to breath.
Side 2 starts with Pigs (three different ones) a Floyd classic. Lyrically there are lots of veiled (and not so veiled) digs at establishment figures of the time. Also, some great guitar from Gilmour to lift the song to another level. The last full length track on the album is one of my favourite Floyd tracks ever, Sheep. It starts with a beautiful Fender Rhodes intro from Rick Wright, with a subdued bass line played underneath – very reminiscent of One Of These Days. One of the most up-tempo songs the band recorded, and again, some great playing from Gilmour. The album closes out with the bookend piece Pigs On The Wing (Part 2).
There’s no denying the genius of Pink Floyd as a band, but it all started to unravel when Waters thought he was the band. It’s a shame when band’s fall apart like this. At least we have the music.
9/10 from The Grooveman.
