At long last, Pink Floyd’s reissue of 1977’s Animals is becoming a reality. The band has announced that the concept album will finally be re-released as Animals 2018 Remix on September 16th after a four-year delay.
While the reissue doesn’t contain any bonus tracks or new material, it’s been remastered in 5.1 Stereo Sound by sound engineer James Guthrie, who finished the project, as the title suggests, back in 2018.
However, since then, the album has been stuck in pre-release purgatory over, of all things, its liner notes after Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters and guitarist David Gilmour couldn’t settle a feud over the issue. Waters singlehandedly wrote the bulk of the five-song studio set, with the exception of “Dogs” — which was co-written with Gilmour.
“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.”
The bassist ultimately uploaded the controversial liner notes in question to his own personal website last year, and it’s unknown whether they made the final cut for the reissue, which will contain a 32-page booklet of never-before-seen photos from the era.
Animals 2018 Remix will be available on CD, vinyl, Blu-ray, and SACD. Pre-orders are ongoing. Check out the updated album art and tracklist below.
Pink Floyd also recently joined TikTok and also released their first new song — titled “Hey, Hey Rise Up!” — in nearly 30 years to support the country of Ukraine in its fight against Russian invasion.
Animals 2018 Remix Artwork:
Animals 2018 Remix Tracklist:
01. Pigs on the Wing (Part One)
02. Dogs
03. Pigs (Three Different Ones)
04. Sheep
05. Pigs on the Wing (Part Two)
