On the occasion of Animals’ remix/reissue, Goldmine took the opportunity to chat with drummer Nick Mason — the only musician to have played on every single Pink Floyd release since their founding in the mid-1960s — about the band’s 1977 album. Mason fielded a wide variety of questions, and in the process helped debunk some long-held misconceptions about the band’s 10th studio release.
Thematic Unity
Two songs that would serve as centerpieces of were existing works that Pink Floyd had been playing live for some time. “Raving and Drooling” and “You Gotta Be Crazy” both figured into the band’s set list on their tours in support of 1975’s. And by the time was completed, those lengthy tracks had been refashioned into “Sheep” and “Dogs,” respectively. Joined by a new tune, “Pigs (Three Different Ones),” they would function as the narrative core of bassist Roger Waters’-inspired conceptual work. But
