Baker's Dozen

Artists discuss the 13 records that shaped their lives

12. Pink FloydAnimals

It could easily have been the early Barrett stuff or it could have been The Dark Side Of The Moon but this has grown to have a special significance for me. It was an album that was given to me when I was about 12 and I didn’t really understand, but like The Clash, I’ve come to really love and appreciate this record.

I like it because musically it’s like sound collages, which are wonderfully crafted. Pink Floyd were very much into getting the best sound on record and live. There’s also an amazing development of musical themes here, which go back to the main theme – it works in the same way a symphony does. A track like ‘Dogs’ goes through so many transitions. David Gilmour is someone who I really respect and his guitar playing has definitely been absorbed.

It’s a very bleak album. There is a lot of class politics on their albums and that’s often overlooked. They may have been living quite comfortably, they still had that social awareness and it fed through into this album.

PreviousNext Record

The Quietus Digest

Sign up for our free Friday email newsletter.

Support The Quietus

Our journalism is funded by our readers. Become a subscriber today to help champion our writing, plus enjoy bonus essays, podcasts, playlists and music downloads.

Support & Subscribe Today