Animals 1977 and 2018 Side-by-side

[BobbyTheKoala]

I saw some comments online from people who said that they couldn't hear the difference between the old mix and 2018 remix and thought it was crazy. I tried to keep the video short but found that there were so many differences between the mixes. Especially the drums which I'm convinced were sampled and quantized, they're definitely not the same as the original. I thought people might find it interesting.

[keleven]

Thanks. I've been curious to A/B them but haven't had the patience. I like the remix, but this makes a good case for the original.

[Paul]

There is a big difference for me. My preference is the original. I was surprisingly disappointed the day I put on the 2018 vinyl remix. I'd say keep Bernie Grundman away from Pink Floyd material. He was great for what he did back in the day, but for Floyd he seems to want to squeeze the soul out of it.

[Alan Smithee]

I found the 2018 remix sounding boxy not crisp and full. I have a Japanese pressing that sounds superior. Maybe its my old ears

[Emdy]

The stereo remix sounds like an afterthought to the 5.1 mix to me. The separation between instruments and vocals is interesting, but there were some very strange mixing choices, notably David’s solo at the end of Pigs just barely being present. It also highlighted some issues inherent with how it was recorded and edited that were more or less hidden in the original mix. I didn’t notice those issue with the 5.1 mix and really enjoyed it, everything had its place and offered an immersive listen. Though, any Floyd album in surround is going to sound amazing, even the ones less favored by myself.

[BobbyTheKoala]

That's exactly my thoughts on the 2018 mix. It's great for a modern 5.1 mix, but does it replace the 1977 stereo mix? Personally I don't think so. I think it's a good alternate choice.

[creamcheese]

I listened to the 2018 Stereo Remix only a few times, as I don't like it at all.
There was a thread in Y! back then.
Interesting thing about the quantisation.
Maybe that is another reason for Pigs sounding far less dribing and aggressive on the Remix than the original.
There are other things about the 2018 Stereo I do not like at all, for example the cymbals being (mostly or completely) mono. Maybe that's the same on the original mix, but on the 2018 stereo it becomes annoyingly obvious. The drums (especially toms) are nicely beefed up on 2018, but the toms seem to knock the cones out of the speakers, they're too loud.
Listening to the original mix from a digital source you might notice that there are tiny clicks during the dog barking. I suppose the original dog came from a record which was put through a vocoder.
In 2018 it would have been no problem cleaning this digitally, but they left it in. Very disapointing.
The opposite effect could be listened to on the 2019 remix of the Beatles' Abbey Road: There's a spot in "I want you", where you can clearly hear John switching off the overdrive on the original mix. On the remix they attenuated the plop of the footswitch. In that case I would have preferred the had left it in as a part of the performance...

[Edufloyd]

I saw some comments online from people who said that they couldn't hear the difference between the old mix and 2018 remix and thought it was crazy. I tried to keep the video short but found that there were so many differences between the mixes. Especially the drums which I'm convinced were sampled and quantized, they're definitely not the same as the original. I thought people might find it interesting.

Many thanks for your work!!!!!!!!!

[madhombre]

I preferred the original but I couldn’t quite say why. This shows me. The original seems more organic to me although I personally prefer a good live version

great stuff. Thanks

[creamcheese]

I saw some comments online from people who said that they couldn't hear the difference between the old mix and 2018 remix and thought it was crazy. I tried to keep the video short but found that there were so many differences between the mixes. Especially the drums which I'm convinced were sampled and quantized, they're definitely not the same as the original. I thought people might find it interesting.

There is another difference/flaw/mistake at 11:55 in the video: The delay on the pig grunt runs out of sync in the remix, while it doesn't in the original mix.

[jimfisheye]

I listened to both the 2018 5.1 remix and the 2024 7.1.4 remix. Both have greatly improved elements of fidelity. The most awkward part of the 5.1 remix was the tom overdubs in Dogs turned up quite loud. The 7.1.4 remix is better and more polished. There are some keyboard elements in places that I've never heard before and sound pretty cool. I'm listening on a full 7.1.4 system from the lossless bluray files. No downmixes. No vinyl. No streaming. No bs! The whole thing sounds like an addendum bonus track to me with some "behind the scenes" sounds to hear. The original stereo mix for all its flaws is still the real "mix" of this album and the 7.1.4 remix is a very interesting aside. So... POTW is just dry vocal and acoustic now?! Smaller coming out of 12 speakers (actually mostly only two of them) than the stereo mix?! I didn't think the original was award winning... but it sure is next to that! The original mix in 24 bit HD download or the stereo on the bluray is in good shape though! An upgrade over the original vinyl, finally as it should be.

[TheGreenStrat]

Reading all of this reminds me of how I need to get a surround sound system one of these days (pun intended?) The concept of remastering (and mixing in general) for audiences/markets/the current era/modern times/etc. is generally very interesting. Animals seemed like the best album to remaster as far as improving certain elements and giving a true once over. I have the original vinyl and the 2018 CD, but I do have to sit down with the various releases soon.

The most immediate improvements to me were purely musical e.g. the drums in Dogs, some effects/keys in Pigs 3DO, general punchiness in the drums etc. Ultimately it always comes down to preference, and mine is “did we remaster this as transparently and as properly as we could for a modern environment without trying to give it an ugly modern trendy facelift and/or will it truly improve the aural standard?” I know that can be difficult for modern engineers (it’s sometimes unavoidable), but naively it is something to hope to receive. This is rare, but does happen on occasion!

Is there a R&D consensus on which one is “most proper” but not necessarily “the best?” I’m trying to stay true to form and away from bias as much as I can towards a good earnest remaster. How coincidental that I am writing this after having re-listened to the remix of Pigs 3DO last night because I really liked the overall improvement since that song has grown on me over the years. The live version done from mid-77 onward with Rick’s keyboard solo and the extra guitar solos is truly one of the best things the band did (I may have voiced that opinion elsewhere here at one time) and if the album version was like that?… . Now we just have to see if all of those Fingal’s Cave podcasts are accurate and tapes one day emerge from said cave…

[stonytokes]

I listened to the 2018 remix once. Once. More dreadful revisionist history from the once-mighty Floyd. The drums are an absolute ABOMINATION just like the other two revisionist drum replacement remixes. The drums in the original mix of Animals are punchy and round sounding, the remix drums sound like mud and are obviously sampled AFAIC. The snare sound is the ABSOLUTE WORST and takes me out of the listening experience.

When I listened to it originally, I thought it was interesting to hear Animals mixed with a different soundstage, but I thought the point of the remix was that the major complaint that most fans had with Animals was that it didn't seem to achieve the same level of sonic perfection that the preceding two albums had. Of course, a lot of that had to do with working at a different studio as I understand it, but the major complaint back in the day as I remember was that Animals sounded muddy compared to DSOTM and WYWH. Well, they certainly haven't corrected any of THAT with this remix, IMO.

Why they decided that crushing all the dynamics out of the mix and adding those atrocious drums was an improvement over the original is beyond me. I'll never listen to this remix again if I can help it, or the AMLOR and TDB revisionist history abominations. Shameful, money-grabbing garbage that tarnishes the Floyd's legacy. Sad.

Many Thanks BobbyTheKoala for this.

[ruben77]

... or the AMLOR and TDB revisionist history abominations. ...

When was TDB revised and/or remixed? Or do you mean TDB's 5.1 version?

[stonytokes]

No, just a stupid comment for sure. The AMLOR remix is abhorrent, IMO. Maybe I was thinking of TER which I hold in the same esteem. Not sure...I was kind of baked this evening.

[buffalofloyd]

Wow, great thread and video showing the comparisons between the two. I've listened to the original mix so many times that any deviation from that seems unnatural and awkward to me, I don't care for it. I really don't like the added bass, it sounds too deep.

I need to get the newest Atmos mix, still haven't heard it.

[Demamo]

I may be in the minority but I prefer the 2018 mix. The 1977 mix is very muddy and Nick was buried in the mix.