1977: A Farewell to Kings or Animals?

[WildRanger]

Which album is gonna win this matchup?

I have to give my vote to Animals.

[pg1067]

Easiest poll ever.  AFtK is AWESOME from start to finish.  The only use I have for any Pink Floyd album is to prevent insomnia.

[Lowdz]

No contest. AFTK. Top 5 album of all time for me

[Bolsters]

Animals.

[Zantera]

Animals

[The Walrus]

I can't choose because I fall asleep before either is done playing. I guess AFTK. Animals is simply dudsville from start to finish.

[Stadler]

I might as well be asked to choose between testicles.  Or my wife's boobies.   Are you kidding me? 

I'm going to go with AFTK, only because it's higher in the "band canon" than Animals is and is a little more "bright" or "positive" than Animals.  But Animals is an amazing record and one of my favorites by Floyd (a band that I hold in very high regard, even the experimental early years; I was just listening to Atom Heart Mother last night as I cooked dinner). 

[Destiny Of Chaos]

Animals by far.

[Zydar]

Animals, but AFTK is great too.

[Nick]

Or my wife's boobies.

One is usual larger than the other, that breast is A Farewell to Kings.

[ChuckSteak]

Animals

[Orbert]

Animals, but AFTK is great too.

[Mladen]

Animals is one of my five favorite albums of all time.

The Rush one is good, but slightly overrated. They released about ten albums I like better.

[Fritzinger]

Farewell is great. But Animals ... is Animals.
I mean it's Animals!

[Dublagent66]

Rush is my all-time fav, so yeah....

[Stadler]

Or my wife's boobies.

One is usual larger than the other, that breast is A Farewell to Kings.

For the win. 

[TAC]

I don't in any way consider myself a Pink Floyd fan, but I do have and love Animals.

To me, AFTK is easily the weak link from 2112 to Moving Pictures. Other than Xanadu, I'm not nuts about anything else on it. Cygnus X-1 is pretty good though.

1977 albums I take before both:
UFO-Lights Out
Thin Lizzy-Bad Reputation
KISS-Love Gun
Scorpions-Taken By Force

[Stadler]

While it's hard to argue with TAC's logic, or his list, what us seasoned veterans call "Side One" is unbelievable, and "Side Two" is no slouch, even if CTTH is rather over-represented generally. 

[TAC]

Honestly, I wish I liked the title track more than I actually do. I mean, I don't not like it. I just don't love it. Xanadu is a Top 5 Rush tune for me, so there's that. And I do like Cygnus X-1 for sure.

AFTK and Animals. They're both 3 songs each.

[KevShmev]

Xanadu is one of my favorite songs of all-time and easily my favorite from these two albums, but Dogs and Sheep would be 2 and 3 by a wide distance.  I love Rush more, but I have to go with Animals. Both are tremendous.

[PowerSlave]

I'm not a PF fan, but I do like this album. AFtK suffers for me because their next album is possibly my favorite Rush album of all time. Tough choice.

Animals most likely.

[Snow Dog]

As much as I love Rush, AFTK has some great highs, but it has Madrigal, quite possibly one of the worst songs they wrote. And while Closer to the Heart is good, I think it’s a tad overrated.

Animals is solid from start to finish. It gets my vote.

[Kwyjibo]

Animals all the way.

Never saw the appeal of AFTK, it's nice but that is all, but then I never really saw the greatness of Rush, they are nice, but that's all.

[Elite]

Animals is simply dudsville from start to finish.

[New World Rushman]

Tough choice; Rush is my favorite band and AFtK my favorite album of theirs.
That said, I believe Animals is the greatest album released by anyone. Ever. Period
So, Animals it is.

[The Walrus]

Animals is simply dudsville from start to finish.

Look, I get it. Animals is a highly revered album. But I don't get it  17 minutes, 11 minutes, and 10 minutes for 3 of the songs, and the other two are a minute and a half each. It's so horribly uneven, and it drags. Oh, does it drag. Of Floyd's biggest albums (The Wall, Dark Side, WYWH, Animals) its legendary status just baffles me because it is so utterly uncompelling particularly when put up against those other three albums (even WYWH, which I don't enjoy at all).

[CrimsonSunrise]

I can't choose because I fall asleep before either is done playing. I guess AFTK. Animals is simply extraordinary from start to finish.

Fixed... 

[Elite]

Animals is simply dudsville from start to finish.

Look, I get it. Animals is a highly revered album. But I don't get it  17 minutes, 11 minutes, and 10 minutes for 3 of the songs, and the other two are a minute and a half each. It's so horribly uneven, and it drags. Oh, does it drag. Of Floyd's biggest albums (The Wall, Dark Side, WYWH, Animals) its legendary status just baffles me because it is so utterly uncompelling particularly when put up against those other three albums (even WYWH, which I don't enjoy at all).

Pigs on the Wing (1&2) are just intro and outro tracks, the other three are among the best songs Pink Floyd has ever done. Dogs in particular is absolutely amazing. The only reason Animals is not my favourite Pink Floyd album is that Dark Side of the Moon exists, but otherwise it would easily be my favourite.

[Stadler]

Animals is simply dudsville from start to finish.

Look, I get it. Animals is a highly revered album. But I don't get it  17 minutes, 11 minutes, and 10 minutes for 3 of the songs, and the other two are a minute and a half each. It's so horribly uneven, and it drags. Oh, does it drag. Of Floyd's biggest albums (The Wall, Dark Side, WYWH, Animals) its legendary status just baffles me because it is so utterly uncompelling particularly when put up against those other three albums (even WYWH, which I don't enjoy at all).

I think you answered your own question; if you don't like WYWH, I'm not sure how you'd see anything redeeming in Animals (they were written, at least musically, around the same time).   

To me, I think it's fascinating.  I love how Pink Floyd operates at about five different levels.   The lyrics are frustrated and angry, reflecting Waters' increasing sour world view, and the music is frustrated and angry, reflecting Gilmour and Wright's increasingly sour BAND view... and yet it comes together perfectly.

Floyd is by far my vote for the band who's whole far exceeds the sum of it's parts.  Except for maybe Jagger and Richards, there aren't two other musicians that need each other like Gilmour and Waters do.   

[Cruithne]

My general feeling about Animals is that I like about 5 minutes of Sheep, about 4 minutes of Dogs and not a whole lot else - I can't remember anything about Pigs right now. By that stage of their career there was already getting to be too much of Roger Waters' influence in Floyd for my liking.

A Farewell To Kings, on the other hand, I love from start-to-finish.

[pg1067]

Animals is simply dudsville from start to finish.

Look, I get it. Animals is a highly revered album. But I don't get it  17 minutes, 11 minutes, and 10 minutes for 3 of the songs, and the other two are a minute and a half each. It's so horribly uneven, and it drags. Oh, does it drag. Of Floyd's biggest albums (The Wall, Dark Side, WYWH, Animals) its legendary status just baffles me because it is so utterly uncompelling particularly when put up against those other three albums (even WYWH, which I don't enjoy at all).

Brace yourself...

I completely agree with every word here. 

[WildRanger]

AFTK took a lead now. Really?

[Nekov]

Animals for the tie. While I really like AFTK, Animals is just sublime from start to finish.

[Dave_Manchester]

Animals. Favourite album of all time, perfect from first note to last. Any band that can cap off a "fuck you" to Mary Whitehouse with an epic guitar solo is going places. 

Other classic 1977 albums: Rumours (Fleetwood Mac), Peter Gabriel's first solo album, Going For The One (Yes), News of the World (Queen), Point Of Know Return (Kansas), Bat Out Of Hell (Meat Loaf), Seconds Out (Genesis), Songs From The Wood (Jethro Tull), and Heroes (David Bowie). Not a bad year.

[Stadler]

Animals. Favourite album of all time, perfect from first note to last. Any band that can cap off a "fuck you" to Mary Whitehouse with an epic guitar solo is going places. 

Other classic 1977 albums: Rumours (Fleetwood Mac), Peter Gabriel's first solo album, Going For The One (Yes), News of the World (Queen), Point Of Know Return (Kansas), Bat Out Of Hell (Meat Loaf), Seconds Out (Genesis), Songs From The Wood (Jethro Tull), and Heroes (David Bowie). Not a bad year.

Wow, that WAS a good year, huh?   I'd even ask for a pass for Wind And Wuthering (December 17, 1976), and you've got my favorite record of all time (Going For The One), two top fives (Wind and Billy Joel's The Stranger) and easily three in my top 25 (Rumours, PG, and Songs From The Wood).   Not in my top 25, but Heroes is by far my favorite Bowie Album, Aja, my favorite Steely Dan LP, and ELP Works Vol. 1, too (I love Pirates and Fanfare...).