The 2022 Animals Remix: Why Critics and Fans Turned on James Guthrie’s Stereo Mix

The long-awaited 2018 remix of Animals finally saw release in 2022, but instead of celebration, it sparked a backlash. James Guthrie’s new stereo mix introduced audible clipping and a compressed, brickwalled master that many said flattened the original’s wide dynamics. Longtime fans pointed to the loss of the breathing room in tracks like “Dogs,” where Gilmour’s clean guitar now sounded harsh and fatiguing.

Critics weren’t much kinder. Reviews from Stereogum and Pitchfork called the mix “sonically questionable” and “almost unlistenable in spots,” noting that the 5.1 surround mix had been praised earlier but the stereo version seemed rushed. Some blamed the mastering by Bob Weston, but most of the criticism centered on Guthrie’s choices: boosted top end, reduced stereo separation, and a pumped low end that muddled the bass line in “Pigs (Three Different Ones).”

The controversy forced a rare public response from the band. In late 2022, management confirmed that a corrected physical release would be pressed, but digital copies remained unchanged. For many, the whole episode became a cautionary tale about remixing classic albums — just because you can doesn’t mean you should.