The Animals Sessions: Why Roger Waters Wanted to Curb David Gilmour's Guitar Solos

The core argument during the Animals sessions boiled down to function versus feeling. Roger Waters, increasingly focused on sharp, cynical lyrics and a cohesive album concept, wanted Gilmour’s solos to serve the narrative — shorter, more economical, less of the long, exploratory, bluesy flights that had defined Wish You Were Here and earlier work. Gilmour felt his guitar was being reduced to a mere punctuation mark.

Songwriting credits tell part of the story. On Animals, all four tracks are credited solely to Waters — the first Pink Floyd album with no co-writer input from Gilmour or Rick Wright. Gilmour contributed the famous “Dogs” solo, but Waters reportedly pushed back on its length and wanted it trimmed. The tension was as much about control as it was about sound: Waters viewed the guitar as a tool for the message; Gilmour saw it as the band’s emotional voice. That friction never fully healed.