Customer Reviews

Winds of Change

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"For Those Of Another Generation......". Yep.....I guess we certainly were. Like many, I was turned onto this album back when I was a youngster in the late 60's and couldn't get enough of this album to the point of owning the mono & stereo vinyl versions as well as the 8 track and reel to reel audio tapes. My only complaint with any of the releases pertained to the overall "compressed" sound quality, especially on tracks such as "Paint It Black" & "Yes, I'm Experienced" (two of my favorites).

In the late 80's, Polydor finally released this album on CD and to my horror, the sound quality didn't differ one bit from the vinyl. Then came BGO in 2002 with their CD version, coupled along with The Twain Shall Meet (another great album) and although the mix had been somewhat improved, much of the compressed atmosphere still lingered. I began to believe that no actual master tapes would surface to right the various wrongs, but I was "Gratefully Dead" wrong ( a bonus track :)

As it turns out, Repertoire came to the rescue and did the impossible...gave a newly found face lift to the original grooves on this album and what we now have is the ultimate remastered version ever released during the past 37 years since it was first recorded. The original muffled high end frequencies now have a uniformity of clarity & brightness never heard before throughout the entire album. It's amazing to finally be able to hear what Barry Jenkins drumming really sounds like.

If you're a fan of this brilliant album, I strongly recommend you buy a copy and hear it for the VERY first time in your life and while you're at it, also pick up a copy of The Twain Shall Meet also released by the good folks at Repertoire. They deserve numerous kudos for their excellent work and I look forward to seeing what other albums they release in the future.

I've had this eratic--but brilliant 1967 masterpiece in one form or another (both vinyl and cd) for most of its 37 years of existence up to this point, but never have I heard it sound anywhere near as good as does this 2003 remaster on Repertoire. Both the Polydor and One Way cd reissues were marred with tape hiss which, combined with a relatively low recording level, made for somewhat muffled, muted sound. No such problem here: The sound is strong and crisp...obviously first-generation. That said, a few additional thoughts:
This is the first, and (in my humble opinion) the best of the four original albums by the revamped, psychedelic Animals line-up Eric Burdon formed in late 1966. This band actually made its debut on record in the late winter/early spring of 1967 with the terrific "When I Was Young"/bw/"A Girl Named Sandoz" single. They performed at the legendary Monterey Pop Festival in June, and it was during that time period that the songs for this album were being written and recorded. I really cannot think of another album from the psychedelic era which runs as wide a gamut as does this one: From the rollicking, electric Hendrix answer "Yes, I'm Experienced" to the downright eerie, solemn "The Black Plague," from the brooding self-deprecation of "Poem By The Sea" to the back-to-R&B roots rough edge of "It's All Meat." Now, if you are endeavoring to read this, you probably know about all that, but you may not know about a couple of the bonus tracks on this edition of the album. The mono single versions of Good Times" and "San Francisco Nights" (notice the difference in the title) are not really all that different from the stereo versions, save for perhaps offering Burdon's vocal a tad more prominence. However:
The two UK B-sides offered here as tracks 13 and 15 are both Killers! First, "Ain't That So" calls to mind some of the raw, three-chord grungy blues the earlier Animals were doing after leaving Mickey Most and signing up with Decca. If you dug songs like "She'll Return It" and "That's All I Am To You," you're sure to dig "Ain't That So": Not psychedelic at all, just tough-guy, in-your-face garagy rock. An then there is the cd's closer, "Gratefully Dead." This song could easily be mistaken for an out-take from the Are You Experienced? album sessions, with the same Stratocaster sound popularized by the master himself jumping down your throat from the songs' opening note. Again, it's a basic three-chord blues, but it's The Experience as well as The Experience themselves could play it--right down to Barry Jenkins' drumming being a deadwringer for Mitch Mitchell's sound and style at the time. The song even features a great false ending, where the tape suddenly slows down to a dead stop . . .and after perhaps a second-and-a-half of silence, the music just explodes back out your speakers. Through all that, Eric shouts his lungs out, and provides an extra track of low vocals periodically through the track which calls to mind Hendrix's spoken vocal on "Third Stone From The Sun." Apt to say, these two B-sides alone are worth the price of this cd: they're two of the best, hardest-rocking recordings by _any incarnation of The Animals.
About the only possible complaint I can render about this reissue is the failure to include the above-mentioned two songs from the first single by this latter-day version of the band: That would have made this package absolutely perfect! As is, the dramatically improved sound quality on the original album, those two priceless B-side bonus tracks and pretty decent liner notes (especially by comparison to older versions) make this cd an absolute must-have for any Eric Burdon fan or any fan of late-Sixties psychedelia. Also recommended: The Repertoire reissue of The Twain Shall Meet: Not quite as good an album as this one, but good enough, also boasting superior remastered sound, and the mammoth raw single version of "Monterey" as a bonus track.

When I try to think of an album in which the music is polar opposite to the performer's characteristic sound, this is the one that come to mind. In Winds of Change, the blues/rock, roots sound of The Animals metamorphoses into a darkly atmospheric, instrumentally sparse, poetically versed concept album of Eric Burdon. It is a masterwork.

Though I say "instrumentally sparse" (certainly from a rock and roll perspective), this recording is at the same time instrumentally and atmospherically (with frequent sound effects) rich, and even occasionally lush. As to sound effects, guess what we hear in the title cut and the next number, "Poem by the Sea"? But violins and horns enhance a number of songs, and varied percussion and vibrations are often prominent. The lead guitar usually sounds Spanish, not really flamenco, more soft and simple, without flourishes, to let Eric's spoken words be more dominant. Indeed, Burdon pronounces the words very clearly throughout, unlike in some of his other work, creating poetry that punctuates an atmosphere that is usually haunting or dark, and often subdued. The result is songs that are sometimes sensuous, and at other times beautiful and highly evocative. The best case in point of the latter is the lovely ballad "Anything," perhaps the best song on the album, with Eric expressing passionately what he would do for a friend, who seems to be a female, backed by pretty guitar and gorgeous violin arrangements. Both "Good Times" and "San Franciscan Nights" are sweet and sentimental, and excellent songs. The former is actually also sort of melodramatic, embellished by violins and the sudden appearance of a crowd.

"The Black Plague" and "Man-Woman" are not songs, but poetry surrounded by sound effects. The latter is almost entirely percussion-driven (primitive-style drum beat), musically spare with orderly chants from Burdon to send his 60s message. "The Black Plague" is about what it suggests: a medieval tale of morbid woe, with plucked strings, low-pitched bass, eerie organ, (single chimes--triangle?), and church-style harmonic wailing backing Burdon's narrative.

"Hotel Hell" is the noticeably horn-backed number, to great effect. It is precious, extremely evocative, even as it is bleak and despondent: "And I, so very far from my home." It (so does "Good Times") seems to have an Old English feel. Also lovely is "Poem By the Sea," in which Burdon engages in introspection surrounded by guitar crescendos and psychedelia, and even a gong.

Other songs keep us more in the real world. Fittingly, Burdon enlists the Rolling Stones' big hit "Paint It Black," an authentic metaphor for this work, and makes it darker and more mystical, and intense, and, this time, we hear some blistering guitar work. The title cut, with its signature sitar backing, and the finale, "It's All Meat," show Burdon chanting the names of familiar, accomplished, innovative musicians and scattered other people. In "Yes, I Am Experienced," he answers Jimi Hendrix in one of the album's livelier numbers.

This is one of my favorites, but I acknowledge individual tastes could vary. Regular rock and roll it isn't, but full of excellent, often very pretty songs; evocative lyrics; and a dark atmosphere it is. Anyway, you have my view.

The CD lived up to all expectations, the music is crisp and the lost fidelity on my old LP has been restored. "Poem by the Sea" is priceless, Well worth the cost and to hear the music crisp and clean makes the timeless music truely amazing. This is "the Experience" that Burdon's music deserves. I say Yes, to this cool classic ,The CD really brought back the good memories. Carl H.

Excellent re-release of Eric Burdon & The Animals' first album together, Winds of Change. It's a very interesting and good album, superbly remastered by Repertoire. Throughout strong songs. San Fransiscan Nights, their biggest hit ever, can be found here along with such gems as Hotel Hell, Good Times and Paint it Black. It also contains some extra tracks.
If you're fond of psychedelic music, or like Eric Burdon, buy this album.

This one was a real departure for the animals. I never liked the 'eric burden and the animals' tag though. record stors would seperate them in the racks from the animals! oh well. This one roars out of 1967 with psych songs like 'it's all meat' and 'san fransciso nights' a hit single and other songs like 'the black plague'
and such are really interesting and deep. The whole cd is filled with some deep songs here. The four bonus tracks are good ones too even if they are sadly only in mono. Eric burden(and the animals) had released the pop rocker 'eric is here' which had the hit 'help me girl' and even that couldn't prepare one for this sudden drastic change in direction the animals took. Here was a band with a violin even.
Eric sings his heart out too on this one. Strangely the big hit out at this time 'when I was young' was not included on this release which could have helped sales at the time. This was psych rock or acid rock and blues mixture and it's all good if not sometimes ecclectic. This wouldn't be released today because the purpose here was to make a great album and it succeeds.

Another one of Eric Burdens masters. This is an absolute must to get.


As markets changed to cd's I spent years trying to find this on one on cd.
Guess where aI found it just two years ago. Also see the twain shall meet.

Winds of Change This has a good collection of happy & soulful songs. "San Franciscan Nights" is my favorite, "Hotel Hell" is a real soulful tune, and Eric Burdon does a great job on "Paint It Black" (which was done by the Rolling Stones). This kind of stuff would be a "breath of fresh air" if they played it on the radio.

Lately, I've used this album to explain to some of my younger
friends what the times were like when I was young. The album just
speaks to me.

I have been looking for this cd for a long time as it has been out of print.
Thank you for your honesty and swiftness in sending me this wonderful cd. This is one of the best Eric Burdon & the Animals albums of all time, a mini opera that ties together many great songs into an astounding and meaningful moment in time. A must have for all Eric Burdon & the Animals fans. Don't miss out on this! It will bring back some great memories of some great times.
The packageing was great and your product arrived on time and in great shape.
Thank you again for making my purchase so enjoyable, I would recommend you to anybody. Thanks