Best of the Animals

Eric Burdon, The Animals

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1966
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Abkco
• ASIN: B000003BDD
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,251 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

While they're best remembered for "House of the Rising Sun," the Animals had more than one track. What about "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" and "We've Gotta Get Out of this Place," to name but two, as well as a later incarnation's "San Franciscan Nights," Eric Burdon's ode to the flower power of 1967? Always rough and ready, the Animals were a blues band from Newcastle who never looked completely comfortable in their suits, but who nonetheless produced some great pieces of music--although whether there was ever quite enough to fill an entire album you have to judge for yourself. --Chris Nickson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

87 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Animals Are Grrrrrrrreat!, March 7, 2000

By	Steve Vrana (Aurora, NE) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Like many early British Invasion bands (the Yardbirds, the Who, Rolling Stones and Them), the original Animals were a hard-driving R&B band featuring the gritty vocals of Eric Burdon and the trademark organ playing of Alan Price.

This 15-track collection hits the group's highlights from its two-year stay on Britain's EMI. [Note: Although all the Animals' hits throughout the Sixties were distributed by MGM in America, the band switched labels in the UK to Decca in 1966. That's why the Decca singles "Inside Looking Out" and "Don't Bring Me Down" are not on this set. Also, this album was originally released in February 1966--four months before "Don't Bring Me Down" was even released.]

The centerpiece of this collection is Alan Price's four-and-a-half-minute arrangement of "House of the Rising Son," and despite its length shot to the top of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. It would be the band's only No. 1 single.

Unlike most of the British Invasion bands with lengthy chart careers, the Animals seldom wrote their own material. The only exception is the Burdon-Price collaboration "I'm Crying." For the rest of their material they turned to the likes of John Lee Hooker ("Boom Boom" and "Dimples"), Fats Domino ("I'm in Love Again"), Sam Cooke ("Bring It on Home to Me) and Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil ("We Gotta Get out of This Place") among others.

By 1967 the rest of the original Animals were gone. Burdon formed a new version of the Animals and entered his psychedelic phase ("Montery," "Sky Pilot"). But this Abkco release features the original lineup and as such, the group's best material. If you want more of the original band's work, consider Complete Animals. At 40 tracks it includes virtually all of the Animals' first three U.S. albums along with various B-sides and unreleased material. But if you're on a budget, The Best of the Animals will do just fine. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm just a soul who's intentions are good, May 11, 2004

By	Johnny Heering "trivia buff" (Bethel, CT United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The Animals were one of the best groups of the British Invasion. So why aren't they as highly thought of as, say, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who or The Kinks? Because unlike those other groups, The Animals didn't have a great songwriter within their group. In fact, only one song on this "Best of" was actually written by the group. But regardless of who wrote them, these are great songs. This album (originally released in 1973), features all The Animals chart hits through 1965, plus some well selected album tracks. This is terrific stuff. One thing I need to mention is that, despite the writing credits, "I'm in Love Again" is not the old Fats Domino hit, but is a different song entirely. Also, for those of you who care about such things, this CD is in mono. I highly recommend this CD, especially to fans of the British Invasion.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the original..., April 20, 2001

By	James E. Gill "One Who Knows Music" (Glendale, AZ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Why can't record companies get is straight???...or am I the only one on the planet who knows that this CD's version of "We've Gotta Get Out of This Place" is NOT the version we all heard on the radio in the 60's, nor is it the version which is included on the vinyl edition of this very album... For those who don't know, in the ORIGINAL version of the song, Eric B. sings: "My little girl you're so young and pretty"...not "Now my girl you're so young and pretty...", which is what he says on the wimpy version of the song which is on this CD. The original has much better production and much better vocals. This CD's version is the one you'll hear on oldies radio...since most DJ's don't know the difference either. Message to the record company: stop pulling this garbage--there are folks who know the difference and we want the ORIGINAL version...not some crummy version you paid Eric to re-record for God-only-knows what reason.