The Animals - Animalisms (1966)

The Animals were an English band active in the 60s, part of the 'British Invasion'.
 

In 1965 keyboard player Alan Price left The Animals, the first of the original members to depart. He started his own group, The Alan Price Set. He was replaced by Dave Rowberry, who was on board for their next four singles, all of which were great successes on the UK charts - "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" (#2), "It's My Life" (#7), "Inside Looking Out" (#12) and "Don't Bring Me Down" (#6) (all available on The Singles Collection). Along the way drummer John Steel also departed and was replaced by Barry Jenkins.
The band's third album, Animalisms, came out in June 1966. Like its two predecessors, it showcased their knowledge of American R&B, with covers of songs by Joe Tex, Chuck Berry, Screamin' Jay Hawkins and others, as well as a few good original songs in the same style. It was their most successful LP in the UK, getting to #4.
It actually turned out to be their last one. Within a few months of its release Hilton Valentine, Chas Chandler and Dave Rowberry had all left (Chandler went on to manage Jimi Hendrix), leaving just Jenkins and lead singer Eric Burdon. The two of them moved to America and recruited musicians for a new group, which they called Eric Burdon & The Animals (sometimes referred to as The New Animals). Their style changed dramatically, as Burdon embraced psychedelic rock (with admittedly sometimes dubious results).
The Animals had only been around for about three years, but during that time they had seen great success, with seven Top 10 singles and three excellent albums, and a reputation as being among the best British bands to play the blues.

Animal Tracks (1965) <|
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