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The Animals were an English rock band active in the 60s, part of the 'British Invasion'.
The Animals are one of many bands whose discography can appear very confusing, as the albums and singles released in the US differed to the ‘original’ UK releases. In the UK, singles were rarely repeated on LPs, whilst they were in the US, which made for a much larger number of songs to put albums together with. From 1964 to 1966 The Animals released three albums in the UK, alongside nine singles. In the US, five albums were released. Most of the tracks on these albums were also released in the UK (often as b-sides), but some were not. This compilation gathers together all the songs which only saw release in America.However for the most part it has the same track listing as the US album Animalism, released in November 1966 on MGM Records. This is one album that was almost entirely exclusive to the US - only two songs, “Outcast” and “That’s All I Am To You”, were also released in the UK. In their place I have put two other US-only songs, and renamed it The Animals In The USA. The replacement songs are the b-side “Blue Feeling”, and “See See Rider”, which was a US-only hit single (at #10).The result should be a handy compilation to go alongside the three original UK albums (The Animals, Animal Tracks and Animalisms) and The Singles Collection. It almost entirely consists of great cover material, featuring lots of familiar R&B classics. However it also includes “All Night Long”, written by Frank Zappa, and two songs by folk-rock singer-songwriters - Fred Neil’s “Other Side Of This Life” and Donovan’s “Hey Gyp”.
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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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The Animals were an English group active in the 60s, part of the 'British Invasion'.
In the time between The Animals' first and second albums, they had scored two more top 10 hits in the UK - "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" (#3) and "Bring It On Home To Me" (#7), covers of songs originally recorded by Nina Simone and Sam Cooke respectively. Though the Animal Tracks LP didn't feature the singles (as was common practice in the UK at the time), it did just as well, getting to #6 on the album charts (like their first one had).
Like all their UK albums, it focused on the pure R&B side of the band's sound. Lead singer Eric Burdon may not have had the sex appeal of Mick Jagger, but he was easily the best blues singer among the British Invasion groups. Alongside the usual covers of songs by Bo Diddley, Jimmy Reed and Chuck Berry, it's notable for three fantastic Ray Charles songs. It's also notable for being their last release with founding member keyboardist Alan Price, who left in May 1965 to form his own group (The Alan Price Set).
The Animals (1964) <|> Animalisms (1966)
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The Animals were an English group active in the 60s, part of the 'British Invasion'.
The Animals were Newcastle's main contribution to the British Invasion of young English 
groups playing American R&B with youthful energy and passion. By the time of their debut album's release, they had already had three Top 20 singles, and "The House Of The Rising Sun" had given them a #1 hit. They were therefore big news in the English pop world (and relatively big news in America as well). However, whilst their singles (all available on this compilation) filtered their blues roots through pop songs (albeit tough, gritty pop songs), their album saw them playing the American rhythm and blues music that they loved without any such thoughts of trying to top the charts. Their debut album featured songs by black American artists such as Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, John Lee Hooker and Fats Domino. It was the same formula most of the other British Invasion bands (The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Yardbirds, etc) were using at the time, but Eric Burdon's powerful vocals undoubtedly put them ahead in terms of blues authenticity (or at least the sound of it).The album actually turned out to be a chart success too, no doubt pulled along in the wake of "The House Of The Rising Sun". It got to #6.
|> Animal Tracks (1965)
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Compilation
The Animals were an English group active in the 60s, part of the 'British Invasion'.
The Animals were formed in Newcastle during the early 60s, with the original lineup of Eric Burdon (vocals), Alan Price (keyboards), Hilton Valentine (guitar), Chas Chandler (bass) and John Steel (drums). Like other early 60s British groups, their sound was firmly rooted in American R&B, with Eric Burdon's powerful, bluesy voice a defining part of their sound, alongside Alan Price's Vox Continental organ (which played an equal if not greater role than the guitar). They moved to London in 1964 in time to be grouped with the 'British Invasion', and were signed to Columbia Records. Their first single was a re-worked version of the folk-blues standard "Baby, Let Me Follow You Down" (re-titled "Baby Let Me Take You Home"). This fusion of American blues roots with commercial pop sensibilities became their formula for their long string of singles between 1964 and 1966. It was their second release, a rocked-up version of the folk song "The House Of The Rising Sun", which gave them their first and biggest hit (and only #1), and is the one song they are best remembered for today.
Seven more fantastic singles followed, mostly written by outside songwriters. These included such classics as "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place", "It's My Life", and a cover of Sam Cooke's "Bring It On Home To Me". All but one of them reached the Top 10 in the UK. Meanwhile they released three Top 10 albums of mostly R&B covers, which explored the roots of their music. In the US, the album material and the singles were re-packaged into five seperate LPs, though they didn't reach quite as high on the charts.
They stuck with mostly the same lineup throughout their career, though keyboardist Alan Price was replaced by Dave Rowberry in '65, and drummer John Steel was replaced by Barry Jenkins in early '66. Later that year all the original members except Burdon left (bassist Chas Chandler going on to manage Jimi Hendrix). Burdon moved to California and formed a new group under the Eric Burdon & The Animals name. Their music was greatly different, as they adopted a psychedelic sound.
This compilation features their nine singles as The Animals, plus most of the b-sides. A couple of b-sides can also be found on their LPs, so aren't included here. The a-sides are "Baby Let Me Take You Home", "The House Of The Rising Sun", "I'm Crying", "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", "Bring It On Home To Me", "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place", "It's My Life", "Inside Looking Out" and "Don't Bring Me Down". The songs in between are the b-sides of the preceding a-sides.
These singles are generally the songs they are best remembered for, their singles and albums being in quite different styles. Therefore this is almost a greatest hits package, containing the 'pop' side of their material, though these songs all still have a hard, raw, blues-styled edge to them. Even when they were performing songs written by songwriting teams such as Goffin-King and Mann-Weil, the Animals were always the bluesiest and grittiest of the British Invasion groups.
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The Animals are one of many bands whose discography can appear very confusing, as the albums and singles released in the US differed to the ‘original’ UK releases. In the UK, singles were rarely repeated on LPs, whilst they were in the US, which made for a much larger number of songs to put albums together with. From 1964 to 1966 The Animals released three albums in the UK, alongside nine singles. In the US, five albums were released. Most of the tracks on these albums were also released in the UK (often as b-sides), but some were not. This compilation gathers together all the songs which only saw release in America.
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