By Grouch Rating 5 Scowls The Animals Greatest Hits
The Animals Greatest Hits
Thursday, 09 April 2009 07:21 | 
Author: The Grouch | 
Eric Burdon's Official Web site
Eric Burdon was the lead singer in the Animals, a British Invasion R&B group that hit in the early 1960s. Eric Burdon strikes me as a kind of male Janis Joplin. What I mean is that he has soul - when he sings heartfelt licks in anyone of a number of Blues standards it comes across as entirely natural and sincere. Its not as though he is trying to portray a character based on things he read in Soul for Dummies
The songs on this LP are a mixture of hard core R&B grit, youthful anti-establishment bravado, tender ballads and an homage to the California hippy culture in Monterey and San Francisco.
All in all I really like every song on this LP.
1. House Of The Rising Sun - absolutely killer track with a really cool organ part.
2. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - sardonic and cutting, such a brash young guy filled with anger and the confidence of youth. Rock on.
3. We Gotta Get Out Of This Place - one of my favorite songs. The first version I heard of this song was by Blue Oyster Cult on the Some Enchanted Evening Live LP. Check it out, its quite good. Their version is much faster and louder than the Animals' version.
4. It's My Life - Don't TELL me what to do!! Listen Ma, listen Dad - its my time so get out of the way. An angry young man with the courage and self confidence to take on the world. Haven't we all been there to an extent?
5. Help Me Girl - a rocking little song with the requisite bad boy seeking help and understanding from his good girl.
6. Boom Boom - It doesn't get anymore text book than this. This is the bad ass R&B grit that summarizes the Animals. The really cool thing is that they pull it off, it would be easy to turn this killer groove into a cheesy parody of the blues. The Animals however remain true to the spirit of the style.
7. Inside Looking Out - this song rocks! Listen to it. The raw emotion of the vocals and the killer lick trading between the organ and guitar are great. If you don't feel this one, you must be close to death.
8. Don't Bring Me Down - Whoa Dude you're Harshing my mellow - I like this song. You can just imagine Eric coming up with this song when he had a really good buzz going and someone kept bugging him to take out the trash.
9. I'm Crying - Killer intro. I like the beat and the way the organ plays around the edges of the song. The chorus is pretty funky with a "Ohhh Ohhh" chant before going back into actual words - Hear me crying baby. The short guitar solo is nice too. Hear me crying baby.
10. Bring It Home To Me - old standard. Still an emotional packed whack to the head. Yeah, yeah, Yeah, yeah bring It on home To me. Again the probability of cheesing this song up is great - again Eric Burdon delivers sans fromage.
11. San Franciscan Nights - the intro is interesting. The song is actually quite melodic and then Eric rails against the cops. I like that.
12. See See Rider - old standard rocking R&B jam. I like it and I've heard a lot of versions of this song that I don't like.
13. Spill The Wine - the story of a long haired gnome on a quest to get the girl and her bottle of Liebfraumilsch in a Hollywood movie no less.
14. Monterey - perhaps the best song on the album. The music rocks and the drummer pounds away as Eric sings about how religion was being born down in Monterey. The Birds and the Airplane did fly. The Who exploded into violent light and Jimi Hendrix set the world on fire.
15. When I Was Young - I like the distortion on the guitar in the beginning. It reminds me of War Pigs by Black Sabbath. Eric tells the story of his youth while the band grinds around him. All in all - a very good song.
16. White Houses - White Houses in neat little roads - you better get straight. Eric Burdon mocks the establishment so well in this song as he points out the contradictions of middle class life. This song brings to mind a something that I heard a long time ago, something that was attributed to Jim Morrison " Some men look around and ask why? - I look up and ask why not?" The guitar line in this song really jams.
Grouch rating 5 out of 5 scowles.