Search - Animals :: Most of the Animals - Australian Tracks

A-n-i-m-a-l-i-s-t-i-c

running_man | Chesterfield Twp., MI | 02/06/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one powerful CD. If you like your rock bare bones, prepared rare to raw, this is the one for you. Few bands cooked as with as much intensity and self-assuredness as The Animals, and it's captured here in all its 1960's glory. More than any other band of the era, with the exception of perhaps Cream, The Animals defined the genre of blues-rock. In addition, the band was surprisingly diverse, recording music from a wide range of composers including Gerry Goffin/Carole King, Steve Winwood, June Carter Cash, and Sam Cooke, among many others.If I had my druthers I would have divided the song selection on this CD into the three distinct manifestations The Animals assumed as they evolved through the most evolutionary decade of the twentieth century. While the songs are generally arranged in a chronological sequence on the CD, it makes much more sense to me to begin where the band did... with their love for covering traditional acoustic blues on their amplified instruments. We would then begin, as the CD does, with 'House of the Rising Sun' (the band's only #1 US hit), and progress through John Lee Hooker's 'Boom Boom', Sam Cooke's 'Bring It On Home To Me', and Ma Rainey's 'See See Rider' which, surprisingly, was the band's third best selling song, peaking out at number 10 in 1966.My own arrangement of this disc would then move on to the parade of Top 40 hits the band chalked up between 1964 and 1966, including 'It's My Life', 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood', and 'We've Gotta Get Out Of This Place'. All told the band had 14 Top 40 numbers in the 1960's, and each and every one is included here. While not every song is readily memorable, there isn't a loser in the bunch. Finally, I would close the CD with the distinct sound of The New Animals, which supplanted the original incarnation of the band in 1966. The sound of the music changed noticably as the Alan Price (keyboards)/Hilton Valentine (guitars) era gave way to the more psychedelic spin singer Eric Burden constructed with his new lineup. The New Animal's first hit was April of 1967's 'When I Was Young', and before the Summer Of Love was out, the band took flight in that surrealistic wind with their only other Top 10 hit, 'San Franciscan Nights'. Their ode to the first rock festival, 'Monterey' followed in December of the same year. A memorable flip-side from the band, 'Good Times', is included as a bonus track here.One of the strongest songs on the album was produced by The New Animals in 1968, 'Sky Pilot'. This song was not number one in the US or the UK, but did ascend to chart-topping status in the land that spawned it... Vietnam. While the song is powerfully moving on its own, it is a chilling experience to imagine our servicemen cueing up the needles on the vinyl and absorbing this masterpiece at the height of our violent involvement and disillusion with the conflict. It really isn't an anti-war song... it is much more pro-soldier, and a graphic depiction of the essence of what war really is, with its mix of blood, glory, and endless perplexity. It's no wonder the song was so popular where it was. And we get the long version on this superb disc. The CD concludes with 3 bonus tracks, the final one a 9 1/2 minute cover of Traffic's 'Coloured Rain'. It's obvious that whoever compiled this CD intended to cover all the pertinent bases of The Animals.Because this CD was produced only in Australia, it isn't widely available in the United States. But if you're aiming to collect the best work this band produced, you'll either have to spring for this disc, or invest in a multi-disc set. While there are a number of other Animals compilations, this is the only one that offers all 14 of their Top 40 hits on a single disc. Be careful not to confuse this disc with the UK and US versions carrying the same title, but considerably less music. I paid $10 for my used copy, and it's one of the finest music purchases I've ever made. The liner notes are a nice bonus, giving an extensive history of the band, albeit in a size .5 font."

Wayne carmody

Wayne Carmody | Winnellie, NT Australia | 01/09/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"eric burton and the animals are associated with the viet nam war (or as the viets call it the American war) the "we gotta ger out of this place" is a classic, the "house of the rising sun", what can I say but the one song on this album that gets me is "good times" this song is just crying out for a cover version. Listen to "sky pilot" one of the first songs to use bags pipes, the only other one thats comes to mind is "a long way to the top if you wnat to rock and roll" ACDC? play Jonny Cash "ring of fire" then listen to Eric Burton, talk about chalk and cheese????
I will close with the "when I was young" the guitar just send a tingle down my spine, do yourself a favour, forget your age buy this album. you will not regret it."