Search - Animals :: Inside Looking Out

Maximum R&B

donnelly117 | 12/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Common wisdom suggests the (original) Animals started hitting the skids after they dumped Alan Price and producer Mickie Most. Certainly both men had a hand in the recording of the Geordies' unforgettable string of 1964-65 smashes ("House of the Rising Sun," "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" etc.), but frankly, the Animals improved after ditching the pair. This compilation---drawn largely from the 1966 "Animalization" LP---covers the material the band recorded with new keyboardist Dave Rowberry and ex-Dylan producer Tom Wilson. Simply put, it's Animals at their peak, combining fierce performances with a new facility in the studio. Moreover, it makes a strong case for Eric Burdon as the most powerful and incindiary R&B singer to ever come out of Europe, let alone the British Invasion. Burdon never sounded so committed, soulful and inspired than on the strutting "See See Rider," the ferocious "Inside Looking Out" and the agonizing "Ginhouse Blues" (about as accurate and chilling a portrait of alcoholism as there is---largely due to E.B.'s incredible vocal). Yet Burdon's gut-busting never overwhelms the other Animals (as would be the case with their "Sky Pilot" era successors), whose excellent ensemble playing keeps Eric's occasional hysteria in check without sacrificing emotion. Highlights include Hilton Valentine's ragged-but-right fuzz-tone excursions through "Don't Bring Me Down" and "That's All I Am To You"; a pair of gems from Burdon's big-band solo LP "Eric Is Here" (the Tom Jones-ish "Help Me Girl"; a playful "Mama Told Me Not to Come" that annihilates Three Dog Night's version); and several demos from the group's pre-Most period (including a staggeringly assured version of "I Just Wanna Make Love to You" that makes the Rolling Stones' take sound gauche and awkward). The boys even toss in a few decent originals, like the Burdon-Rowberry weeper "You're On My Mind" and "Cheating," a Burdon-Chandler jeremiad that sounds like thinly-veiled jab at manager Mike Jeffery. All dynamite stuff, perhaps a wee more Stax sounding (and guitar-heavy) than their earlier, Ray Charles-influenced records, but still spine-tingling. Most of this material is available on the "Animalisms" reissue (along with obligatory bonus tracks), but sentimentality pushed me to sing this CD's praises anyway. Now if only someone will get off their butt and reissue the American "Animalism" so we Animalites can dig the Newcastle Roughhousers takes on "Shake," "All Night Long", "Smokestack Lightning" and "Hey Gyp," among other treasures."

A maximum blues album

donnelly117 | 11/04/1998

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I first purchased this album(although it was called Animalization) when I was 16 years old, then I found it in a record catalog in the 70's and purchased it again. I still find this album to a (still) very relevant blues album. The covers of Hooker, et al. are truly authentic sounding and the sound quality is good even by todays standards. The guitar and keyboard solo's are true to the original flavor and not overdone. The Animals strong suit, in my opinion, was not their originals, which were often too poppy for my taste(even at that young age), but their absolutely soulful blues covers. I often wonder why the complete Animals catalog is not available in CD or any other format & I often search the used record bins for them, but to no avail. The band was such an influential 60's band its hard to imagine their work has not been re-released, especially when its very easy to find the "complete recordings" of band such as The Strawberry Alarm Clock."

Great Album

D. Modee | Portsmouth, NH United States | 08/04/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Same trax were released as "Animalisms" although that album in the U.S. has a few added "bonus" trax added(not sure which album came first). Good mix of catchy songs as well as a few great trax like "Maudie", "What Am I Living For" & "Gin House Blues". The versions of these songs on this album is fantastic. Highly recommended to any Eric Burdon/Animals fan - or to anybody who just appreciates good music !!"