The Animals (American album)

Not to be confused with The Animals (British album).

The Animals
Studio album by the Animals
Released	September 1964 (1964-09)
Recorded	22 January –31 July 1964
Genre	R&B blues rock [1]
Length	32:41
Label	MGM
Producer	Mickie Most
The Animals US chronology
The Animals (1964) The Animals on Tour (1965)
Singles from The Animals
"Baby Let Me Take You Home" / "Gonna Send You Back to Walker" Released: August 1964 "House of the Rising Sun" / "Talkin' 'bout You" Released: August 1964

The Animals is the American debut studio album by the British Invasion group, the Animals. Released in late summer 1964, the album introduced the States to the "drawling, dirty R&B sound (with the emphasis on the B)" ^[2] that typified the group.

Overview

The album includes several R&B standards, written by the likes of Chuck Berry and John Lee Hooker, as well as the number one single "House of the Rising Sun", here presented in its truncated-for-radio form (it would be restored to full length on the February 1966 compilation The Best of the Animals , and later CD and digital reissues of The Animals would feature the full-length recording). "I'm in Love Again" is incorrectly listed as being written by Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew. It is actually a cover of Jimmy Reed's "In the Morning", which was penned by Al Smith and Tommy Tucker. ^{[3] [4]}

The album peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Top LPs during a twenty seven-week run on the US albums chart. ^[5]

The British album The Animals was released a month later, the group's debut album there albeit with substantially differing contents.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	link
Uncut	[6]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Recording date	Length
1.	"The House of the Rising Sun" (Edited single version)	Traditional, arranged by Alan Price	18 May 1964	2:59
2.	"The Girl Can't Help It"	Bobby Troup	31 July 1964	2:20
3.	"Blue Feeling"	Jimmy Henshaw	22 January 1964	2:28
4.	"Baby Let Me Take You Home"	Wes Farrell Bert Russell	12 February 1964	2:18
5.	"The Right Time"	Lew Herman	31 July 1964	3:42
6.	"Talkin' 'bout You" (Edited single version)	Ray Charles	22 January 1964	1:55

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Recording date	Length
7.	"Around and Around"	Chuck Berry	31 July 1964	2:44
8.	"I'm in Love Again"	Dave Bartholomew Fats Domino	31 July 1964	2:59
9.	"Gonna Send You Back to Walker"	Johnnie Mae Matthews	12 February 1964	2:22
10.	"Memphis, Tennessee"	Berry	31 July 1964	3:04
11.	"I'm Mad Again"	John Lee Hooker	31 July 1964	4:15
12.	"I've Been Around"	Domino	31 July 1964	1:35
Total length:				32:41

Personnel

The Animals

• Eric Burdon – lead vocals
• Alan Price – keyboards, backing vocals
• Hilton Valentine – guitar, backing vocals
• Chas Chandler – bass, backing vocals
• John Steel – drums

Technical

• Val Valentin – engineer

Charts

Chart (1964)	Peak position
US Billboard Top LPs [5]	7

References

1. Breihan, Tom (28 June 2018). "The Number Ones: The Animals' "The House Of The Rising Sun"". Stereogum . Retrieved 11 June 2023. But most of the Animals' self-titled debut album is the sort of blues-rock that you only make when you're way too into the idea of authenticity.
2. The Animals (US) –Review
3. https://www.discogs.com/release/3409034-Jimmy-Reed-Just-Jimmy-Reed
4. Reed, Jimmy. "In The Morning". Youtube. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
5. Whitburn, Joel (1996). Top LPs, 1955–1996. Record Research. p. 11. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
6. Huxley, Peter (February 1998). "Sixties". Uncut . No. 9. p. 86.