The Best of The Animals

Last updated

The Best of the Animals
The Best Of The Animals.jpg
Greatest hits album by
ReleasedFebruary 1966 (1966-02)
Recorded22 January 1964 10 September 1965
Genre Rock, blues rock, British R&B
Length33:25
Label MGM
Producer Mickie Most
The Animals U.S. chronology
Animal Tracks
(1965)
The Best of the Animals
(1966)
Animalization
(1966)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]

The Best of The Animals is the first greatest hits collection by the British rock group the Animals. MGM Records released the album in February 1966 in the United States. It showcases the Animals' tough-edged pop hits combined with their more devoted blues and R&B workouts. The album has been reissued with some different tracks and a similar collection, The Most of Animals , was released in the United Kingdom in 1966.

Contents

History

This was the first Animals album to feature new keyboardist Dave Rowberry in its photographs. Liner notes by Record Beat's June Harris extolled the musical and cultural virtues of the group and emphasized how close she was to the group. However, overall copyediting was poor and three of the members' names were misspelled.[ citation needed ] In addition, "I'm In Love Again" was incorrectly attributed to Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew, as it was on The Animals debut album, although it is a cover of Jimmy Reed's "In The Morning". [2]

The album was a great commercial success in the U.S., peaking at number six on the Billboard 200, the highest such mark of their career, and remaining on the chart for over two years. [3] By July 1966 it had been certified as a gold record, their only album ever to attain that status. [4]

In his 1979 volume Stranded: Rock and Roll for a Desert Island, famed rock critic Greil Marcus selected The Best of the Animals for inclusion on same, writing: "This was trash R&B from Newcastle, England, and especially when the focus shifted from American blues to savage pleas for release from working-class slums, more powerful than it had any right to be." [5] In 1997, Rolling Stone magazine placed The Best of the Animals into the 1960s section of its Rolling Stone 200: The Essential Rock Collection list. [6]

Other compilation albums by the same name (and sometimes even the same cover), but different contents have appeared over the years.

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateLength
1."It's My Life" (Single A-Side, 1965)
  • Roger Atkins
  • Carl D'Errico
10 September 19653:09
2."Gonna Send You Back to Walker" (B-Side of "Baby Let Me Take You Home", 1964)12 February 19642:20
3."Bring It On Home to Me" (Single A-side, 1965) Sam Cooke 20 March 19652:40
4."I'm Mad Again" (From The Animals , 1964) John Lee Hooker 31 July 19644:15
5."The House of the Rising Sun" (Full length version, originally released as a single A-Side in edited form, 1964)Traditional, arranged by Alan Price 18 May 19644:29
Total length:16:53
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateLength
1."We Gotta Get out of This Place" (US single A-Side version, 1965)15 June 19653:17
2."Boom Boom" (Single A-Side, 1964) John Lee Hooker 22 January 19642:57
3."I'm in Love Again" (From The Animals, 1964)31 July 19642:59
4."Roberta" (From Animal Tracks , 1965)16 November 19642:04
5."I'm Crying" (Single A-Side, 1964)31 July 19642:49
6."Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" (Single A-Side, 1965)16 November 19642:26
Total length:16:32

1987 CD reissue

Presumably their first compilation on CD, it featured the same album cover and the same hit singles as their original 1966 US collection, but had more and different other tracks. It was later re-issued in 2000 & 2014 and is the version featured on streaming.

  1. "The House of the Rising Sun"
  2. "I'm Crying"
  3. "Baby Let Me Take You Home"
  4. "Around and Around"
  5. "Talkin' 'bout You"
  6. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"
  7. "Boom Boom"
  8. "Dimples"
  9. "We Gotta Get Out of This Place (UK Version)"
  10. "I'm in Love Again"
  11. "Bury My Body"
  12. "Gonna Send You Back to Walker"
  13. "Story of Bo Diddley"
  14. "It's My Life"
  15. "Bring It On Home to Me"

1997 reissue

The album contains many of their hits from the mid-1960s, including "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood". The first 12 tracks are the same as the 1971 UK compilation The Most of Animals . [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

  1. "The House of the Rising Sun" (Traditional, arr. Alan Price) – 4:32
  2. "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil) – 3:15
  3. "Road Runner" (Bo Diddley) – 2:51
  4. "Let the Good Times Roll" (Leonard Lee) – 1:56
  5. "Hallelujah I Love Her So" (Ray Charles) – 2:48
  6. "I'm Going to Change the World" (Eric Burdon) – 3:37
  7. "Bring It On Home to Me" (Sam Cooke) – 2:45
  8. "Worried Life Blues" (M. Merriweather, Wabash) – 4:13
  9. "Baby Let Me Take You Home" (Bob Russell, Wes Farrell) – 2:22
  10. "For Miss Caulker" (Eric Burdon) – 3:59
  11. "I Believe to My Soul" (Ray Charles, Alan Learner) – 3:25
  12. "How You've Changed" (Chuck Berry) – 3:15
  13. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" (Bennie Benjamin, Sol Marcus, Gloria Caldwell) – 2:30
  14. "It's My Life" (Roger Atkins, Carl D'Errico) – 3:09
  15. "Club-A-Gogo" (Eric Burdon, Alan Price) – 2:22
  16. "I'm Crying" (Alan Price, Eric Burdon) – 2:48
  17. "Boom Boom" (John Lee Hooker) – 3:18
  18. "Memphis Tennessee" (Chuck Berry) – 3:07
  19. "Story of Bo Diddley" (Bo Diddley) – 5:43
  20. "Dimples" (John Lee Hooker) – 3:17

Personnel

The Animals

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bo Diddley</span> American guitarist (1928–2008)

Ellas Otha Bates, known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist and singer who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, including Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Animals, George Thorogood, Syd Barrett, and the Clash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Animals</span> English rock band

The Animals are an English rock band formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Burdon</span> English singer (born 1941)

Eric Victor Burdon is an English singer and songwriter. He was previously the lead vocalist of the R&B and rock band the Animals and the funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, powerful blues-rock voice. Burdon is also known for his intense stage performances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Steel (drummer)</span> English drummer

John Steel is an English musician who is the long-serving drummer for The Animals. Having served as the band's drummer at its inception in 1963, he is the only original bandmember playing in the current incarnation of The Animals. He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

<i>Animalism</i> (album) 1966 studio album by the Animals

Animalism is the fifth American album by the Animals, released in November 1966. The album includes the band's usual repertoire of blues and R&B covers, while Frank Zappa contributed a song and played bass on two tracks. It was the last album recorded by the original incarnation of the Animals prior to their disbandment, after which singer Eric Burdon would assemble a mostly new lineup under the name "Eric Burdon and the Animals". This new version of the group was already touring when Animalism released.

<i>Animalisms</i> 1966 studio album by the Animals

Animalisms is the third studio album by the English R&B/blues rock band the Animals, and was released in the United Kingdom in May 1966 on Decca Records. It was the first Animals album to be produced by Tom Wilson as well as the first to feature keyboardist Dave Rowberry after the May 1965 departure of original keyboardist Alan Price. It reached No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart and remained there for 17 weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Animals discography</span> Cataloguing of published recordings by The Animals

The discography of the Animals, an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne, contains 20 studio albums, six compilation albums, five EPs and 25 singles. Featuring a gritty, bluesy sound and a deep-voiced frontman in Eric Burdon, they are best known for their rendition of an American folk song "House of the Rising Sun", which is described by many as their signature song. This single had worldwide sales of nearly 5 million and became a Number One hit in both the UK and US in 1964. Overall, the group balanced tough, rock-edged pop singles such as "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" and "It's My Life" against rhythm and blues–oriented album material. The Animals released separate UK and US albums, a practice common to other British Invasion bands of the time such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">We Gotta Get Out of This Place</span> 1965 single by The Animals

"We Gotta Get Out of This Place", occasionally written "We've Gotta Get Out of This Place", is a rock song written by American songwriters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and recorded as a 1965 hit single by English band the Animals. It has become an iconic song of its type and was immensely popular with United States Armed Forces G.I.s during the Vietnam War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It's My Life (The Animals song)</span> 1965 single by the Animals

"It's My Life" is a song written by New York City songwriters Roger Atkins and Carl D'Errico. The song was originally performed by English R&B band The Animals, who released it as a single in October 1965. Also released on two EPs that same year, the song first appeared on an album in 1966, on The Best of the Animals.

David Eric Rowberry was an English pianist and organist, most known for being a member of the rock and R&B group The Animals in the 1960s.

<i>Animal Tracks</i> (American album) 1965 studio album by The Animals

Animal Tracks is the Animals' third album in the United States, released as both LP Record and reel-to-reel tape. Musically, it was a hodge-podge of the group's recent hit singles mixed in with tracks of assorted vintage that had not been included on either of The Animals' first two U.S. albums. As such it bore little resemblance in content or purpose to the band's British release also named Animal Tracks from four months earlier. "The Story of Bo Diddley" is an adaptation and expansion of a song recorded by Bo Diddley in 1960, utilizing some of the original lyrics but with additional verses and melody recapping the musician's life in a talking blues style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don't Bring Me Down (The Animals song)</span> 1966 single by the Animals

"Don't Bring Me Down" is a song composed by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and recorded as a 1966 hit single by the Animals. It was the group's first release with drummer Barry Jenkins, who replaced founding member John Steel as he had left the band in February of that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Who Do You Love? (Bo Diddley song)</span> 1956 song by Bo Diddley

"Who Do You Love?" is a song written by American rock and roll pioneer Bo Diddley. Recorded in 1956, it is one of his most popular and enduring works. The song represents one of Bo Diddley's strongest lyrical efforts and uses a combination of hoodoo-type imagery and boasting. It is an upbeat rocker, but the original did not use the signature Bo Diddley beat rhythm.

<i>Ark</i> (The Animals album) 1983 studio album by the Animals

Ark is an album by the original members of the Animals. Released in 1983 by I.R.S. Records, it peaked at #66 on the Billboard Top 200. Ark was the second and last reunion attempt of the band's initial lineup, and the album was subsequently followed by a tour by the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Burdon discography</span>

Eric Burdon was a lead vocalist with The Animals, War, and other bands.

<i>The Most of the Animals</i> 1966 compilation album by the Animals

The Most of the Animals is the title of a number of different compilation albums by the British blues rock group the Animals. Although track listing varies, all feature only songs from 1964 and 1965. The title is derived from the name of their then producer Mickie Most.

<i>Absolute Animals 1964–1968</i> 2003 compilation album by The Animals, Eric Burdon & The Animals

Absolute Animals 1964–1968 is a compilation album of The Animals, released in 2003 and which features many of their hits. It was also the first compilation to feature songs from their Columbia, Decca, and MGM albums.

<i>Live in Seattle 2002</i> 2002 live album by Eric Burdon and The New Animals

Live in Seattle 2002 is a live album by Eric Burdon and his current band called "The New Animals". While Burdon had no new studio album released, he performed hits from the sixties. On "Spill the Wine" they were joined by Lee Oskar on harmonica.

<i>Greatest Hits Live (Rip It to Shreds)</i> 1984 live album by The Animals

Greatest Hits Live (Rip It to Shreds) is a live album by the original members of The Animals. It was released in 1984.

References

  1. AllMusic review
  2. Reed, Jimmy. "In The Morning". Youtube. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  3. "The Animals Biography". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . Retrieved 17 February 2007.
  4. "RIAA - Gold & Platinum Searchable Database". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved 19 February 2007.
  5. Marcus, Greil (1979). Stranded: Rock and Roll for a Desert Island (paperback). New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 255. ISBN   0-394-73827-6.
  6. "Rolling Stone 200: The Essential Rock Collection". rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  7. Eder, Bruce. "The Best of the Animals [Abkco]". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  8. "Best of The Animals". amazon.com. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  9. "The Best of the Animals [Abkco]". barnesandnoble.com. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  10. robo2448. "The Best of the Animals". sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 2 January 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. "Best of the Animals CD". cduniverse.com. Retrieved 2 January 2014.