Best Of The Animals (Abkco)

This 15-track collection hits the group's highlights from its two-year stay on Britain's EMI. [Note: Although all the Animals' hits throughout the Sixties were distributed by MGM in America, the band switched labels in the UK to Decca in 1966. That's why the Decca singles "Inside Looking Out" and "Don't Bring Me Down" are not on this set. Also, this album was originally released in February 1966--four months before "Don't Bring Me Down" was even released.]

The centerpiece of this collection is Alan Price's four-and-a-half-minute arrangement of "House of the Rising Son," and despite its length shot to the top of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. It would be the band's only No. 1 single.

Unlike most of the British Invasion bands with lengthy chart careers, the Animals seldom wrote their own material. The only exception is the Burdon-Price collaboration "I'm Crying." For the rest of their material they turned to the likes of John Lee Hooker ("Boom Boom" and "Dimples"), Fats Domino ("I'm in Love Again"), Sam Cooke ("Bring It on Home to Me) and Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil ("We Gotta Get out of This Place") among others.

By 1967 the rest of the original Animals were gone. Burdon formed a new version of the Animals and entered his psychedelic phase ("Montery," "Sky Pilot"). But this Abkco release features the original lineup and as such, the group's best material. If you want more of the original band's work, consider Complete Animals. At 40 tracks it includes virtually all of the Animals' first three U.S. albums along with various B-sides and unreleased material. But if you're on a budget, The Best of the Animals will do just fine. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED


LAY THE BURDON ON ME   February 15, 2001
Patrick Earley (Edmond, Oklahoma USA)
17 out of 17 found this review helpful

I remember the first time I heard the Animals, it was the summer of '66. I was just out of gradeschool and attending a friend's backyard party. Somebody had a copy of "The Best Of The Animals". When they put that record on and "House of the Rising Sun" came out of the loudspeakers I was hooked. I had never heard what you would call rock music before that night. I had only heard top 40 pop and the Beatles before that. But this group was different. This was some seriously good blues based rock and R&B. I didn't know what it was called at the time, I only knew I loved it. I never forgot this album, and when I got old enough and saved a few bucks up, this became one of the first records to start my extensive record collection. And since I've worn out a couple vinyl copies of this, it's nice to finally have the CD version. And it sounds as good to me today as it did 35 years ago. When you have as high a caliber of musicians as these guys were, with a phenominal lead singer who was born to sing the blues, the music is always going to hold up well with time. Besides the popular "Rising Sun" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", most of my favorites by the Animals were written by the old blues greats. I loved their refreshing updates of the John Lee Hooker songs "Dimples" and "Boom Boom". But my favorite cover that the Animals did was Al Kooper's "Bury My Body". That's a great song with a sped up organ line in the middle that reminds a little of the song "Shout". The album closes with "Bring It On Home To Me", a great R&B song written by Sam Cooke. This is just a great album all the way through. It has a lot to offer, and it's a good place to start listening to the Animals.


Great Band   March 31, 2007
Y2bjs Reviews (Melbourne Australia)
15 out of 17 found this review helpful

This band produced alot of good songs back in the 60's.
Their most well known song and a huge hit was House Of The Rising Sun.Thats got a tune that just seems to stick in you head.Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood is another one of my favorites here.Eric Burdon and the band had a special sound.We Gotta Get Out Of This Place is another big hit i love that tune.It's My Life is another well known song from the Animals.
Bands like this were around for a short time,but made some of the best songs.


Great compilation!   March 8, 2008
Steven A. Peterson (Hershey, PA (Born in Kewanee, IL))
13 out of 14 found this review helpful

The Animals: Eric Burdon on vocals, Chas Chandler on bass, John Steel on drums, Hilton Valentine on guitar, Alan Price and Dave Rowberry on organ and piano. And this group made some of the best blues rock music of the 1960s. This CD includes works recorded in 1964 and 1965.

It starts out with the classic "House of the Rising Sun." This is rawly sung and sung in a compelling manner by Eric Burdon. He had one of the truest blues voices of the 1960s among younger singers. The organ of Alan Price adds a really neat element to this song, with foreboding lines such as "[this house] has been the ruin of many a poor boy, and Lord I'm one."

I also enjoy their effort at singing Chuck Berry. His "Around and Around" is a wonderful little rock and roll piece, and the Animals cover it nicely. Burdon does a credible job singing this familiar Berry work, with classic lines such as "never stop rockin' until the moon went down." And Hilton Valentine plays nice Chuck Berry guitar work.

John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom" is a classic blues song. How well to the Animals cover this? Good blues guitar work by Valentine and a nice organ element by Price add to the song greatly. Burdon isn't John Lee Hooker "listen to the latter's vocal styling!), but he does a nice job in his own terms. In short, a satisfying cover of a fine blues song.

I could not resist commenting on their version of a Goffin-King composition, "I'm in Love Again." The Animals imbue this with a nice blues-rock sensibility.

And then one of their classic anthems, "We Gotta Get Out of This Place." Key line up front: "You'll be dead before your due." This is about living in a working/lower class situation; Burdon sings of his father's desperate life. He sings of how he and his girl have to escape, with the lines (poignantly and rawly sung): "We gotta get out of this place, if it's the last thing we ever do," in order to achieve a "better life." A pretty somber picture of life at the bottom. This contains an awful lot of social commentary, scaffolded by some fine rock and roll instrumental work.

My last illustration of the work from this CD--"Story of Bo Diddley." They begin with that distinct Bo Diddley sound, played quite nicely. This is the story of Bo Diddley, with mention of the Rolling Stones, Beatles, and references to Bob Dylan and so on. Enchanting!

So, the bottom line? This is a wonderful collection of the Animals' best works. Obviously, one can argue that 15 cuts cannot do justice to the work of the Animals. But this is one unbelievable set of songs, so I have no beef on that point. A must buy if you want the best of the Animals.





An Excellent Collection From U.K.'s "The Animals".   April 4, 2003
highway_star (Hallandale, Florida United States)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

The Animals were part of the 60's British Invasion along with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Dave Clark Five, The Kinks, The Yardbirds, etc., but what set The Animals apart from some of the other groups was singer Eric Burdon who had a very soulful voice and the band itself were heavily influenced by R&B. Examples of the R&B influence can be heard in the songs "Bring It On Home To Me", "The Story Of Bo Diddley", and "Talkin' Bout You". The Animals had a string of hits throughout the sixties including "House Of The Rising Sun", "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place", and "It's My Life". The Animals also had a number of hits which aren't on this compilation such as "Don't Bring Me Down", "Monterray", and "When I was Young". The Animals, unfortunately didn't really get the credit they deserved and for the most part weren't as popular as some of the other groups which emerged from the 60's British Invasion. To this day Eric Burdon still continues to perform and amaze us with his incredible voice. If you enjoy listening to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, or The Yardbirds then you'll certainly enjoy The Animals. Highly Recommended!