Retrospective

Many people thought the British Invasion was mostly over by the late summer of '64. The last groups seemed to have arrived in May, and though there were still plenty of British hits on the charts and A Hard Days Night's soundtrack songs were all being played on the radio as well, things were quiet. Then came the Animals with The House of the Rising Sun that not only introduced this new group from Newcastle but introduced a whole second wave of British groups that was darker, scruffier and more blues based than the first wave. It included the Kinks, Nashville Teens, Manfred Mann, Honeycombs and Zombies.It was a single like no other: a searing, intense minor key lament that featured a memorable electric guitar opening, pulsing organ and an amazing new instrument in the form of the voice of Eric Burdon. Strong, loud, howling at times, Burdon's delivery was unlike anything heard on Top 40 radio and made their version a definitive classic despite its being sung on the folk circuit by everybody from Joan Baez and Bob Dylan to Woodie Guthrie, Pete Seeger and Andy Griffith. The group's producer, Mickie Most, hadn't even wanted them to record it, much less release it as a single. It was totally counterintuitive to the short, bright thing a single was supposed to be. But it defied expectations and reached #1 for three weeks between Where Did Our Love Go and Oh, Pretty Woman. It seemed to be played constantly and totally dominated the airwaves.It also created a career for the Animals that would last well into 1968 with many changes in personnel and an eventual change of name and style to Eric Burdon & the Animals in 1966. They had a steady stream of hits, though they were generally bigger in the U.K. where they almost always placed in the Top 10 than the U.S. where they most often had to settle for Top 20. The British market generally liked harder-edged songs than the U.S. The Animals weren't even afraid to release straight blues singles like John Lee Hooker's Boom Boom or R&B like Timmy Shaw's (aka Jake Hammond) Gonna Send You Back to Georgia (Walker). ("Walker" always confused me. I thought it was a person but it turns out to be a section of Newcastle).But it was with their big, tuneful but still hard-edged songs that they became a steady presence on pop radio. The Animals were like a good friend who dropped by frequently with a new tune like the plaintive Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, the original Born To Run song We Gotta Get Out of This Place, the assertive It's My Life and the amazingly advanced fuzz guitar of Don't Bring Me Down. Though they never reached the heights of House of the Rising Sun again, they revisited the Top 10 with their upbeat version of See See Rider in the fall of '66.Then due to the gradual parting of the original group members beginning with organist Alan Price in early '65, and drummer John Steel in early '66, Burdon put together a new band, left Mickie Most and signed to Decca in the U.K. (with MGM still releasing in the U.S.). Eric Burdon & the Animals were a whole new thing and just as good as the old group in a different way. From now on Burdon co-wrote most of their material and their style was more current with the changes in popular music in the mid to late 60's. Burdon himself moved to California and immersed himself in everything that was happening there. As a result the songs became more pop like and complex and were given more elaborate production. His lyrics were more timely, from the autobiographical When I was Young to the Summer of Love's San Franciscan Nights and Monterey. Burdon himself turned out to be poet at heart, which really came out in his hit single with War, Spill the Wine.All of this is here along with some outstanding album tracks and B-sides. There's A Girl Named Sandoz (Sandoz? It was the name of the Swiss Laboratory where Albert Hoffman created LSD) so it's pretty clear what that one is about. Then there's the practically miraculous early song, Baby Let Me Take You Home which contains in almost it's complete form the primary sound of many of the garage bands of the mid 60's, at least those which included an organ. (All-guitar bands modeled themselves more on the early Kinks).This disc has been released by ABKCO, Alan Klein's label (now owned by Universal). They always do a great job on their compilations and this one is as good as their others. There are 22 songs lasting 78 minutes, all beautifully taken from the original masters. The sound is excellent. There is a very informative booklet as well. I would have liked to see them include the original American single of House of the Rising Sun (2:58) in addition to the 4:29 U.K. single here but that's just quibbling.

Great sounding comp of early and later Animals' hits. Highly recommended for fans of this great and unique English band.

Eric Burdon and the Animals were, and still are, regardless of what some folks think, one of the "supergroups" of the 60's and 70's and part of what is referred to as "The British Invasion", even though at times, they seemed more American than their counterparts. Between Eric's gritty vocals laced with a distinct R&B flavor, and the Animals consummate musicianship, they were perfectly poised to be one of the best bands of the British Invasion!Hit after hit was nothing to the Eric and the Animals and they pulled it off as well as the Stones, the Beatles, or even Zepplin.Between their early work like the classic "House of the Rising Sun" to their epic masterpiece "Sky Pilot" they were in line with the big boys and played the field well. Hitting some trends first, following in the footsteps of others at times as well, they take their place in history with hits like "Don't Bring Me Down", "We Gotta Get Outta This Place", and their tribute to the city of love "San Franciscan Nights" as well as a few others. They have still got the chops and the staying power.Also included on "Retrospective" is the Eric Burdon classic "Spill The WIne (Take That Girl)" that was an experiment with the band WAR who went on to have a fine career of their own. But, made their opening mark with Eric at the helm when he was on leave from the Animals. I am PLEASED it's included here even if it wasn't an 'Animals' hit, it was one of Eric's greats and is rarely included in any other greatest hits or retrospective packages and it takes it's place here without any protest from me but, a definite Thank You! It's long since been one of my favorites by Eric.Since then, Eric Burdon continues to tour, with and without the Animals, but, no one can ever dispute their right to be counted among the Greats! This fine compilation of some of their best tracks is testament to just that fact!Incredibly Re-Mastered for this disc....this is 'the best' across the board sampling of Eric and the Animals available. This IS the one you want.

Great CD; unfortunately the CD label itself said "Righteous Brothers Retrospective", as others have commented...

Much of this music does not hit the airwaves in today's world of big corporations running the radio stations. This CD is loaded with really good music. Much of it seems to have been brushed under the carpet. Too bad. This collection of tunes by the Animals is a great walk back in time for me. The Animals are a big part of a time when there was some really, really outstanding music coming out. If you are from that era this is a great addition to your collection. If you are not from that era then check this out on YouTube......give it a good listen. You may be surprised and add it to your collection.

1. All the hits2. Spectacular ABKO master tapes remaster, outstanding sound. Have multiple copies of same tracks from other albums, have replaced in all my playlists with this CD's. Clarity and sound not heard in other recordings. It's like you're in the studio with the band, can't believe analogue source.

Un régal de bout en boutUne excellente compilation et le son est très bon

Same problem as some have reported I didn’t even notice at first but the CD is stamped “The Righteous Brothers’ Retrospective” even though the music is the Retrospective album. The songs are just fantastic really love this compilation. Rang Amazon and they said they will refund the cost and I can keep the CD. Great outcome.

TO HOT TO TOUCH!!! This Retrospective of the Animals along with Front Man Eric Burton is a rare piece.. When it comes to the ANIMALS material, it is absolutely crammed full of hits. One after Another hit from our past issues forth ( for me they came out of the car stereo ) each better than the one before; after a while I was laughing to myself. Filled with joy and surprise at the content of this CD. The Format of the Songs is classically Early 60's style English Rock and Roll. Of this I can speak as an expert as I was there at the tender age of 11 learning about the London music scene and enjoying every minute of every program that bands like Eric and the Animals would beg borrow and steal to get on every week.While the Animals never did seem to make the cut back when things made the turn to Prog Rock in the Seventies, Eric and The Animals were always around in some form. In the early 70's Eric made the turn into another direction with the band WAR adding some soul to his mix rather than following the others and mixing in harder Rock/Soul riffs while this did obtain some notoriety for Eric it also spelled the death knell for the Animals as well. "Oh well... Adapt or be doomed to Die" isn't that the jist of Darwinism it also makes sense in the cut throat world of Music. So in Conclusion if you were fortunate enough to have been around for the original hearing of these songs BUY THIS SET (2 DISCS).. If you were not BUY IT ANYWAY as you shall learn about where some of your Indy bands of today came from... Spigomars

I grew up with the animals. I have been looking forever for a best of release of their original recordings. This CD does not disappoint if that's all your looking for and then some like "Spill the wine". I previously bought what I thought was a "Best of" compilation only to find out that it was all the songs I wanted but a newer reworking of their hits. This CD has all the songs as they were released in their prime. Every growl from Eric Burdon to the music. This CD has the true originals as initially released. If this is what you are looking for, you won't be disappointed.