Absolute Animals 1964–1968

• Artist: The Animals
• Rating:
• Release Date: October 14, 2003
• Type: Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Rock

Review

As hard as it is to believe, there was no single-disc collection that contained all of the Animals' greatest hits until Raven Records released Absolute Animals 1964-1968 in 2003. Prior to this, compilations were devoted to one of three distinct eras. First, there were the first recordings that they made with producer Mickie Most, which included "House of the Rising Sun," "I'm Crying," "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," and "It's My Life." Then, they severed ties with Most, recording the acclaimed Animalisms album and having hits with "Inside, Looking Out," "Help Me Girl," and "Don't Bring Me Down" before imploding. Lead singer Eric Burdon then assembled a new version of the group, putting his name above the Animals in their official billing, and cut several psychedelic recordings and singles, including "San Franciscan Nights," "Monterey," and "Sky Pilot." Since each of these three eras were owned by different labels, there were many legal obstacles to assembling a definitive comp with all three eras being represented equally, but Raven managed to do an excellent job with the 20-track Absolute Animals (note: the final track is four minutes of interviews, bringing the total songs to 19). All of the singles mentioned above are featured here, along with other highlights like "Boom Boom," "Bring It on Home to Me," "See See Rider," and "When I Was Young." Perhaps some of the early recordings are glossed over -- "Gonna Send You Back to Walker," "Story of Bo Diddley," and "Bury My Body" all arguably hold up better than some of the later psychedelicized tracks -- but frankly, it's a relief to have one compilation that has all the hits from all the incarnations on one disc. Not only that, but it's hard to imagine a single-disc that would tell a complete Animals history as succinctly as this essential disc. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
House of the Rising Sun (Lyrics)	Traditional	The Animals	(4:29)
Boom Boom	John Lee Hooker	The Animals	(3:17)
I'm Crying (Lyrics)	Eric Burdon, Alan Price	The Animals	(2:46)
Baby Let Me Take You Home (Lyrics)	Traditional	The Animals	(2:20)
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (Lyrics)	Bennie Benjamin, Gloria Caldwell, Sol Marcus	The Animals	(2:27)
Bring It on Home to Me (Lyrics)	Sam Cooke	The Animals	(2:42)
We Gotta Get Out of This Place (Lyrics)	Cynthia Weil, B.E. Mann	The Animals	(3:13)
It's My Life (Lyrics)	Carl Derrico, Roger Atkins	The Animals	(3:06)
Inside, Looking Out	Alan Lomax, Eric Burdon	The Animals	(3:46)
Don't Bring Me Down (Lyrics)	Gerry Goffin	The Animals	(3:15)
See See Rider (Lyrics)	Ma Rainey	The Animals	(4:02)
Help Me Girl (Lyrics)	Scott English	Eric Burdon & the Animals	(2:40)
When I Was Young (Lyrics)	Vic Briggs, Barry Jenkins, Eric Burdon, Daniel McCulloch, John Weider	Eric Burdon & the Animals	(3:00)
San Franciscan Nights (Lyrics)	Vic Briggs, Eric Burdon, Daniel McCulloch, John Weider, Barry Jenkins	Eric Burdon & the Animals	(3:20)
Monterey (Lyrics)	Vic Briggs, Eric Burdon, Barry Jenkins, Danny McCulloch, John Weider	Eric Burdon & the Animals	(4:37)
Sky Pilot, Pts. 1-2	John Weider, Eric Burdon, Barry Jenkins, Daniel McCulloch, Vic Briggs	Eric Burdon & the Animals	(7:24)
Ring of Fire (Lyrics)	Merle Kilgore, June Carter Cash	Eric Burdon & the Animals	(4:46)
Good Times (Lyrics)	Vic Briggs, Danny McCulloch, Eric Burdon, Barry Jenkins, John Weider	Eric Burdon & the Animals	(3:00)
Coloured Rain	Steve Winwood, C. Wood, Jim Capaldi	Andy Summers, Eric Burdon & the Animals	(9:31)
Animal Interviews		Eric Burdon, Alan Price	(4:35)

Credits

Alan Price (Group Member), Kevin Mueller (Release Preparation), Warren Barnett (Mastering), Ian McFarlane (Release Preparation), The Animals (Arranger), Glenn A. Baker (Compilation), Eric Burdon (Interviewee), Eric Burdon (Group Member), Kevin Mueller (Compilation), Alan Price (Arranger), Glenn A. Baker (Release Preparation), Dave Rowberry (Arranger), Peter Shillito (Compilation), Alan Price (Interviewee), Glenn A. Baker (Liner Notes), Andy Summers (Guest Appearance), Peter Shillito (Release Preparation)

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