Best Of [Best of]

This CD covers 1966 to 1968. Only the first four cuts feature the original Animals. The rest feature Eric Burden and the "New" Animals. The groups are quite different. The original group played blues-based rock, and the new group played psychedelic rock. Personally, I prefer the original group's sound. But there are still some great tracks here, like "Sky Pilot" and "When I Was Young". It should be mentioned that "Inside Looking Out", "When I Was Young" and "A Girl Named Sandoz" are in mono, for some reason. I suppose they couldn't find the multi-track tapes for those songs.

Most fans of Eric Burdon and the Animals would rate their performances from the year 1964-1966 as the best, with songs such as "House of the Rising Sun", "Boom, Boom", etc. serving as the standards by which future Animals material should be judged. However, some of the most interesting recordings took place during the time period covered on this CD, 1966-1968. During these years, the band was stretching the very boundaries of blues, adding touches of rock and psychedilia, while remaining very close to their roots. In other words, the Animals did not "sell out" during this period, but merely took blues into a new dimension. For example, the song "Help Me, Girl," sounds very much like the urban blues of Bobby "Blue" Bland, while "Hey, Gyp" could have easily been sung by Lightnin' Hopkins. (Note: You may not be familiar with the latter song by this title: Many listeners may recall a song by the Animals which seem to be titled "Buy You Chevrolet." That song was actually entitled "Hey, Gyp" and was written by Donovan, of all people. It's an absolutely fabulous song!!). In addition, Eric's version of the old Ma Rainey classic "See See Rider" is by far the best rendition of this old chestnut, while "Sky Pilot" is one of the greatest battle songs written from a soldier's perspective, and reveals both great pride and searing pain. In short, there is much to recommend this little collection, and the listener should waste no time adding it and the earlier "Best of the Animals" set to their collection!

I like this better than the early animals. Not as outdated. Some of the songs were heavy material like sky pilot and Monterey. Eric Burdon almost seems like a spokesman for the 60's hippy music scene. Great cd.