Animals, Eric Burdon - The Best Of Eric Burdon & The Animals, 1966-1968
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Free Music Notes for The Best Of Eric Burdon & The Animals, 1966-1968
Free Music Review: used to be 5 stars
Hit: 4 Stars
The version of "Monterey" on this disc is the edited version.The mastering is wildly uneven. I must direct you to the far superior 41 track "Story Of The Animals". It covers all the singles from their beginning to their end.Free Music Review: It's okay but...
Hit: 4 Stars
Also, missing (besides We Gotta Get Out of This Place) is Mamma Told Me Not to Come. Yes, they recorded it first, I had the reel to reel tape in 1967!!!And, I am still looking for it!Free Music Review: Almost perfect
Hit: 4 Stars
Probably the best collection of Animals' works, but without "We gotta get out of this place", it's hard to give it 5 stars.Free Music Review: Burdon's Burden.........
Hit: 3 Stars
Many people have written to your reknown Seer and have asked me to abnegate my reviews because, as they say, I am old and brittle and the stress is just too much. What, with wayward guides, a sea serpent and a dragon (not to mention random entities making an appearance), they feel that my well-being is at risk. Well, they are right (that, or jealous), but my writing goes on even despite the dubious situations in my life. I will continue. After all, I have my honor and integrity on the line here. Besides, everyone must know the great sacrifice I make in order to bring you more reviewing treats. The public is always first and foremost in my mind. (!!). That said-I will proceed. No No, thank me later --please?
This selection is a follow-up to my Animals review that I just published. This is what came after for Eric Burdon. He revised the Animal personnel and put his name up front. I think I would have done the same thing at the time. How does Metamorpho and the Animals sound to you? O.K., O.K., come back into the room. Can't a Seer kid anymore? Anyway, this c.d. explores his recordings from 1966-1968. And you can see an evolution here. Mind you, evolution and progress are two different things. Don't misquote me. I have future primaries to consider, after all.
This, quite frankly, is a hit or miss collection for me. I think Eric Burdon is at his best when he sticks to gritty songs that make his gruff vocals shine through. For the first six songs on this c.d., Eric sticks to his strengths and, in some ways, some of these songs more than measure up to what he had done earlier. Three of the six are stand-outs in my opinion; "Don't Bring Me Down" (a rockin' plea to his love to respond to him in kind. Pay attention to that subliminal Stones "Satisfaction" riff within), "Inside Looking Out" (a concentrated, sharp, elevation of vocals to total intensity- amazingly raw),and "When I Was Young" ( a perfect picture of bad boy Eric done with incredible composition - you can hear the badness- the sexual tension created. A prime cut).
From that point on, sad to say, we tread lightly on the ice. Somewhere, along the line, Eric got involved in the hippie, free love syndrome and it shows. These are snippets from an era long gone and, as such, feel very stilted and dated today. Then again, you could look at it with curiosity and marvel at it's time capsule qualities. It's your choice entirely.
"Sandoz" is horrible. His voice croaks and the band tries to be relevent and exhibit opium den, meditation excess. It's embarassing but don't rest - there is more! "San Franciscan Nights" is not too bad once you get past the hokey speak/intro. The tune itself is not bad. But Eric, giving homage to the Hell's Angels in San Francisco simply because love abounds is a little risky, don't you think? O.K., this was before Mick and Altamont- so you get a pass. This time!
"Good Times" has Eric regretting his bad habits. You know this is definitely downsliding now. "Anything" is Eric's heartfelt Sinatra ballad. Please Eric- stop! I am feeling ill. Just when you thought you were safe, he brings out the echo, the sitar, and embarasses you, me and Ravi Shankar with "Winds of Change". My tears are staining this page as we speak.
All is not lost because, even though he has faux sitar on "Monterey" it at least moves. He sets the mood well and mentions alot of people who performed there that most people alive today do not remember. It doesn't matter. Alot of major groups and, at least, an event worth reminiscenting about. (No! I'm not getting into Woodstock here - and you can't make me!).
You can easily forget the rest except for "Sky Pilot", which is still an interesting piece today. Eric's anti-war statement was so long that they had to divide it up as part A and part B when released as a single. Yet, the experiment of extensive war plane sounds in the middle still serve as a sonically brave venture (with marching sounds of bagpipes too boot!). A one of a kind cut for sure.
My natural tendency is to always be kind and give a 5 star review if I can. With this one there were issues I had to consider. The musical content - in and of itself- wasn't up to high standards for the reasons I explained. The other issue is that, in a day and age where digital technology can clean up the most glaring imperfections in the past, you have little or no effort towards that degree in this release. Sound quality- abysmal. Still listenable? Yes. But abysmal.
Now, let me go dry my tears in a river of salt. This review was most heart wrentching for me and maybe they are right. Maybe I should walk away from reviewing because of the stress. I was going to retire some time ago (remember the picture of me in the headlines being rushed into a waiting cab?). You don't? Hmmmmmm..... maybe my fame needs more spruceing up. you convinced me to still write reviews. See you on the next one!
was that a scream I heard? ---- Metamorpho
Free Music Review: How Eric Burdon Lost His Marbles
Hit: 3 Stars
This awkward compilation mixes material from the post-Alan Price Animals' lineup with songs by Burdon's 1967-68 New Animals crew. The first four tracks (the gritty hits "Don't Bring Me Down" and "See See Rider"; the ferocious prison anthem "Inside Looking Out"; a sizzling rock version of Donovan's "Hey Gyp") make up the best part of this record by far. They're not too different from the Animals classic R&B sound except perhaps Hilton Valentine's spiky, distorted guitar playing is mixed much more the fore. "Help Me Girl" is an infectious horn-driven novelty from Burdon's 1966 de facto solo LP ERIC IS HERE. The rest of these songs are from Burdon's 1967-68 uber-hippie period where his crusader's zeal began to undermine his musical focus. Frankly, Eric has always been more of a heart than a mind. His best work resulted when his ferocious energy was contained within tight song structures (i.e. "It's My Life"). Although his vocal gifts are as impressive as ever, Burdon is like the rock equivalent of actor Rod Steiger: when he's great, he's sublime; when he's off, he can be as aromatic as week-old ham. Furthermore, Burdon simply doesn't have the lyrical talent to explore weighty subject matter. The doomy "When I Was Young" is about the best he manages, but it's still dogged by some clumsy lines (...and for girls, I had a bad yen"). "Winds of Change" and "Monterey" spotlight Burdon's most annoying songwriting quirk, which is to drop the names of as many rock stars as possible within the space of a 3-5 minute song. ("It's All Meat" and "Yes, I'm Experienced" - a corny tribute to Hendrix - are two other offenders, although neither are on this CD). "Monterey" at least rocks hard (much more so than CSNY's "Woodstock" IMHO) thanks to a good arrangement by New Animal Vic Briggs, but Briggs' sitar licks on "Winds of Change" sound like a raga version of the jingle for Meow Mix cat food. Worth skipping (even Briggs called it "stupid" in Sean Egan's ANIMAL TRACKS bio) unless you absolutely gotta hear Burdon ramble through lines like "Frank Zappa zapped/Mamas and Papas knew where what was at." "Good Times," "San Francisco Nights" and "White Houses" are vivid examples of what Lester Bangs described as "Eric's gift for brilliantly gauche social commentary"; full of period charm ("San Franciscan Nights"'s dragnet prelude is a real hoot), but nothing anyone raised on the Who or Zep would want to listen to over and over. Burdon's passionate singing on "Sky Pilot" nearly rivals his transcendent vocal on "House of the Rising Sun" but the kitchen sink production (dig them bagpipes) coupled with Burdon's lack of lyrical skill dooms this otherwise sincere effort to kitsch. Sorry Egg-man, but social commentary was not your forte. "Anything," a lightweight but sweet-hearted ballad, is perhaps the best New Animals track here, mainly because Burdon restrains himself enough to deliver a simple love song. The full-throttle version of "River Deep Mountain High" (featuring future Police-man Andy Summers on guitar) is either a nightmare or absolutely hilarious depending on your tolerance for Burdon's histrionics. It's too bad this collection omitted "Year of the Guru," a fiery, guitar-dominanted damnation of false idols along the lines of the Beatles's "Sexy Sadie" (though it's not as good) because the song ranks with "Spill the Wine" as Burdon's wittiest. And if you're going to put a collection together of New Animals material, why omit "Ain't Dat So," "Gratefully Dead," "Ring of Fire" and "Too Love Somebody"? At its best THE BEST OF ERIC BURDON AND THE ANIMALS 1966-68 is a nice companion piece to the COMPLETE ANIMALS, especially for those who aren't interested in collecting all the New Animals records (and you shouldn't be unless you're a real, real Burdon fanatic, and even then you should be wary). At its worst, it pleases neither fans of the New Animals or the post-Price gang. If you are (like me) more interested in the "Don't Bring Me Down"-era squad, buy either INSIDE LOOKING OUT or the reissue of ANIMALIZATION both of which are more tons more substantial than this collection.