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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Boom Boom, 16 Feb 2004
This collection pulls together all the Animals recordings made with producer Mickie Most, and with keyboardist Alan Price on-board. It shows the breadth of the Animals repetoire and, because it includes just about everything they recorded, it's limits too. Highlights are the ever-wonderful songs like House of the Rising Son, Bring it on Home to Me, Worried Life Blues et al. This collection also includes some fine rarities like the extended version of Talking About You, where Price really wigs out in his long organ solo. The poorer tracks like F.E.E.L. and I'm in Love Again are only poor because they sound so much like other songs on the collection (Talking About You and Take it Easy, respectively). But how far can you take a basic 12 bar blues or r'n'b song? In this *classic* 41 track collection, the Animals certainly show us!
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
British Power Blues par excellence, 4 Jul 2003
Although now eclipsed by the likes of The Rolling Stones, Cream and The Yardbirds, there is a case to be made for the Animals as the best of the Sixties British Power Blues bands. Like those other groups, the Animals took originals by the likes of John Lee Hooker and Chuck Berry and amped them up to deliver songs of a strong, raw emotional content backed by deep bass chords and a fervent lead guitar/vocal combination. Where The Animals score over many British groups of the Sixties, however, is in the dual strength of Eric Burden’s powerful yet soulful voice and Alan Price’s flourishing keyboard playing. The former is heard to great effect on songs like Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, in which Burden expounds an anguish that hits you at gut level, and the truly magnificent I Believe To My Soul which shows that he was really one of our greatest Blues voices; he screams and pleads as if, as the title suggests, it’s from his very soul. Price’s contribution, especially on the organ, makes songs like House of the Rising Sun and Worried Life Blues near masterpieces of British sixties soul/blues. Where The Animals failed was in their inability to go the next step from a group referencing Blues classics to one able to put their own spin on the genre and create original work. The Rolling Stones did it, Cream did it and The Yardbirds did it in the form of Led Zeppelin. It’s a pity that The Animals couldn’t produce many self-penned songs because they had the credentials to be as good as anything else out there. If you want an introduction to The Animals, this is probably the best you can get. It contains all their best tracks as well as some previously unreleased ones. The fact that they were a group who never quite managed to head in their own direction is evident in the sameness of much of the two CDs, but it’s still excellent value for money. If you love Blues, try this; it’s a part of blues history.
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40 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sixties R+B from Newcastle, 9 Feb 2004
The Animals, a group that included Eric Burdon and Alan Price, were the first major pop stars to emerge from Newcastle, a city located about 300 miles north of London, therefore far removed from where most talent scouts were searching. It is fortunate for us all that the Animals were discovered because they recorded some of the best R+B music to come of the UK in the sixties. Their biggest hit was House of the rising sun, a re-working of a folk song (apparently inspired by Josh White's version of the song) that gave them a transatlantic number one hit. They had five other top ten UK hits with Mickie Most, these being I'm crying, Don't let me be misunderstood (a cover of a Nina Simone song), Bring it on home to me (a Sam Cooke cover), We gotta get out of this place (the version included here is the UK version – a markedly different recording was released in America but was unavailable for inclusion in this set) and It's my life. Apart from their singles, the Animals recorded many other covers including Boom boom, Dimples, I'm mad again (all John Lee Hooker), Around and around, Memphis Tennessee, How you've changed (all Chuck Berry), I'm in love again, I've been around (both Fats Domino), Talking about you, Hallelujah I love her so and I believe to my soul (all Ray Charles), These covers clearly demonstrate what their main influences were, but they also wrote some of their own songs. All the music I've mentioned so far and much more can be found on this excellent compilation. Nevertheless, despite the title of the compilation, it isn't actually their complete recordings – there is a sub-text explaining that these are the complete recordings that they made with Mickie Most as producer, although the liner notes describe their whole career. After the split, they switched to another record label, where they had some success using the name Eric Burdon and the Animals, including two more UK top ten hits (Don't bring me down, San Franciscan nights) and several lesser hits, all of which can be found elsewhere (search for Eric Burdon. Alan Price left the group before the split with Mickie Most and had several hits as a solo singer. These are also outside the scope of this collection but are easy to find. This complete collection (apart from the American version of We've got to get out of this place) of the first and most important part of the Animals' career may be more than some people want – there are single CD collections available if you just want the hits – but if, like me, you like to explore beyond the hits, this is for you.
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