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17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
After leaving the Animals, 8 Sep 2005
Only Alan Price knows exactly why he quit the Animals (it seems that he needed a break), but this compilation shows that Alan was a successful recording artist without them. Alan took a much-needed break after leaving the Animals but eventually formed the Alan Price Set. Here you can find all of Alan's recordings with the Alan Price Set including several major UK hits as well as some BBC recordings.While the Animals were an R+B group, Alan broadened his musical base after he left them. The R+B sounds have largely (but not entirely) been replaced by mainstream pop sounds. The group's first single (Any day now) was a great mainstream pop song but failed to chart. Perhaps the public still wanted Alan to do R+B as the follow-up single (I put a spell on you) made the UK top ten - it was the kind of song that Alan could have recorded with the Animals. Actually, the Animals (without Alan) recorded it at around the same time, their version first appearing on their album, Animalisms. After making the UK top ten, Alan moved away from R+B. The next single (Hi-lili hi-lo) just missed the UK top ten but another old standard (Willow weep for me) missed the charts. The group's debut album (The price to play) consisted entirely of covers, mixing R+B songs with mainstream pop songs. In keeping with the habits of the sixties, no singles were released from the album. The current practice of using singles to promote albums only began in the seventies. Around this time, Alan discovered Randy Newman, a hugely talented singer-songwriter. Alan recorded many of Randy's songs, thus helping to establish Randy's reputation. The Alan Price Set released a single (Simon Smith and his amazing dancing bear) that made the UK top five, both sides being written by Randy Newman. Inspired by Randy Newman, Alan got into songwriting seriously. He wrote the group's next single (The house that Jack built) that also made the UK top five. The group's second album (A price on his head) also contained several Randy Newman songs as well as some of Alan's own compositions. Next came a minor UK hit (Shame) and a UK top twenty hit (Don't stop the carnival). After the group's next intended single (When I was a cowboy) didn't get a UK release, the group disbanded. This compilation also includes Alan's first solo single (Trimdon Grange explosion), which failed to chart. The final ten tracks are from BBC recordings. In those days, it was common practice for the BBC to make their own recordings of pop singers and groups because (I think) of performance rights issues. Such recordings were invariably covers of songs that didn't appear on singles or albums by the artists involved. Sometimes (as here) they featured spoken introductions by the artists concerned. This is an excellent collection of late sixties pop music. If you want Alan's earlier music with the Animals, go for Complete Animals, which is only complete for the first part of their career, but that's the period when Alan was with the group.
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~ Jack Bruce
~ Alan Price
~ Georgie Fame
~ Chris Farlowe
~ Alan Price & The Electric Blues Company
See all 26 tracks on this disc
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