The Best of The Animals (1966 album)
Encyclopedia
The Best of The Animals was The Animals
' first greatest hits
collection. It was released in February 1966 in the United States
, but never put out in the United Kingdom
(where a similar album, The Most of Animals
, was also released in 1966). The album showcased The Animals' tough-edged pop hits combined with their more devoted blues and R&B workouts.
in its photographs. Liner notes by Record Beats June Harris extolled the musical and culture virtues of the group and emphasized how close she was to the group. However, overall copyediting was poor and four of the members' names were misspelled.
The album was a great commercial success in the U.S., peaking at number 6 on the Billboard 200
, the highest such mark of their career, and remaining on the chart for over two years. By July 1966 it had been certified as a gold record, their only album ever to attain that status.
In his 1979 volume Stranded: Rock and Roll for a Desert Island, famed rock critic Greil Marcus
selected The Best of The Animals for inclusion on same, writing: "This was trash R&B from Newcastle, England, and especially when the focus shifted from American blues to savage pleas for release from working-class slums, more powerful than it had any right to be." In 1997, Rolling Stone
magazine placed The Best of The Animals into the 1960s section of its Rolling Stone 200: The Essential Rock Collection list.
Other compilation albums by the same name (and sometimes even the same cover) but different contents would appear in later decades.
Side Two
The Animals
The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
' first greatest hits
Greatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
collection. It was released in February 1966 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, but never put out in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(where a similar album, The Most of Animals
The Most of Animals
The Most of Animals or The Most of The Animals is the title of a number of different compilation albums by Newcastle upon Tyne blues rock group The Animals. Although tracklisting varies, all feature only songs from 1964 and 1965...
, was also released in 1966). The album showcased The Animals' tough-edged pop hits combined with their more devoted blues and R&B workouts.
History
This was the first Animals album to feature new keyboardist Dave RowberryDave Rowberry
Dave Rowberry was an English piano and organ player, most known for being a member of the rock and R&B group The Animals in the 1960s....
in its photographs. Liner notes by Record Beats June Harris extolled the musical and culture virtues of the group and emphasized how close she was to the group. However, overall copyediting was poor and four of the members' names were misspelled.
The album was a great commercial success in the U.S., peaking at number 6 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, the highest such mark of their career, and remaining on the chart for over two years. By July 1966 it had been certified as a gold record, their only album ever to attain that status.
In his 1979 volume Stranded: Rock and Roll for a Desert Island, famed rock critic Greil Marcus
Greil Marcus
Greil Marcus is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a much broader framework of culture and politics than is customary in pop music journalism.-Life and career:Marcus was born in San Francisco...
selected The Best of The Animals for inclusion on same, writing: "This was trash R&B from Newcastle, England, and especially when the focus shifted from American blues to savage pleas for release from working-class slums, more powerful than it had any right to be." In 1997, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine placed The Best of The Animals into the 1960s section of its Rolling Stone 200: The Essential Rock Collection list.
Other compilation albums by the same name (and sometimes even the same cover) but different contents would appear in later decades.
Track listing
Side One- "It's My LifeIt's My Life (The Animals song)"It's My Life" is a song written by Brill Building songwriters Roger Atkins and Carl D'Errico. The song was originally performed by British rock band the Animals, who released it as a single in October 1965 and was one of three songs that the Animals recorded by Brill Building songwriters.The song...
" (Roger Atkins, Carl D'Errico) – 3:09- Released as a single in 1966 and made #23 on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
.
- Released as a single in 1966 and made #23 on the Billboard Hot 100
- "Gonna Send You Back to Walker" (Johnnie Mae Matthews, John Hammond Jr.) – 2:20
- This track was The Animals first appearance on the Hot 100 at #57.
- "Bring It On Home to MeBring It On Home to Me"Bring It On Home to Me" is a 1962 soul song written and recorded by R&B singer-songwriter Sam Cooke. The song, about infidelity, was a hit for Cooke and has become a pop standard covered by numerous artists of different genres. It is one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped...
" (Sam CookeSam CookeSamuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
) – 2:40 - "I'm Mad Again" (John Lee HookerJohn Lee HookerJohn Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
) – 4:15 - "The House of the Rising SunThe House of the Rising Sun"The House of the Rising Sun" is a folk song from the United States. Also called "House of the Rising Sun" or occasionally "Rising Sun Blues", it tells of a life gone wrong in New Orleans...
" (trad. arr Alan PriceAlan PriceAlan Price is an English musician, best known as the original keyboardist for the English band The Animals, and for his subsequent solo work....
) – 4:29 (unedited version)- The Animals first and only #1 hit on the Hot 100.
Side Two
- "We Gotta Get out of This PlaceWe Gotta Get out of This Place"We Gotta Get out of This Place", occasionally written "We've Gotta Get out of This Place", is a rock song written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and recorded as a 1965 hit single by The Animals...
" (Barry MannBarry MannBarry Mann is an American songwriter, and part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil.-Career:...
, Cynthia WeilCynthia WeilCynthia Weil is a prominent American songwriter. She is famous for having written many songs together with her husband Barry Mann....
) – 3:17 (U.S. "mistaken" version)- Single released in 1965 and made #13.
- "Boom Boom" (John Lee HookerJohn Lee HookerJohn Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
) – 2:57- A minor hit peaking at #43.
- "I'm In Love Again" (Fats DominoFats DominoAntoine Dominique "Fats" Domino, Jr. is an American R&B and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Creole was his first language....
) – 2:59 - "Roberta" (Huey "Piano" Smith, Johnny Vincent) – 2:04
- "I'm CryingI'm Crying"I'm Crying" is a song originally performed by British rock band The Animals, written by the group's lead vocalist Eric Burdon and organist Alan Price. The song was released as a single in September 1964 and became their second transatlantic hit after "The House of the Rising Sun", which was...
" (Alan PriceAlan PriceAlan Price is an English musician, best known as the original keyboardist for the English band The Animals, and for his subsequent solo work....
, Eric BurdonEric BurdonEric Victor Burdon is an English singer-songwriter best known as a founding member and vocalist of rock band The Animals, and the funk rock band War and for his aggressive stage performance...
) – 2:30- The first hit by The Animals that was written by members of the band, peaked at #19.
- "Don't Let Me Be MisunderstoodDon't Let Me Be Misunderstood"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" is a song written by Bennie Benjamin, Gloria Caldwell and Sol Marcus for the singer/pianist Nina Simone, who first recorded it in 1964. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" has been recorded or performed by many artists, and is widely known by the 1965 blues rock hit...
" (Bennie BenjaminBennie BenjaminClaude A. Benjamin was a songwriter, often teaming with George David Weiss. He was born on November 4, 1907 in Christiansted on the island of St. Croix . At the age of twenty, he moved to New York City. There, he studied the banjo and guitar with Hy Smith...
, Sol Marcus, Gloria Caldwell) – 2:26- Single released in 1965 peaking at #15.
Personnel
- Eric BurdonEric BurdonEric Victor Burdon is an English singer-songwriter best known as a founding member and vocalist of rock band The Animals, and the funk rock band War and for his aggressive stage performance...
– Lead vocals - Alan PriceAlan PriceAlan Price is an English musician, best known as the original keyboardist for the English band The Animals, and for his subsequent solo work....
– keyboards except as indicated below - Dave RowberryDave RowberryDave Rowberry was an English piano and organ player, most known for being a member of the rock and R&B group The Animals in the 1960s....
– keyboards & backing vocals on "We Gotta Get out of This Place" and "It's My Life" - Hilton ValentineHilton ValentineHilton Valentine is an English musician, who was the original guitarist in the The Animals.-Biography:Valentine was influenced by the 1950s skiffle craze...
– guitar - Chas ChandlerChas ChandlerBryan James "Chas" Chandler was an English musician, record producer and manager of several successful music acts....
– bass - John SteelJohn Steel (drummer)For other persons named John Steele, see John Steele .John Steel was the original drummer of the band, The Animals, and is the owner of the rights to the band's name, by virtue of a trademark registration.Steel went to the Gateshead Grammar School...
– drums