The Animals - "The Best Of The Animals"

The Animals - The Best Of The Animals

CD, Compilation, Download

ABKCO Records

I never liked an actual Animals album due to the fact that they were slaves to the R&B sound, when in fact I loved their ‘hit’ singles.   “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” to me is close to perfection as a pop masterpiece.  The Best Of The Animals in all honesty is a good compilation of their different early sounds.  And one has to separate the Eric Burdon & The Animals, from just the plain Animals.  

In many ways, The Animals remind me of Manfred Mann, the same strong organ sound that runs through their material, and their very basis of Rhythm and Blues is very much part of their foundation as well.   But I prefer the voice of Paul Jones over Eric Burdon.  Perhaps because Jones played the pop star better than the very serious Burdon?  Nevertheless this is like comparing apples to oranges, The Animals were pretty great. 

“We Gotta Get Out Of This Place” is essential rock anthem.  The great thing about The Animals is that they had good taste in material.  They wrote very little, yet they had the natural talent in finding the  right song that is suitable for Burdon’s voice.  The producer Mikie Most is also an underrated genius.  He just understood the nature of a good pop hit.  Not exciting, but a guy who I think by instinct knew how to fill a record with sound, and the right sound with the right artist.  Not always an easy thing to do.