Eric Burdon & The Animals - Eric Is Here (1967)

The Animals were an English rock band active in the 60s. After the original band's breakup in 1966, a second lineup was put together by singer Eric Burdon.

The Animals, one of the most successful R&B-based groups of the British Invasion, broke up in 1966. It was then that singer Eric Burdon released a single as a solo artist - "Help Me Girl" got to #14 in the UK and #29 in the US. He then moved to America, accompanied by Animals drummer Barry Jenkins, and recorded an album which ended up being released as Eric Burdon & The Animals, accompanied by Jenkins and a number of session musicians. It saw him move away from the gritty R&B that The Animals had been known for, and into more of a general pop sound. It was notable for featuring three songs by Randy Newman, who had yet to record his own debut album - "Mama Told Me Not To Come", "I Think It's Gonna Rain Today" and "Wait Till Next Year". The former in particular would later become very well known after Three Dog Night had a #1 hit with it in 1970.
Despite being billed as Eric Burdon & The Animals, Eric Is Here was in reality a solo album. It was actually only released in the US, and was barely noticed. However shortly afterwards Burdon and Jenkins put together a new band to carry on The Animals' name, though their music was to take a radical change towards psychedelia as they emersed themselves in the American counter-culture.

|> Winds Of Change (1967)

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

OK,OK...I give up! The time has finally come for me to listen to this album. I was 17 when this first came out but I never came across it until after I heard "Winds Of Change" & "The Twain Shall Meet" and I was put off by the short length of the tracks - short somehow equating to 'not-possibly-as-good-as'. I have since come to learn that size doesn't count!! Many thanks!

-Brian