Line #33 Music/TheAnimals


1	[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/animals_5610.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:320: The classic line-up of The Animals. From left to right: John Steel, Chas Chandler, Eric Burdon, Hilton Valentine and Alan Price.]]
3
4	->''"I'm just a soul whose intentions are good''\
5	''Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood"''
6
7	The Animals were a [[UsefulNotes/TheBritishInvasion British Invasion]] band from Newcastle-upon-Tyne with heavy [[BluesRock blues]] influences. One of several bands managed by producer Mickie Most (Music/HermansHermits was another), their peak period was the mid-1960s. Their most famous hit was a cover of the traditional folk song "The House of the Rising Sun," which became one of the first non-[[Music/TheBeatles Beatles]] British songs to top the charts in America after the Fab Four had made their debut. It was also a major influence on the emerging FolkRock sound (particularly since it single-handedly inspired Music/BobDylan to begin experimenting with a rock sound).
8
9	Lead vocalist Eric Burdon was a {{Blues}} fan who later joined the group Music/{{War\|Band}} and became a major exponent of Funk, HardRock and PsychedelicRock in the early 1970s. The group was notable for its prominent use of a Vox Continental organ played by Alan Price; they are among the first rock groups to use an electric keyboard instrument in their songs (and yes, they did probably beat the Beatles to it).
10
11	The band had a setback in 1965 when Alan Price left due to either fear of flying or a desire to be paid more money (accounts vary). He was replaced by Mick Gallagher for a short time, then by Dave Rowberry. By 1966, Burdon had embraced the hippie movement and started using LSD, becoming distant from the rest of the group. John Steel was the next to leave, replaced by Barry Jenkins for the last few singles and albums.
12
13	The Animals split near the end of 1966 and went their separate ways. Burdon formed a new version of the group, Eric Burdon and the Animals (with Barry Jenkins joining him), which became the outlet for his hippie-era material. When that version of the group ended, Burdon started the aforementioned War, which he left soon afterwards; they went on to have a successful career in their own right. Burdon later performed under his own name and as leader of The Eric Burdon Band. Alan Price became a folk singer-songwriter and bassist Chas Chandler became famous for discovering and managing Music/JimiHendrix and Music/{{Slade}} in the early 1970s. The band had two short-lived [[{{Revival}} revivals]], one in TheSeventies and one during TheEighties, both of which led to new albums.
14
15	Three of the Animals have died so far: Chandler (of an aortic aneurysm in 1996), Rowberry (of an ulcer haemorrhage in 2003) and Valentine (no cause of death given, 2021).
16
17	Other hits of theirs include "Baby Let Me Take You Home", "I'm Crying", "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", "Bring It On Home to Me", "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", "It's My Life", "Inside-Looking Out" and "Don't Bring Me Down". Hits and fan favourites by Eric Burdon and the Animals include "Help Me Girl", "When I Was Young", "San Franciscan Nights", "Monterey" and "Sky Pilot".
18
19	Not to be confused with SelfDemonstrating/{{Animal}}, [[Franchise/TheMuppets the Electric Mayhem]]'s drummer.
20
21	----
22	!!Principal Members (The Animals) (Founding members in '''bold'''):
23
24	* '''Eric Burdon''' - lead vocals (1963-1966, 1968, 1975-1977, 1982-1983)
25	* '''Chas Chandler''' - bass, vocals (1963-1966, 1968, 1975-1977, 1982-1983, died 1996)
26	* Mick Gallagher - keyboard (1965)
27	* Barry Jenkins - drums (1966)
28	* '''Alan Price''' - keyboard, vocals (1963-1965, 1968, 1975-1977, 1982-1983)
29	* Dave Rowberry - keyboard, vocals (1965-1966, died 2003)
30	* '''John Steel''' - drums (1963-1966, 1968, 1975-1977, 1982-1983)
31	* '''Hilton Valentine''' - guitar, vocals (1963-1966, 1968, 1975-1977, 1982-1983. died 2021)
32
33	----
34	!!Principal Members (Eric Burdon And The Animals) (Founding members in '''bold'''):
35
36	* '''Vic Briggs''' - guitar, piano (1966-1968)
37	* '''Eric Burdon''' - lead vocals (1966-1968)
38	* '''Barry Jenkins''' - drums, percussion, vocals (1966-1968)
39	* '''Danny [=McCulloch=]''' - bass, guitar, vocals (1966-1968, died 2015)
40	* Zoot Money - keyboard, bass, vocals, piano, organ (1968)
41	* [[Music/ThePolice Andy Summers]] - guitar, bass, vocals (1968)
42	* '''John Weider''' - bass, guitar, violin, celeste (1966-1968)
43
44	----
45	!Studio and Live Discography
46
47	!!The Animals, original version
48
49	* ''The Animals'' (1964) [[note]]The US version, released a month before the UK version, has a different cover and track listing[[/note]]
50	* ''The Animals On Tour'' (1965) [[note]]Released in the US only. Despite the title, it is not a live album[[/note]]
51	* ''Animal Tracks'' (1965) [[note]]The US version, released four months after the UK version, has a different cover and track listing[[/note]]
52	* ''Animalisms'' (1966) [[note]]The US version, titled ''Animalism'' and released five months after the UK version, has a different cover and track listing[[/note]]
53	* ''Animalization'' (1966) [[note]]Released in the US only[[/note]]
54
55	!!Eric Burdon and the Animals
56	* ''Eric is Here'' (1967)[[note]]Released in the US only; Eric Burdon and Barry Jenkins are the only Animals who appear on it[[/note]]
57	* ''Winds of Change'' (1967)
58	* ''The Twain Shall Meet'' (1968)
59	* ''Every One of Us'' (1968) [[note]]Yet another US-only album[[/note]]
60	* ''Love Is'' (1968)
61
62	!!The Animals, revival version
63	* ''Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted'' (1977)
64	* ''Ark'' (1983)
65	* ''Greatest Hits Live (Rip It To Shreds)'' (1984)
66
67	!!Non-album singles (The Animals):
68
69	* "It's My Life"/"I'm Going To Change The World" (1965)
70
71	!!Non-album singles (Eric Burdon And The Animals):
72
73	* "When I Was Young"/"A Girl Named Sandoz" (1967)
74	* San Franciscan Nights" [[note]]Otherwise available on their 1967 album ''Winds Of Change''[[/note]]/"Gratefully Dead" (1967)
75	* "Monterey" [[note]]Otherwise available on their 1968 album ''The Twain Shall Meet''[[/note]]/"Ain't That So" (1967)
76
77	----
78	!!"It's my life, and I'll trope what I want":
79
80	* AnimalMotifs: Their band name.
81	* TheBandMinusTheFace: [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-zagged]] and [[InvertedTrope inverted]]. For Eric Burdon and the Animals, Burdon retained Barry Jenkins and got rid of everybody else. Later, Burdon was the original leader of Music/{{War\|Band}}; when he left, they became a major act without him.
82	* BluesRock: The band's original genre.
83	* BigGuyLittleGuy: Skinny 5'7 Eric Burdon versus chubby 6'4 Chas Chandler.
84	* TheCoverChangesTheGender: "House Of The Rising Sun" probably, though the song itself is old enough that it's hard to determine whether the original singer was meant to be male or female.
85	* CoverVersion: They had more covers of blues songs than original tunes, including "[[Music/LittleRichard The Girl Can't Help It]]", "[[Music/RayCharles Mess Around]]" and "[[Music/NinaSimone Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood]]".
86	* DarkAndTroubledPast: Eric Burdon has spoken openly about his harsh upbringing, involving poverty and severe physical and sexual abuse at the hands of his schoolteachers. Fair to say, a lot of the pain in his voice is ''real''.
87	* FreeHandedPerformer: Eric Burdon still performs solely as a singer on stage.
88	* AGoodNameForARockBand: They were called The Animals because of their wild performances, and eventually kept the name.
89	* GamblingRuinsLives: In "The House of the Rising Sun," the exact nature of the titular House of the Rising Sun is not made exactly clear, but it's heavily implied that it's a place where some sort of vices take place that ruin people's lives. The narrator explicitly says that his father was a "gambling man," although it's unclear if that was his only life-ruining vice.
90	* GreatestHitsAlbum: ''The Most Of The Animals'' was an early one. The name of the record was a pun based on the name of producer Mickie Most, which had previously been used for another band he'd produced (''The Most of Music/HermansHermits'').
91	* IAmTheBand: Again, Eric Burdon, so much so that they changed their name to Eric Burdon & the Animals at the end of 1966.
92	* LocationSong: "San Franciscan Nights" is a bittersweet song about [[UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco the city]], written as a ProtestSong against US society at the time, addressing the fact that UsefulNotes/NativeAmericans have been neglected by UsefulNotes/TheAmericanDream and PoliceBrutality is rampant.
93	* ProgressiveRock: During the Eric Burdon and the Animals era.
94	* PsychedelicRock: The dominant genre for the Eric Burdon and the Animals era.
95	* RearrangeTheSong: Their cover of Music/NinaSimone's "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" is faster than the original.
96	* RevolvingDoorBand: The Animals had many personnel changes throughout their history, with Burdon as [[IAmTheBand the only consistent member]].
97	* SelfDeprecation: They named themselves The Animals partially because they considered themselves to be ugly.
98	* VillainSong: "It's My Life" is about how the protagonist plans to go from RagsToRiches through less than honorable means -- but at least he promises to share his ill-gotten gains with his girlfriend.
99	-->There'll be women and their fortunes\
100	Who just want to mother orphans\
101	Are you gonna cry when I'm squeezin' them dry?\
102	Takin' all I can get, no regrets\
103	When I openly lie (ha!) and live on that money\
104	Believe me honey, that money\
105	Can you believe I ain't no saint, no complaints\
106	So girl, throw out any doubt
107	* VocalDissonance: Eric Burdon, a small babyfaced kid from England with the surprisingly deep pipes of a man who'd lived through hell and back.

Context Music / TheAnimals