Eric Burdon & The Animals – Inside Out (comp. 1993)

Sun Secrets is nothing for Eric Burdon (Animals) to be ashamed of artistically. With approximately 24 minutes per side, Sun Secrets is a far cry from The Black Man's Burdon and the rhythms of the group War. As Mountain guitarist Leslie West would do a year after this when he formed the Leslie West Band, Burdon beats him to the punch with a self-titled group that rocks - rocks harder than the Animals, rocks harder than War. It's innovative reinvention, and quite pleasing, not only to hear the three-piece unit blitzing behind the singer as he reinterprets Animals classics like "When I Was Young," "It's My Life," or the Hendrix/Cream riff-laden version of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," but on the instrumental title track as well. The tragedy of it all is that, according to the singer's biography, Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood by Eric Burdon with J.Marshall Craig (Thunder's Mouth Press), Burdon did not want this material out…

As the lead singer of the Animals, Eric Burdon was one of the British Invasion's most distinctive vocalists, with a searingly powerful blues-rock voice. When the first lineup of the group fell apart in 1966, Burdon kept the Animals' name going with various players for a few years. Usually billed as Eric Burdon & the Animals, the group was essentially Burdon's vehicle, which he used to purvey a far more psychedelic and less R&B-oriented vision.

This 22-song compilation features all of the essential recordings cut by the group in 1965 and 1966 after they broke with their original producer Mickie Most, and before Eric Burdon dissolved the core of the original lineup to pursue solo stardom with an Animals group featuring entirely different musicians. These tracks were perhaps more soul-oriented than their previous recordings, but the group still burns on the hits "Inside Looking Out" and "Don't Bring Me Down." Despite the absence of original keyboardist Alan Price, the group continued to showcase Burdon's passionate vocals and burning, vibrant organ (by Price's replacement Dave Rowberry) on both renowned and obscure R&B tunes, with an occasional original thrown in. Besides the entirety of their final British LP Animalisms (from 1966) and the above-mentioned singles, the CD includes the hits "Help Me Girl" and "See See Rider" (credited to "Eric Burdon and the Animals," these were possibly Burdon solo records). The four tracks from their first release, an independently released 1963 EP featuring primitive R&B standards, are small but noteworthy bonus cuts that close this collection.

These are live or redone versions of Eric Burdon's solo hits and the hits he did with his 1960s group, the Animals

Guilty! is a concept album: it’s about getting released from prison, dealing with the survivor’s guilt of being out, and the very real fear of getting hauled in front of an unmerciful judge for something as minor as a traffic violation. Burdon and Witherspoon share the vulnerabilities of victimhood: cops are prejudiced against both the hippies and the blacks. Every track is intense, honest, and gripping. The sometimes-graphic lyrics pull no punches.
The horns are out of tune. The mix is iffy. But damn, when the guitars come in already smoking on “Have Mercy Judge,” you can hear the sweat and anguish. The music doesn’t rock so much as it lurches with a kind of slow-drag funk. Burdon and John Sterling (extraordinary guitarist on the session) wrote “Soledad,” a searing portrait of the ironic suffering that comes with freedom…