The Animals ‎– Animalization

It’s hard to believe that the first four albums by one of the British Invasion’s best bands have never been released on CD before. But they’re finally here, gathered on ’The Animals: The Mickie Most Years and More’ box set. The five discs collect the group’s first four LPs — ‘The Animals,’ ‘The Animals on Tour,’ ‘Animal Tracks’ and ‘Animalization’ — plus a bunch of extras. There are 61 songs in all. The set, released by ABKCO Records through Real Gone Music.

The drummer in the original and best lineup of the Animals, John Steel played and recorded with the group until 1966, and has joined them for various live and studio reunion projects. While not as flashy or colorful as other drummers of his generation like Keith Moon, Ginger Baker, and Ringo Starr, Steel gave the mid-'60s Animals a solid swing that owed much to his (and the group's) roots in jazz and blues as well as rock. While his role was more as an anchor than an originator of up-front parts, there were times on Animals records when he devised arresting patterns, as on the stop-start rhythms of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," the dramatic exclamatory beat that kicks off the verse of "It's My Life," or the propulsive beats of another hit, "I'm Crying."