Last week, we had quite a number of very good things to say in regard to ABKCO Records’ brand new clear vinyl reissue of The Animals’ The Best of The Animals:
No single album can encompass the range of The Animals’ ’64-’65 run, but ABKCO’s recent vinylization of the ’88 compact disc The Best of The Animals comes pretty close. Gathering all the early hits without neglecting the enduring appeal of their R&B core, it sports the same cover photo as MGM’s 11-track ’66 LP while slightly modifying and significantly expanding the contents. Pressed on 180gm vinyl, those desiring an upgrade for a nearly half-century old and surely highly-worn compilation are unlikely to find a better opportunity.
The pop success of great rock bands, and the one formed in Newcastle upon Tyne when Eric Burdon joined the Alan Price Rhythm and Blues Combo definitely qualifies, often gets belittled as concession, cash-in, or more likely some combination of the two. The reality is that music and commerce, particularly in the middle of last century, weave together like amorous but argumentative vines.
The four largest hits of The Animals’ first two years are all represented on this fresh reissue, which places onto vinyl the contents of a CD designed to usurp an LP not all that hard to locate in used bins at the time, at least in my neighborhood; this sequencing of The Best of The Animals (there have been others) includes the A-sides from the first nine 45s.
The Best of The Animals holds 15 examples of prime mid-‘60s Brit rock ‘n’ roll. They had other hits of course; some were minor, but all the A-sides here made the charts in either in the US or UK, seven in both. That includes “I’m Crying,” an energetic Burdon/Price original that’s descended from Diddley as it sets the stage for the garage scene. Had it sold better Most might’ve allowed more group-penned ditties onto the plug sides of those 45s. But then The Animals’ tale would be different.
In terms of exhaustiveness, the 2CD Complete Animals documents this fruitful period very well, but as single disc compilations go, this one’s difficult to beat; EMI’s ’97 CD (identical cover and title building on the ’71 UK album The Most of The Animals) adds five more tracks, but the trimness of these 15 cuts is preferable. Plus, it’s on LP. In a shade over 46 minutes it concisely synopsizes the early motions of a frequently exceptional band.
Enter to win ABKCO Records’ The Best of the Animals clear vinyl reissue by citing your favorite track on the comp in the comments below—and briefly, why. (Sure, it’s easy.) We’ll choose one well enthused entrant with a North American mailing address a week from today, September 18, 2014.
