Saturday, July 18, 2009

Number 381 - Animals


Number 381

The Animals

"House Of The Rising Sun"

(1964)
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................Genre: R&B...............
art by ilfornetto
Eric Burdon's voice is so distinct, to put it simply, like a colour. Oh Look ! It's Purple ... It must be Eric Burden. That type of distinct. You know, the Joe Cocker or Robert Plant or Palmer for that matter or the Lennon's or Buckley's of the world. Here is a list of the most distinctive voices in music as according to me. Number 10: Caleb Followill ~ I am highly impressed by this vocalist and to make this list for someone being so new, trust me, must mean something. #9 : Andrea Bocelli ~ Although I am not a fan of this genre [Opera] this man sends the fear of God tingling up your back, incredible voice. #8: Eva Cassidy ~ If you can listen to the song "Songbird" and not be affected by its beauty, than you're a harder person than i am #7: Beach Boys ~ You can not pick just one Beach Boy, for when they sang in harmony, it was as one voice, all needing each other to be perfect. #6: Bob Dylan ~ Yes, i bet this does surprise you as you know i am not a big fan of Mr Dylan. But there is no denying this distinctive voice. #5: John Lennon ~ Nasal, tight lipped, however you want to describe it, instantly recognisable and even more spookier when Julian sings. #4: Eric Burdon ~ It is everything they say. Colour Purple! #3: Joe Cocker ~ His voice alone in the history of music, ever been so parodied? Legend. #2: Michael Jackson ~ put it this way ... all i have to do is sing "WOOO HOOOO" in a high voice and grab my nuts at the same time. #1: Jeff Buckley ~ God personally crafted this vocal box and then just as quickly ... took it away.
Let me know if i missed somebody in the list, oh, and I'm sure there is a thousand more! ~[crowbarred]
Right, which one of you'se is the chef?
One of the most important bands originating from England's R&B scene during the early '60s, the Animals were second only to The Rolling Stones in influence among R&B-based bands in the first wave of the British Invasion. The Animals had their origins in a Newcastle-based group called the Kansas City Five, whose membership included pianist Alan Price, drummer John Steel, and vocalist Eric Burdon. Price exited to join the Kontours in 1962, while Burdon went off to London. The Kontours, whose membership included Bryan "Chas" Chandler, eventually were transmuted into the Alan Price R&B Combo, with John Steel joining on drums. Burdon's return to Newcastle in early 1963 heralded his return to the lineup. The final member of the combo, guitarist Hilton Valentine, joined just in time for the recording of a self-produced EP under the band's new name, the Animals. That record alerted Graham Bond to the Animals; he was likely responsible for pointing impresario Giorgio Gomelsky to the group.
Whaddya mean you got no passports?
In May of 1965, immediately after recording "We've Gotta Get Out of This Place," Alan Price left the band, citing fear of flying as the reason; subsequent biographies of the band have indicated that the reasons were less psychological. When "House of the Rising Sun" was recorded, using what was essentially a group arrangement, the management persuaded the band to put one person's name down as arranger. Price came up the lucky one, supposedly with the intention that the money from the arranger credit would be divided later on. The money was never divided, however, and as soon as it began rolling in, Price suddenly developed his fear of flying and exited the band. Others cite the increasing contentiousness between Burdon and Price over leadership of the group as the latter's reason for leaving. In any case, a replacement was recruited in the person of Dave Rowberry. moving forward in time ...The original Animals reunited in 1976 for a superb album called Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted, which picked up right where Animalisms had left off a decade earlier and which was well-received critically but failed to capture the public's attention. In 1983, a somewhat longer-lasting reunion came about between the original members, augmented with the presence of Zoot Money on keyboards. The resulting album, Ark, consisting of entirely new material, was well received by critics and charted surprisingly high, and a world tour followed. By the end of the year and the heavy touring schedule, however, it was clear that this reunion was not going to be a lasting event. The quintet split up again, having finally let the other shoe drop on their careers and history, and walked away with some financial rewards, along with memories of two generations of rock fans cheering their every note. ~[Bruce Eder, All Music Guide]
Origins of House Of The Rising Sun
Frijid Pink? Which one is Roger?
Like many classic folk ballads, the authorship of "The House of the Rising Sun" is uncertain. Some musicologists say that it is based on the tradition of broadside ballads such as the Unfortunate Rake of the 18th century which were taken to America by early settlers. Many of these had the theme of "if only" and after a period of evolution, they emerge as American songs like "Streets of Laredo". The tradition of the blues combined with these in which the telling of a sad story has a therapeutic effect. The song might have been lost to obscurity had it not been collected by folklorist Alan Lomax. Lomax and his father were curators of the Archive of American Folk Song for the Library of Congress from 1932. They searched the country for songs. On an expedition with his wife to eastern Kentucky Lomax set up his recording equipment in Middlesborough, Kentucky in the house of a singer and activist called Tilman Cadle. On 15 Sept 1937 he recorded a performance by Georgia Turner, the 16 year-old daughter of a local miner. He called it The Risin' Sun Blues.
I'm no burden matey
Animals version..... Recorded in just one take on 18 May 1964, it started with a famous electric guitar A minor chord arpeggio by Hilton Valentine. The performance took off with Eric Burdon's lead vocal, which has been variously described as "howling", "soulful", and "deep and gravelly as the north-east English coal town of Newcastle that spawned him." Finally, Alan Price's pulsating organ part completed the sound (see Vox Continental). Burdon later said, "We were looking for a song that would grab people's attention," and they succeeded: "House of the Rising Sun" was a true trans-Atlantic hit, topping both the UK pop singles chart (in July 1964) and the U.S. pop singles chart (in September, when it became the first British Invasion number one unconnected with The Beatles); it was the group's breakthrough hit in both countries and became their signature song. The song was also a hit in a number of other countries. ~ [Source: Wikipedia]
For the Rolling Stones see Number 396, #689, #767
For the Beatles see Number 489, #587, #894 & #947
For Joe Cocker see Number 453, #633
For Robert Plant see Number 845
For Robert Palmer see Number 648
For John Lennon see Number 492, #639
For Jeff Buckley see MM Vol 2 #125
What does RS think of the Animals?
British Invasion bands can be divided into two categories—those inspired by classic Fifties rock 'n' roll and hard-core R&B, and those who derived their approach from early Sixties pop music. ABKCO Records' first two British anthologies feature one group of each type. The Animals, with the Stones, were the most prominent example of the former (other important contributors including Manfred Mann, Them, the Pretty Things and the early Yardbirds and Who), and they were exceptionally adept at it. With Eric Burdon's impassioned vocals and Alan Price's creative organ superimposed over a throbbing rhythm section, their '64-'66 (pre-psychedelic) legacy is one of the most impressive of the era. ~ [Source: Rolling Stone]
For the Who see Number 429, #556
Rolling Stone magazine deemed their '381st Song of all Time' was "Tell It Like It Is" by Aaron Neville. Aaron Neville has not appeared in The Definitive 1000.
Other songs with reference to The Animals #423, #481, #530, #541, #623, #689, #767
Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number 122 and the Album ranked at (We plead the 5th, plus it was before our time)
This song has a Definitive 1000 rating of 79.5 out of 108
Search Artist here:1-2-3-A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z
crowbarred.com, greatest songs in the world, best 1000 songs of all time, top 1000 songs of all time, best 1000 songs, alltime 1000 songs, the best songs of all time, worlds best songs, greatest songs of all time, the all time greatest songs, 1000 top songs of all time, best 1000 songs, top 1000 pop songs, best rock songs of all time, 1000 classic rock songs,

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posted by crowbarred at 11:46 pm

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Have you ever heard Tom Waits? I'm guessing not, as his voice would have to make anyone's top ten.
Regards, Dave.

12:13 pm  

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