| features in: Album Chart of 1968 ● Album Chart of the Decade: 1960s |
Bassist Danny McCulloch and guitarist Vic Briggs left after “Every One Of Us”, with Zoot Money taking on bass and his old bandmate from Dantalian’s Chariot, Andy Summers, taking guitars for this, a double-album marathon. The album features a recording of Traffic’s “Coloured Rain”, which includes a guitar solo by Summers that runs a full 4 minutes and 15 seconds. How things would change with The Police… but that’s a different story… In live settings, due to Money’s multi-instrumental load, bass was played alternately by John Weider and Andy Summers. “Love Is” was typical of the proto-rock sound of the time, too much technique not enough song, and way too long. “To Love Somebody” was a notable cover which went against the grain however, and was a tasteful soul-rock alternative to The Bee Gees hit of 1967. This, the third Animals album of 1968, would prove to be the last album by the group until 1977. They famously broke up during an aborted Japanese tour. The tour had been scheduled for September 1968 but was delayed until November due to difficulty obtaining visas. Only a few dates into the tour, the promoters - who, unbeknownst to the band, were yakuza - kidnapped the band’s manager and threatened him at gunpoint to write an IOU for $25,000 to cover losses incurred by the tour’s delay. The manager wrote out the IOU but, correctly surmising that none of his captors could read English, added a note that it was written under duress. The yakuza released him but warned that he and the band would have to leave Japan the next day or be killed. The Animals promptly fled the country, leaving all their tour equipment behind. It was a rude interruption… but maybe the time was right…
The Jukebox Rebel
05–Oct–2009
| Tracklist |
| A1 | [07:23]  Eric Burdon and The Animals - River Deep, Mountain High (Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Phil Spector) Blues Rock / Soul Rock |
| A2 | [05:34]  Eric Burdon and The Animals - I’m An Animal (Stewart Sylvester) Blues Rock / Soul Rock |
| A3 | [04:28]  Eric Burdon and The Animals - I’m Dying (Or Am I?) (Eric Burdon) Cerebral Pop |
| B1 | [04:58]  Eric Burdon and The Animals - Ring Of Fire [1968 album version] (June Carter, Merle Kilgore) Folk Rock / Americana |
| B2 | [09:38]  Eric Burdon and The Animals - Coloured Rain (Chris Wood, James Capaldi, Steve Winwood) Rock |
| C1 | [06:55]  Eric Burdon and The Animals - To Love Somebody (Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb) Blues Rock / Soul Rock |
| C2 | [10:13]  Eric Burdon and The Animals - As The Years Go Passing By (Donald Robey) Blues Rock / Soul Rock |
| D1 | [05:24]  Eric Burdon and The Animals - The Madman (Running Through The Field) (Andy Summers, George Money) Psychedelia |
| D2 | [11:50] Eric Burdon and The Animals - Gemini (Steve Hammond) Psychedelia |
