The Animals: Animalism

The Animals: The Primal Force of British Invasion Rhythm and Blues

The Animals stand out as one of the most vital, intense, and uncompromisingly authentic bands to emerge from the 1960s British Invasion. While many of their contemporary UK groups specialized in clean-cut pop melodies, this powerhouse outfit brought a gritty, working-class edge that was steeped heavily in the raw traditions of American electric blues and rhythm and blues. Driven by a legendary vocal delivery that possessed an unforgettable growl and backed by a pioneering keyboard style, they reshaped the rock landscape. Their pioneering arrangements of traditional folklore and fierce, socially conscious anthems established a permanent standard for transatlantic roots rock.

The Animals, led by singer Eric Burdon, were part of the British invasion of the sixties. The Animals were among the finest of the blues-based rock bands to emerge from Britain in the sixties.

Burdon, organist Alan Price, and drummer John Steel started out in a Newcastle band called the Kansas City Five. In 1962, with the additions of guitarist Hilton Valentine and bassist Chas Chandler, the band eventually became known as the Animals.

The band landed a regular gig at the Crawdaddy Club in London. Record producer Mickie Most got them signed to EMI on the strength of their live performances, and the label released their first singles, “Baby Let Me Take You Home” and “House of the Rising Sun,” in 1964. The latter song would become a huge hit and transform the band into one of the leading acts of the British Invasion.

The Animals continued recording a slew of hits throughout the sixties with “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” “We Got to Get Out Of This Place,” “When I Was Young,” “Monterrey,” and “Sky Pilot.”

After recording several excellent albums, starting with their fine debut release, “The Animals” (1964), the band broke up in 1969.

Among their best albums are the classics "The Animals on Tour" (1965), "Animalization" (1966), "Animalism" (1966), and "Animalisms" (1966).

Technical Catalog Spotlight: The Animals (1964)

This explosive self-titled debut studio album remains a definitive blueprint for the mid-sixties British blues boom. The recording is anchored by their monumental, career-defining rearrangement of the traditional folk ballad House of the Rising Sun, featuring an instantly recognizable circular guitar arpeggio and a sweeping, moody organ framework. The tracking perfectly mirrors the sweaty, high-energy club atmosphere that made them a live sensation, successfully translating regional UK R&B into a global chart-topping phenomenon.

• Released: September 1964
• Label: Columbia Graphophone EMI (UK) / MGM Records (US)
• Producer: Mickie Most
• Core Personnel: Eric Burdon (Vocals), Alan Price (Organ), Hilton Valentine (Guitar), Chas Chandler (Bass), John Steel (Drums)
• Key Tracks: House of the Rising Sun, Baby Let Me Take You Home, I'm Crying

Technical Catalog Spotlight: Animalization (1966)

Widely considered by rock historians to be one of the most cohesive and powerful long-playing records of the group's mid-decade era, this release reflects an evolution toward mature, high-stakes material. The production captures a brilliant transition away from straightforward blues covers into fierce, socially conscious anthems dealing with working-class frustration and the desire for escape. The driving bass hooks and razor-sharp guitar work provide the perfect sonic platform for some of the most intense vocal tracking of the era.

• Released: July 1966
• Label: MGM Records
• Producer: Mickie Most, Tom Wilson
• Core Personnel: Eric Burdon (Vocals), Dave Rowberry (Keyboards), Hilton Valentine (Guitar), Chas Chandler (Bass), John Steel (Drums)
• Key Tracks: We Gotta Get Out of This Place, Don't Bring Me Down, Inside-Looking Out

Technical Catalog Spotlight: Animalism (1966)

Recorded on the West Coast of the United States just as the original core lineup began to splinter, this uncompromising late-era masterpiece leans heavily into extended blues-rock improvisations and primal grooves. Under the guidance of pioneering production staff, the band explores deeper, more hypnotic rhythmic arrangements that heavily anticipated the heavy rock and psychedelic movements of the late sixties. It serves as a potent audio time capsule of the group's sheer instrumental power at its absolute peak.

• Released: November 1966
• Label: MGM Records
• Producer: Tom Wilson
• Core Personnel: Eric Burdon (Vocals), Dave Rowberry (Keyboards), Hilton Valentine (Guitar), Chas Chandler (Bass), Barry Jenkins (Drums)
• Key Tracks: All Night Long, Smoke Stack Lightning, Louisiana Blues

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Badfinger: Straight Up

Badfinger: The Melancholic Pioneers of Modern Power Pop 

Badfinger stands as one of the most creatively brilliant yet tragically star-crossed bands in the entire history of rock music. Emerging at the tail end of the 1960s, they became the ultimate torchbearers for melodically driven, guitar-heavy pop, essentially drafting the architectural blueprint for the power pop genre. Their uncanny gift for soaring vocal harmonies, unforgettable hooks, and deeply emotive songwriting earned them the admiration of rock royalty. However, their immense artistic achievements were continuously overshadowed by horrific financial exploitation, industry mismanagement, and unfair artistic comparisons, turning their story into one of rock's most heartbreaking cautionary tales. 

Badfinger was a superb pop/rock band that formed in Abertawe, England, in 1969. The band was initially notable as the first band signed to the Beatles’ Apple Records. The music that Badfinger produced reminded many of the Beatles, and the band’s presence on the Apple label had many dismiss them as Beatles wannabes.

 

Badfinger recorded the excellent album "Straight Up" (1971), which saw the band fulfill the promise that they had shown in getting signed to Apple. The album contained the classic tracks and minor hits “Day After Day” and “Baby Blue.”

 

The Straight Up album is one of the earliest examples of what would later be coined “power pop,” with the amplified guitar sound, perfect vocal harmonies, and catchy melodies. Power pop bands such as Big Star and The Raspberries would follow in their wake. 

Badfinger’s story would end sadly, as the group would never shake their image as a second-rate Beatles clone. The members would wind up in financial hardship, driving leader Pete Ham to commit suicide in 1975

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Technical Catalog Spotlight: Magic Christian Music (1970) 

Serving as the band's official reintroduction after dropping their original moniker, The Iveys, this album functions as a spectacular showcase of early power pop craftsmanship. The record gained massive international attention because it featured three tracks recorded for the feature film The Magic Christian, including a smash hit song written and produced by Paul McCartney himself. The album perfectly captures the precise moment Badfinger stepped out of the shadows of regional clubs and into the global spotlight, blending acoustic textures with highly infectious vocal hooks. 

• Released: January 1970 
• Label: Apple Records 
• Producer: Paul McCartney, Mal Evans, Tony Visconti 
• Core Personnel: Pete Ham (Vocals, Guitar), Tom Evans (Vocals, Bass), Ron Griffiths (Bass), Mike Gibbins (Drums) 
• Key Tracks: Come and Get It, Carry On Till Tomorrow, Rock of All Ages 

Technical Catalog Spotlight: No Dice (1970) 

This sophomore effort under the Badfinger name is the definitive album where the band solidified their classic four-piece lineup and fully realized their signature heavy-pop sonic identity. It struck a perfect balance between hard-rocking guitar riffs and pristine melodic sensibilities. The album holds massive historical importance because it contains the original, heartbreaking version of a ballad that would later become a worldwide number-one hit for both Nilsson and Mariah Carey, proving the immense depth of the Ham and Evans songwriting partnership. 

• Released: November 1970 
• Label: Apple Records 
• Producer: Geoff Emerick, Mal Evans 
• Core Personnel: Pete Ham (Vocals, Guitar), Joey Molland (Vocals, Guitar), Tom Evans (Vocals, Bass), Mike Gibbins (Drums) 
• Key Tracks: No Matter What, Without You, Midnight Caller 

Technical Catalog Spotlight: Straight Up (1971) 

Widely revered by contemporary critics as the absolute high-water mark of the power pop genre, this masterwork seamlessly blends shimmering acoustic slide guitars with dense, polished studio production. Despite a chaotic recording process that required bringing in rock icons to help finish the tracking, the resulting music is flawlessly cohesive. The album's signature tracks represent the absolute pinnacle of early 1970s commercial pop-rock songwriting, characterized by flawless group vocal counterplay and driving, amplified guitar hooks that influenced countless alternative bands for decades. 

• Released: December 1971 
• Label: Apple Records 
• Producer: Todd Rundgren, George Harrison 
• Core Personnel: Pete Ham (Vocals, Guitar, Piano), Joey Molland (Vocals, Guitar), Tom Evans (Vocals, Bass), Mike Gibbins (Drums) 
• Key Tracks: Day After Day, Baby Blue, Name of the Game 

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Them: Here Comes the Night

Them: The Raw and Primal Rhythm of Belfast Blues-Rock

 

Them stands as one of the most ferocious, fiercely authentic, and intensely brilliant bands to emerge from the mid-1960s British blues boom. Hailing from Belfast, they bypassed the polite pop sensibilities of the era, opting instead for a volatile, aggressive approach to rhythm and blues that rivaled the absolute heaviest sounds of the London scene. The band's ultimate weapon was their legendary front man, whose raw vocal power and poetic, improvisational intensity established a completely new template for rock vocalists. Though their classic era was notoriously brief and chaotic, the primal energy and street-level grit of their recordings left a permanent mark on garage rock and alternative music for generations to come.

 

Them were perhaps the best of the British blues-rock bands that emerged during the Sixties. The band covered much of the same blues/R&B terrain as bands such as the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds, yet they possessed the best white blues shouter of the era, Van Morrison. 

Them were formed in Belfast, Ireland, in 1964, and the band quickly gained a reputation for its hard drinking and brawling as well as music.

 

The band’s first album, "Here Comes the Night" (1965), was a brilliant debut that combined inspired covers of blues standards and original material. The title track, “Here Comes the Night,” would become a hit. “Mystic Eyes” and “Gloria” are also standout tracks. The band’s sophomore album, "Them Again" (1966), continued in the same rave-up R&B vein with outstanding covers of "Turn On Your Love Light," "I Put a Spell on You," and "I Got a Woman."

 

Van Morrison left the group after Them Again to pursue a solo career, and the band continued without him. Despite the loss of Morrison, Them produced two more solid albums featuring a new psychedelic sound: “Now and Them” (1968) and “Time Out! Time In For Them” (1968). "Complete Them (1964-1967)" is a fine compilation of the band’s work.

 

Technical Catalog Spotlight: Here Comes the Night (1965) 

This explosive debut long-playing record stands out as a definitive cornerstone of mid-sixties garage rock and electric blues. The production perfectly captures the group's frantic, unhinged energy, driven by sharp guitar riffs and a relentless rhythm section. The album holds massive historical importance because it introduced an iconic, three-chord rock anthem that went on to become one of the most covered songs in rock history, showcasing the band's ability to turn basic blues progressions into high-voltage pop-rock gold. 

• Released: September 1965 
• Label: Decca Records (UK) / Parrot Records (US) 
• Producer: Bert Berns, Tommy Scott 
• Core Personnel: Van Morrison (Lead Vocals, Harmonica), Billy Harrison (Lead Guitar), Alan Henderson (Bass), Peter Bardens (Keyboards), John McAuley (Drums) 
• Key Tracks: Gloria, Here Comes the Night, Mystic Eyes 

Technical Catalog Spotlight: Them Again (1966) 

The band's sophomore studio album represents a tighter, more experimental expansion of their gritty R&B sound. Under the guidance of their production team, the tracking seamlessly blends traditional acoustic folk elements with blistering electric blues rave-ups. The record serves as a spectacular platform for some of the most dramatic and uninhibited vocal tracking of the era, illustrating why the band's pioneering sound became an essential structural reference point for the future of underground rock. 

• Released: January 1966 
• Label: Decca Records (UK) / Parrot Records (US) 
• Producer: Tommy Scott 
• Core Personnel: Van Morrison (Lead Vocals), Billy Harrison (Guitar), Alan Henderson (Bass), Ray Elliott (Keyboards, Saxophone), John Wilson (Drums) 
• Key Tracks: It's All Over Now Baby Blue, I Can Only Give You Everything, Turn On Your Love Light 

Technical Catalog Spotlight: Now and Them (1968) 

Following the departure of their iconic lead singer, the remaining members completely transformed the band's sonic architecture to adapt to the late-sixties musical landscape. This fascinating transitional album breaks entirely away from raw Belfast blues, opting instead for a highly complex mixture of garage rock, raga rock, and early psychedelic experimentation. The production utilizes unique instruments like the sitar and features extended, dreamlike tracking that shows off a surprisingly sophisticated progressive rock maturity. 

• Released: January 1968 
• Label: Tower Records 
• Producer: Ray Ruff 
• Core Personnel: Kenny McDowell (Lead Vocals), Ray Elliott (Keyboards, Flute), Alan Henderson (Bass), David Harvey (Drums) 
• Key Tracks: Square Room, Walking In the Queen's Garden, I'm Your Witchdoctor 

 

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