Esoteric Recordings is pleased to announce the release of a boxed set featuring all of the albums recorded by ERIC BURDON & THE ANIMALS for the MGM Records label issued between October 1967 and December 1968. ERIC BURDON & THE ANIMALS came together in December 1966 when the original Animals had ground to a halt. Vocalist Eric Burdon recruited Vic Briggs (guitar, piano), John Weider (guitar, violin, bass), Danny McCulloch (bass) and Barry Jenkins (drums) to form a new group which changed direction away from raucous Rhythm and Blues and embraced Psychedelic rock and the influences of the emerging counter-culture.
Signing to MGM Records in the USA (where he became based) and teaming up with producer TOM WILSON (also famed for his work with BOB DYLAN, THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION & THE VELVET UNDERGROUND), the band’s debut single WHEN I WAS YOUNG was released in April 1967 and was a powerful statement, featuring Weider’s violin and Briggs’ fuzzed guitar, becoming a hit in Europe, Australia and the USA. The B-side of the single A GIRL NAMED SANDOZ was a psychedelic ode to the Swiss pharmaceutical company which developed LSD. The follow-up single, SAN FRANCISCAN NIGHTS, issued in August 1967, came on the heels of the band’s famed appearance at the MONTEREY POP FESTIVAL in June 1967 and would be the band’s biggest hit, breaking the top twenty in the UK, Europe and the USA. The band’s debut album, “WINDS OF CHANGE” was issued in October 1967 and featured the singles SAN FRANCISCAN NIGHTS and GOOD TIMES, along with an inventive cover version of PAINT IT BLACK and the psychedelic rockers YES, I AM EXPERIENCED (a tribute to Burdon’s friend Jimi Hendrix) and IT’S ALL MEAT.
The album “THE TWAIN SHALL MEET” was recorded in December 1967 but not issued until May 1968 and featured two further singles, MONTEREY and SKY PILOT (Parts One & Two). Incredibly 1968 would see a further two album releases by the group in the USA and Europe; “EVERY ONE OF US”, recorded in June and issued in August of that year, was a fine album which saw ZOOT MONEY join the band on organ and piano, but inexplicably the album failed to gain a release in the UK. By the time of its release, Vic Briggs had departed to be replaced by ANDY SUMMERS (formerly with Zoot Money in the band DANTALIAN’s CHARIOT) on guitar. This line-up recorded the double album “LOVE IS” in Los Angeles in October 1968, issued only as a single LP in the UK, which featured imaginative cover versions of RIVER DEEP, MOUNTAIN HIGH, RING OF FIRE (also a hit single in many countries) and Traffic’s COLOURED RAIN. The album also featured the song GEMINI which segued in to a fine re-make of the DANTALIAN’s CHARIOT classic THE MADMAN (RUNNING THROUGH THE FIELDS). Released in December 1968, it was to be the final album by the group. Burdon remained in the United States and joined forces with the group WAR in 1969.
The set features the albums “WINDS OF CHANGE” (both stereo and mono versions), “THE TWAIN SHALL MEET”, “EVERY ONE OF US” and “LOVE IS”, all newly re-mastered from the original master tapes, along with ten bonus tracks drawn from the band’s single releases, including the classic B-sides A GIRL NAMED SANDOZ, AIN’T THAT SO and GRATEFULLY DEAD, all remastered from recently located original master tapes. Also included is an illustrated booklet with new essay and a replica poster. “WHEN I WAS YOUNG – The MGM Recordings” is a fine tribute to the music of Eric Burdon & the Animals.
CD One - Wind Of Change (Released In October 1967)
01. Winds Of Change
02. Poem By The Sea
03. Paint It Black
04. The Black Plague
05. Yes, I Am Experienced
06. San Francisco Nights
07. Man - Woman
08. Hotel Hell
09. Good Times
10. Anything
11. It's All Meat
Bonus Tracks:
12. When I Was Young
13. A Girl Named Sandoz
14. Ain't That So
15. Gratefully Dead
16. Anything (Single Version)
CD Two - The Twain Shall Meet (Released In May 1968)
01. Monterey
02. Just The Thought
03. Closer To The Truth
04. No Self Pity
05. Orange And Red Beams
06. Sky Pilot
07. We Love You Lil
08. All Is One
Bonus Tracks:
09. Sky Pilot (Part One) / Single Version
10. Sky Pilot (Part Two) / Single Version
11. Monterey (Mono Single Version)
CD Three - Everyone Of Us (Released In August 1968)
01. White Houses
02. Uppers And Downers
03. Serenade To A Sweet Lady
04. The Immigrant Lad
05. Year Of The Guru
06. St. James Infirmary
07. New York 1963 - America 1968
Bonus Track:
08. White Houses (Single Version)
CD Four - Love Is (Released In December 1968)
01. River Deep, Mountain High
02. I'm An Animal
03. I'm Dying, Or Am I?
04. Ring Of Fire
05. Coloured Rain
06. To Love Somebody
07. As The Years Go Passing By
08. Gemini
09. The Madman (Running Through The Fields)
Bonus Track:
10. River Deep, Mountain High (Single Version)
CD Five - Winds Of Change Mono Album (Released In October 1967)
01. Winds Of Change
02. Poem By The Sea
03. Paint It Black
04. The Black Plague
05. Yes, I Am Experienced
06. San Francisco Nights
07. Man - Woman
08. Hotel Hell
09. Good Times
10. Anything
11. It's All Meat
