I was working for a crook movie producer and we'd started a record label and through the attorney du jour, they kept on changing, abandoning ship once they realized they were never going to be paid, we got a connection to Eric Burdon, and we sauntered down to the Country Club in Reseda to make a deal.
It was one of the most disheartening nights of my life. You see Eric was burned out and all about the money. It was fifteen years since his last big hit. He was jaded, he'd seen it all. And he wasn't going to get excited about two little pishers come to rescue his career.
We never made that deal.
But I learned a lesson.
It's all about the money. If you're working for free, you're being taken advantage of.
Now this is not a rant against free music. You've got to make it available in today's world. And when you start out, you always have to play for free. But once you get traction, there are tons of scoundrels who'll lavish you with praise, kiss your butt and try to get you to work for nothing or close to it.
Don't.
Then again, if you've ever made it, you know this. There's no one more business-savvy than an old, wizened rock star. He's been ripped off and abused so many times he knows the score, even though you don't. You want him to appear for free at your charity show, it's a good cause, but without him there is no show and it might burn out the market for a future tour. But you can't see this. But an old rock star can.
I haven't seen Eric Burdon in decades. Although I've mellowed as to his response, as evidenced above. I don't know if he was truly burned out or just suspicious, deservedly so.
And I thought about this when I heard "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" on the satellite last night. You see it sounded so GOOD!
I'm talking the production here, Mickie Most's work. Like it was cut in a cavernous basement where illicit things take place. Somewhere you're dying to go yet afraid to enter. That was the Animals' magic. They were dark. Without resorting to outfits and outrageous statements in the press. It was all embodied in the music.
"The House Of The Rising Sun"
This was the breakthrough. My mother bought the 45 and brought it to summer camp on visiting day. She'd purchased three records, this, the Shirelles' "Foolish Little Girl" and something I can't remember, all on the recommendation of Carl Goldfield, who she had run into at the discount store.
You see Carl was cool. What he said counted. Even though he was only fourteen.
And I was disappointed... The Shirelles? I can now see "Foolish Little Girl"'s value, and I always liked "The House Of The Rising Sun," but I felt my mother should have bought me...something different.
But isn't that how kids are, despite your mom's best effort, you're still a bit disappointed.
The Animals' rendition of this song was not the first, but it became the standard, the classic.
"Don't Bring Me Down"
This is my favorite.
Yes, the organ pumps and the guitar stings, but it's Eric's vocal that puts it over the top, that truly endears, the way he goes from intimate, friendly, to ANGER! He's been giving his best effort and you're gonna bring him down?
Today's hit music is mindless.
This is not.
"We Gotta Get Out Of This Place"
That dirty old part of the city...of Newcastle upon Tyne. An industrial cesspool. That the Animals emanated from. This was not the squeaky-clean Beatles from Liverpool. Eric Burdon had a bad complexion, he looked like he'd fight you in the alley, the band was a bit more dangerous than the rest of the British Invasion, you couldn't bring them home to mother, but you wanted to hang with them.
And the melodic chorus was the singalong anthem of the fall of '65.
"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"
How dark can you get?
In the sunny world we live in today, you can't express emotions like this. Everybody shines up their personality to get on the reality show, you've got no problems unless they're warm and fuzzy or telegenic.
But that's not real life. Real life is more complicated. Riddled with angst and disappointment.
This doesn't sound like someone famous complaining about love, just YOU!
(Meanwhile, the original recording was done by Nina Simone, I've included it here.)
"It's My Life"
The concept has been eclipsed in song by Billy Joel's monster hit with a bouncy vibe but almost none of the emotion of this classic.
"It's a hard world to get a break in"
Ain't that the truth!
"Hear what I say
I'm gonna ride the serpent
No more time spent sweatin' rent
Hear my command
I'm breakin' loose
It ain't no use
Holdin' me down
Stick around"
Whew! This is the determination it takes to lift yourself up by the bootstraps and into a better life...do you want to come along? Do you believe in him, that all his frustration and lack of complacency will lead you to a better life?
"Bring It On Home To Me"
You wonder where Robert Plant got it from? Listen to that vocal!
"Yeah! YEAH! Yeah! YEAH! Yeah! YEAH!"
(And, of course, Sam Cooke wrote it and performed it originally.)
"Help Me Girl"
It's got that feel of the basement club in "Quadrophenia."
Technically this is after the band broke up and Eric went solo, but it was still billed as Eric Burdon & the Animals.
"When I Was Young"
It was originally a French hit by Charles Aznavour and Georges Garvarentz...but to say Eric makes it his own is an understatement. He adds an element of frustration...
Listen to the Aznavour original, I've added it to the playlist, it's entitled "Hier Encore"...it's almost a completely different song, you can hear the regret, but Burdon expands it into something unforeseen. That's the mark of a great A&R man, someone who can find a diamond in the rough, someone who can envision what a song can be.
"San Franciscan Nights"
The intro sounded cheesy even back then! Then again, what do Englishmen, never mind from Newcastle upon Tyne, know about California?
Only that they were intrigued and ultimately enraptured.
Listen past the intro...it sounds like flower power, and I mean that in a good way! Scott McKenzie's "San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair)" became the anthem, but "San Franciscan Nights" ran shotgun, it too got airplay, it too made the point.
"Monterey"
This was written by the new band, after it appeared at the festival. And it sounds just like that experience, all about improvisation, with an edge, it radiates possibility, it made you want to go. It's still Eric, but it's a far cry from the original British Invasion hits.
"Sky Pilot"
This was the last hurrah. Although it reached number 14 on the pop chart, it was a staple on the nascent FM band, in its seven and a half minute iteration. The flanging endears itself to you. Back in '68, everything was up for grabs. And this was the music we listened to.
And then Eric Burdon was done. He was suddenly an oldies act. He'd transitioned through so much, different backup musicians, from British Invasion to California consciousness, but even though "Sky Pilot" was perfect FM fodder, Eric was ultimately seen as what came before, in an era where most were only interested in the trendsetting new, like Jimi Hendrix, who was produced and brought to fame by the Animals' old bassist, Chas Chandler.
And on one hand, these Animals tracks are in the rearview mirror, you know 'em if you lived through them, otherwise they've been forgotten, even oldies radio has moved on. But they are not curios, they are not purely moments in time, at their best, they're transcendent concoctions that will last forever. Just like the Brits discovered American blues and were inspired to create these great records, there's an entire generation just waiting to be exposed to the Animals. They could make a comeback. Because of the pure unadulterated sound, it hits you in a physical way. The records are an assault, and at other times they creep up on you, inject you with their venom. They are undeniable. And unlike so much of the music of the sixties, they still sound fresh today.
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/p6HcZ8
Previous Rhinofy playlists: http://www.rhinofy.com/lefsetz
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