The Animals on Tour

by The Animals

Overview

Despite a title that promises, but does not deliver, a taste of the Animals live and sweaty in concert, Animals on Tour was, in fact, the U.S. equivalent to the Animals' second British album, Animal Tracks (whose title then became their third American set). Eight of the British album's cuts made it onto the U.S. version, together with two songs left over from the similarly rearranged first album as well as two more culled from singles: the Top 20 hit "I'm Crying" and the less successful "Boom Boom," re-recorded from the group's first-ever independent release. In either incarnation, it is a less arresting release than its predecessor, all the more so since the group had undergone a seismic change in both style and direction since it was recorded. Keyboard player Alan Price had quit, while the band's latest single, "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" evoked a modern mod-blues style that only the Rolling Stones were close to competing for. Animals on Tour, however, maintained the bluesier side of the group, with the American album's embrace of even older material rendering it a virtual time capsule. There are, nevertheless, a string of highlights, most notably Ray Charles' brooding epic of marital infidelity, "I Believe to My Soul," and the drunken "Worried Life Blues" -- at last, a second cousin for "House of the Rising Sun" to hang out with! "How You've Changed" completes the album's trilogy of downbeat desolation, establishing a mood across side one that cannot wholly be dispelled even by the piecemeal nature of side two, wherein three of the transplanted numbers lie. Nevertheless, that is where Animals on Tour falls down, as listeners hurtle from the buoyancy of another Ray Charles number, "Hallelujah, I Love Her So," forward to the electrifying "I'm Crying," and then back to versions of "Dimples" and "She Said Yeah" that weren't exactly missed from American pressings of the last LP. Still, if you think this album takes liberties with the band's development, wait till you get around to the American Animal Tracks! ~ Dave Thompson

Product Details

Release Date:	06/24/2022
Label:	Abkco Records
UPC:	0018771997610
Rank:	67865

Tracks

1. Boom Boom
2. How You've Changed
3. Mess Around
4. Bright Lights, Big City
5. I Believe to My Soul
6. Worried Life Blues
7. Let the Good Times Roll
8. Ain't Got You
9. Hallelujah, I Love Her So
10. I'm Crying
11. Dimples
12. She Said Yeah

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Animals   Primary Artist
Chas Chandler   Bass
Eric Burdon   Lead Vocals
John Steel   Drums
Hilton Valentine   Guitar
Alan Price   Keyboards

Technical Credits

Ray Charles   Composer
Big Maceo Merriweather   Composer
Jimmy Reed   Composer
Billy Boy Arnold   Composer
Chuck Berry   Composer
James C. Bracken   Composer
Eric Burdon   Composer
Leonard Lee   Composer
Roddy Jackson   Composer
Val Valentin   Engineer
Mickie Most   Producer
Ahmet Ertegun   Composer
George Jackson   Composer
Calvin Carter   Composer
John Lee Hooker   Composer
Michael James Jackson   Composer
Ahmet Nugetre   Composer
Alan Price   Composer
Sonny Christy   Composer
Allan Learner   Composer
Shirley Goodman   Composer
James Bracken   Composer
Don Christy   Composer