The Animals - Animals Noises (1966)

I'll start by saying that this post is more for the UK visitor than the American one, as it's based on the Animals' British discography, where they released just three albums during their lifetime - 'The Animals' (1964), 'Animal Tracks' (1965), and 'Animalisms' (1966). During this period they also released a lot of singles, but hardly any of them were taken from these albums, not even their biggest hit 'House Of The Rising Sun'. For the US market their record company plundered the British albums, adding the singles and dropping other songs to make room for them, and then gathering those abandoned tracks up on other albums later on. The band started out in Newcastle upon Tyne during 1962 and 1963, when vocalist Eric Burdon joined the Alan Price Rhythm and Blues Combo, lending his raucous vocals to Alan Price (organ and keyboards), Hilton Valentine (guitar), John Steel (drums), and Bryan "Chas" Chandler (bass). After some success in their hometown, they moved to London in 1964, in the immediate wake of Beatlemania, and the beat boom take-over of the popular music scene. They performed fiery versions of the staple rhythm and blues repertoire, covering songs by Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker, and Nina Simone, and were soon signed to EMI's Columbia label, who released a rocking version of the standard 'Baby Let Me Follow You Down' (retitled 'Baby Let Me Take You Home') as their first single. This was followed in June 1964 by the transatlantic number one hit 'House of the Rising Sun', putting The Animals name on the world stage, and with Alan Price's haunting organ riffs creating arguably the first folk rock hit. 
The band's two-year chart career, produced by Mickie Most, featured intense, gritty covers such as Sam Cooke's 'Bring It On Home To Me' and the Nina Simone-popularised number 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood', whereas their album tracks stayed with rhythm and blues, with John Lee Hooker's 'Boom Boom' and Ray Charles' 'I Believe to My Soul', and consequently none of their singles appeared on their UK albums. By May 1965, the group was starting to feel internal pressures, and Price left due to personal and musical differences, as well as fear of flying on tour, and Mick Gallagher filled in for him on keyboards for a short time, until Dave Rowberry replaced him, and was on hand for the hit songs 'We Gotta Get out of This Place' and 'It's My Life'. As 1965 ended, the group signed a new deal with the American label MGM Records for the US and Canada, and switched to Decca Records for the rest of the world, but 'Don't Bring Me Down' was their last hit as The Animals, and the group disbanded in September 1966. By including all their non-album singles and their b-sides on this album, it's almost a greatest hits collection, as well as a mopping-up exercise of their rarities, so this one should appeal to people who only know them from 'House Of The Rising Sun', as well as to the long-term fans of this legendary UK band.

Track listing

01 Baby Let Me Take You Home (single 1964) 
02 Gonna Send You Back To Walker (b-side of 'Baby Let Me Take You Home)
03 The House Of The Rising Sun (single 1964)
04 Talkin’ ‘Bout You (b-side of 'House Of The Rising Sun')
05 I’m Crying (single 1964)
06 Take It Easy (b-side of 'I'm Crying')
07 Blue Feeling (b-side of 'Boom Boom' 1964)
08 Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood (single 1965) 
09 Club-A-Go-Go (b-side of 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood')
10 Bring It On Home To Me (single 1965) 
11 We’ve Gotta Get Out Of This Place (single 1965)
12 I Can't Believe It (b-side of 'We've Gotta Get Out Of This Place')
13 It’s My Life (single 1965)
14 I’m Going To Change The World (b-side of 'It's My Life') 
15 Don't Bring Me Down (single 1966)
16 Cheating (b-side of 'Don't Bring Me Down')
17 Inside Looking Out (single 1966)