Vinyl of the Week - 18 September, 2022

Greatest Hits Live, The Animals

DISPLAYABLE vinyl of the week. Some of my favourite songs have a lyric that instantly transports you to a place in your imagination.. When I was about 8 or 9 one of my favourite things to do was to wait in the car while my mum went shopping and listen to the local radio station. It was on one such occasion that I first heard the distinctive vocals of Eric Burdon and that iconic opening line - “There is a house in New Orleans, they call the Rising Sun, and it’s been the ruin of many a poor boy, and god I know I’m one…” How could you not be intrigued by that? The Animals were a British band from Newcastle that shot to fame following the 1964 recording of this traditional folk song. Previously recorded by an array of artists, including Bob Dylan, the origin of the song was not really known but it had been sung in pubs for years. This recording was heralded as one of the first examples of a genuine folk-rock hit. To add even more to the legend, when Bob Dylan heard the Animals’ version, he pulled his car over and decided that he had to go electric (although that story is hard to verify as Dylan has gone on record as both confirming and denying this). Recorded in a single take, House of the Rising Sun shot straight to number one with its gritty, bluesy sound. But The Animals weren’t just one-hit wonders and this album is a testament to both their catalogue and their epic live performances. ‘We Gotta Get Out of This Place’, ‘It's My Life’ and ‘Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood’ have the same brooding dynamic that first captured my imagination all those years ago. Highly recommend - DS