The Animals Songs Ranked
The Animals are an English rhythm and blues and rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London upon finding fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound and deep-voiced frontman Eric Burdon, as exemplified by their signature song and transatlantic No. 1 hit single, “House of the Rising Sun”, as well as by hits such as “We Gotta Get Out of This Place”, “It’s My Life”, “Inside Looking Out”, “I’m Crying” and “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”. The band balanced tough, rock-edged pop singles against rhythm and blues-orientated album material and were part of the British Invasion of the US. The original lineup of Burdon, Alan Price, Chas Chandler, Hilton Valentine, and John Steel reunited for a one-off benefit concert in Newcastle in 1968. They later had brief comebacks in 1975 and 1983. There have been several partial regroupings of the original era members since then under various names. The Animals were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Here are all of The Animals songs ranked.
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13. San Franciscan Nights (Winds of Change, 1967)
“Cool knockoff of the Dragnet theme there at the beginning. As for the actual song, its a bit slower than the usual Animals (this isn’t the usual Animals, this is Eric Burdon AND The Animals, AKA the later and inferior lineup), but this is among the best of the latter day incarnation Animals. Burdon’s vocal is great, as usual, and that mellow guitar play is another little highlight.”
12. Help Me Girl (The Animals Is Here, 1964)
“A slightly lighter outing here for Eric Burdon and his Animals for once not howling at the moon and instead reflecting a more Motown than Stax influence in this punchy, poppier tune.”
11. See See Rider (Animalisms, 1966)
“The Animals version of ‘See See Rider’ is fuckin’ wild. They were really at the peak of their powers in 1966. This is really the last blast for what remained of their original lineup. They made one more very forgettable album before Chas moved on the produce Jimi Hendrix and Eric hit San Francisco to be on the most happening scene of the moment.”
10. Around and Around (The Animals, 1964)
“The Animals and especially Eric Burdon sounds damn cool here. This album has what, for this time period, seems to be the usual blues cover fixation.”
See more: The Animals Albums Ranked
9. White Houses (Every One of Us, 1968)
“The idealistic Summer-of-Love euphoria that perfused those earlier albums has largely dissipated, as evidenced on the opening song, “White Houses”, a litany of social ills set to a Latin beat, with a chorus of “You better get straight”.
8. Boom Boom (The Animals, 1964)
“Boom Boom is a pretty good cover and has some nice organ, everything else is just sort of there. My problem is the Animals sort of went a little too autopilot here and went for covering songs that I just never found interesting enough to deserve covers.”
7. When I Was Young (1969, 1988)
“Points up the fact that when we are young and pliable we believe the Religious stuff we are taught (along with Santa and the Easter Bunny) but, also, we believe that our country is inherently Good, and pledge allegiance to the Flag and are Good Boy Scouts. We tend to become Cynical and rebellious in the Teen years, and then more Conservative later as we age.”
6. Bring It on Home to Me (Animal Tracks, 1965)
“Some more well-played white boy blues from the Animals. I imagine working-class British folks, most certainly during this period in history, had the blues. The Animals, the Rolling Stones, and many other English bands tried their hands at the blues but the Animals did it best, at least I think so.”
See more: Rival Sons Albums Ranked
5. It’s My Life (Animal Tracks, 1965)
“Surely the rolling organ on this track was an inspiration to the Doors, plus the lyric of ‘riding the serpent’ is very Morrison-esque. Absolutely fantastic rocker with amazing instrumentation courtesy of Eric Burdon’s amazing voice and Alan Price’s fantastic organ. This is one of the best rock songs of the 60s.”
4. Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood (Animal Tracks, 1965)
“A very enthralling song! Some people should understand that if intentions in behaving are good all those thing happen after are justified!”
3. We Gotta Get Out of This Place (Animal Tracks, 1965)
“You can hear the frustration in Eric Burdon’s voice here, he sounds as if he is cornered in a dark grey alley way where there is nothing bud dudes with broken beer bottles looking to bash skull’s. The song, has a frantic beat and slowed down vocals in which he thinks it over. He is a little overwhelmed with life but he is cool and a singer so guess what he makes it. Awesome song, with patented Burdon vocals.”
2. Don’t Bring Me Down (Animalisms, 1966)
“I suspect that it’s precise because the Animals were so ambivalent about recording material that came to them from the Brill building via Mickie Most that they managed to infuse it with a tension that suggests an extreme desire for liberation. Something similar pervades Yardbirds’ Graham Gouldman penned hits.”
1. House of the Rising Sun (Power Company, 1983)
“Without this so much of rock music wouldn’t exist;it is to the credit of the record buyers of 1964 that they made this a number one.As a song about a brothel it would’ve been banned a year later.One of the best singles of all time.Alan Price’s organ is one of the great moments in rock history.”