Of the first run of British bands who rose to fame in the wake of the Beatles breaking through in America, none were tougher and more forbidding than the Animals. They were also one of the first English acts to break internationally while aligning themselves with the blues. While the Rolling Stones were steeped in that genre, it would take them years to summon the sort of menace that the Animals delivered on their second single, 1964's "House of the Rising Sun." The band moved into a more pop-oriented direction over the next two years without stripping songs like "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," and "It's My Life" of their passion and intensity. Vocalist Eric Burdon would take the Animals into a more adventurous, psychedelic-infused direction after the dissolution of the original lineup in 1966, while the songs would remain proudly uncompromised to the end of their run.

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", "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. They were known in the US as part of the British Invasion.

In the face of the legend that he once was, it's very fashionable to dismiss Eric Burdon's '70s-and-later output as little more than an afterthought – which may or may not be true. But from the moment 1988's I Used to Be an Animal kicks into groove, it's clear that Burdon has spent the last few years doing more than kicking over old traces. The putative soundtrack to the singer's recently published autobiography, I Used to Be an Animal chases that band's career through its own chops and changes, pitfalls and high points, but without ever actually looking back. Situations and ambitions are recalled, to be sure. But the ice-sharp production and soaring, anthemic attack merges memory with modernity, to produce an album that still turns unsuspecting heads around – "what is that you're playing?" The sharpest shock, of course, is the opening title track, a brittle slice of late-'80s funk rap that manages to blend themes as diverse as the Who's "Baba O'Riley," Disco Tex's "Get Dancing," and Falco's "Das Kommissar," and still comes up sassy and fresh.

The title is a bit of a misnomer; this double CD only includes the complete sessions that the Animals recorded with producer Mickie Most in 1964 and 1965. The 40 songs capture the band at their peak, including most of their best and biggest hits: "House of the Rising Sun," "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," "Bring It on Home to Me," "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," "I'm Crying," "It's My Life," and "Boom Boom." Most of the rest of the tunes don't match the excellence of these smashes, though they're solid. The great majority of them are covers of vintage R&B/rock tunes by Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, and the like, which aren't quite as durable as reinterpretations from the same era by the Stones and Yardbirds.

Recorded in 1973-1974, Mirage was one of the finest albums of the 1970s by Animals front man Eric Burdon. The soundtrack for a proposed United Artists film with the Vietnam War as its subject matter, the music recorded by Burdon such as Dragon Lady, River of Blood, Mind Arc and Driftin / Geronimos Last Stand was some of the finest of his career. Exploring the genres of rock, psychedelia and African beats, the sessions also saw Burdon record the song Mirage, written by Jimi Hendrix on the night he died. Sadly, first the film and latterly a proposed double album release by Atlantic Records were shelved and the Mirage album and sessions were consigned to the archives. This CD release on Esoteric Recordings makes for the album's CD debut in the UK.

Sun Secrets is nothing for Eric Burdon (Animals) to be ashamed of artistically. With approximately 24 minutes per side, Sun Secrets is a far cry from The Black Man's Burdon and the rhythms of the group War. As Mountain guitarist Leslie West would do a year after this when he formed the Leslie West Band, Burdon beats him to the punch with a self-titled group that rocks - rocks harder than the Animals, rocks harder than War. It's innovative reinvention, and quite pleasing, not only to hear the three-piece unit blitzing behind the singer as he reinterprets Animals classics like "When I Was Young," "It's My Life," or the Hendrix/Cream riff-laden version of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," but on the instrumental title track as well…

Five CD set featuring all of the albums recorded by Eric Burdon & the Animals for the MGM Records label issued between October 1967 and December 1968. Eric Burdon & the Animals came together in December 1966 when the original Animals had ground to a halt. Vocalist Eric Burdon recruited Vic Briggs (guitar, piano), John Weider (guitar, violin, bass), Danny McCulloch (bass) and Barry Jenkins (drums) to form a new group which changed direction away from raucous rhythm and blues and embraced psychedelic rock and the influences of the emerging counter-culture…

In the face of the legend that he once was, it's very fashionable to dismiss Eric Burdon's '70s-and-later output as little more than an afterthought – which may or may not be true. But from the moment 1988's I Used to Be an Animal kicks into groove, it's clear that Burdon has spent the last few years doing more than kicking over old traces…

Darkness Darkness is an album by the former vocalist from The Animals, Eric Burdon. It was recorded in May 1978 at Roundwood House, County Laois in Ireland, using Ronnie Lane's Mobile Studio. The album was released by Polydor in 1980…

Survivor is a solo album by Eric Burdon released in 1977. It was recorded at the Advision Studios in London, England. Burdon reunited with Zoot Money to write songs for this album. Also his old friend Alexis Korner helped recording…

In 1991, Ian Anderson, Jack Bruce, and Al Di Meola became founding members of Leslie Mandoki’s band project ManDoki Soulmates, and for almost three decades, Leslie Mandoki has continued to unite a “who is who” of the icons of Anglo-American and European rock and jazz- rock in the Mandoki Soulmates band.

The debut effort by Eric Burdon and War was an erratic effort that hinted at more potential than it actually delivered. Three of the five tunes are meandering blues-jazz-psychedelic jams, two of which, "Tobacco Road" and "Blues for Memphis Slim," chug along for nearly 15 minutes…