ABKCO Music & Records reissues classic Animals albums in the Dolby Atmos® audio format

 

EXPERIENCE THE ANIMALS LIKE NEVER BEFORE: 

ABKCO RELEASES EARLY CATALOG IN DOLBY ATMOS FOR 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF "HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN"

US Albums The Animals, The Animals on Tour, Animal Tracks and Animalization, As Well As Best of Collection The Animals Retrospective, All Newly Remixed In Dolby Spatial Audio, Will Be Available On Apple Music, TIDAL, Amazon Music

 

On May 17, ABKCO Music & Records will release five albums by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees The Animals in the Dolby Atmos® audio format for the first time ever. These include the British rock band’s first four US full lengths The Animals (1964), The Animals on Tour (1965), Animal Tracks (1965) and Animalization (1966), as well as the 22-track career-spanning collection The Animals Retrospective, originally released in 2004. Every title will come out simultaneously on the streaming platforms Apple Music, TIDAL and Amazon Music. This will happen 60 years almost to the day of the recording of their intercontinental chart-topping single “House of the Rising Sun” on May 18, 1964. 

 

Developed by Dolby Laboratories in 2012, Dolby Atmos® is a patented technology that is a leap forward from surround sound. It goes beyond the ordinary listening experience and puts you inside the song in a spatial way, revealing every detail of the music with unparalleled clarity and depth. Grammy-nominated recording engineer Kenta Yonesaka helped mix The Animals albums in Dolby Atmos® with the utmost attention to detail. Yonesaka has worked with a wide range of artists including The Rolling Stones, Buddy Guy, Mark Ronson, Mariah Carey, Pharrell Williams and Kendrick Lamar. 

 

“The idea of hearing our earlier work in Atmos spatial audio, it’s like stepping into a whole new dimension for me,” said The Animals frontperson Eric Burdon. “It’s like rediscovering the magic all over again. I mean, we poured our hearts and souls into those recordings, and now to hear them brought to life in such an immersive way, it’s like a dream come true. The quality and depth of the playback experience, it’s everything.” 

 

Formed in Newcastle by Eric Burdon from the ashes of the Alan Price Rhythm and Blues Combo, The Animals were known for their hard driving, R&B-influenced sound and became a hit-making machine on both sides of the Atlantic right out of the gate. Their self-titled 1964 album includes the #1 US and #1 UK charting “House of the Rising Sun,” and was made in an era when they were “the most important and successful British export after the Beatles,” as asserted by Rolling Stone’s David Fricke. Despite its title, their February 1965 follow-up The Animals on Tour contains studio recordings and features the Top 20 single “I’m Crying.” Animal Tracks was released just six months later, in the same calendar year. As was customary for American versions of British records, hit singles were packed into it—“Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” (originally recorded by Nina Simone the previous year), Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home to Me” and the Mann/Weil-penned “We Gotta Get Out of This Place,” the latter of which became a de facto anthem for U.S. Armed Forces G.I.s deployed to Vietnam. 1966’s Animalization, released during the band’s final year of existence, saw original producer Mickie Most replaced by Tom Wilson (Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, the Velvet Underground, The Mothers of Invention). There is no shortage of Top 40 material, from “Don’t Bring Me Down” (written for The Animals by Gerry Goffin and Carole King), Ma Rainey’s “See See Rider” and the Animals’ re-imagining of a prison work song originally recorded by American folklorist Alan Lomax, “Inside-Looking Out.”   

 

Spanning the years 1964-1970, The Animals Retrospective contains all fourteen US Top 40 hits by The Animals and late ‘60s lineup Eric Burdon & The Animals, including “When I Was Young,” “San Franciscan Nights,” “Monterey” and “Sky Pilot.” The set is capped by the 1970 smash hit “Spill the Wine” by Eric Burdon & War. 

 

The Animals (US, 1964)

1. House of the Rising Sun
2. The Girl Can’t Help It
3. Blue Feeling
4. Baby Let Me Take You Home
5. The Right Time
6. Talkin’ ‘bout You
7. Around and Around
8. I’m in Love 
9. Gonna Send You Back to Walker
10. Memphis, Tennessee
11. I’m Mad Again
12. I’ve Been Around
13. Talkin’ ‘Bout You (unedited) (Bonus Track)

 

The Animals on Tour (US, 1965)

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. I Ain’t Got You
9. Hallelujah, I Love Her So
10. I’m Crying
11. Dimples
12. She Said Yeah
13. Baby What’s Wrong (Bonus Track)
14. F-E-E-L (Bonus Track)
15. New Year’s Radio Spot (Bonus Track)

 

Animal Tracks (US, 1965)

1. We Gotta Get Out of This Place (US single version)
2. Take It Easy
3. Bring It On Home to Me
4. The Story of Bo Diddley
5. Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood
6. I Can’t Believe It
7. Club A-Go-Go
8. Roberta
9. Bury My Body
10. For Miss Caulker
11. Roadrunner (Bonus Track)
12. Don’t Want Much (Bonus Track)
13. We Gotta Get Out of This Place (UK Single Version) (Bonus Track)
14. It’s My Life (Bonus Track)
15. I’m Gonna Change the World (Bonus Track)

 

Animalization (US, 1966)

1. Don’t Bring Me Down
2. One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show
3. You’re On My Mind
4. Cheating
5. She’ll Return It
6. Inside-Looking Out
7. See See Rider
8. Gin House Blues
9. Maudie
10. What Am I Living For
11. Sweet Little Sixteen
12. I Put a Spell on You

 

The Animals Retrospective (2004, containing material from 1964-1970)

1. House of the Rising Sun
2. I’m Crying
3. Baby Let Me Take You Home
4. Gonna Send You Back to Walker 
5. Boom Boom
6. Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood
7. Bring It On Home To Me
8. We Gotta Get Out of This Place (US single version)
9. It’s My Life
10. Don’t Bring Me Down
11. See See Rider
12. Inside-Looking Out
13. Hey Gyp
14. Help Me Girl*
15. When I Was Young*
16. A Girl Named Sandoz*
17. San Franciscan Nights*
18. Monterey*
19. Anything*
20. Sky Pilot*
21. White Houses*
22. Spill the Wine**

 

*Eric Burdon & The Animals

**Eric Burdon & War

 

ABOUT ABKCO Music & Records, Inc., is one of the world’s leading independent entertainment companies. It is home to iconic music catalogues that include compositions and recordings by Sam Cooke, The Rolling Stones, Bobby Womack, Eric Burdon, The Animals, Herman’s Hermits, Marianne Faithfull, The Kinks as well as the Cameo Parkway masters by such artists as Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell, Clint Eastwood, The Dovells, ? And The Mysterians, The Orlons, Dee Dee Sharp, Charlie Gracie, Bob Seger, and The Tymes. Releases on ABKCO’s SAR Records include albums by L.C. Cooke, The Soul Stirrers, Billy Preston, Johnnie Taylor, The Valentinos, Mel Carter and more. ABKCO is active on many fronts, including the release of critically lauded soundtracks, compilations, reissues from its catalog, film, commercial placement of its master recordings and music publishing properties in all media. One Night In Miami…, ABKCO’s latest theatrical production, received a nomination for the 2017 Olivier®.  

Relive groundbreaking hitmakers of the 1950s and '60s via 'Ed Sullivan's Rock & Roll Classics'

Title: Ed Sullivan's Rock & Roll Classics (Time Life)

You might like if you enjoy: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Four Tops, The Animals, Fats Domino, Janis Joplin, classic rock and soul music

Tell me more: Watching the enthralling 10-disc collector's set of Ed Sullivan's Rock & Roll Classics is to be immersed in the groundbreaking sounds of a wide-ranging lineup of groundbreaking artists who made their collective mark on the charts in the 1950s, '60s and early '70s. The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Bee Gees, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, The Jackson 5, The Rolling Stones, Fats Domino, The Supremes, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Stevie Wonder and Creedence Clearwater Revival are among the many notables who are seen via 128 live and uncut performances on the stellar collection. 

Long celebrated for his uncanny ability to recognize up-and-coming music greats, Sullivan brought icons including Presley, Holly, The Beatles, Bee Gees, The Supremes and The Rolling Stones to his Sunday Night prime-time variety show early in their careers. This deluxe collection (which retails for $119.96) allows modern-day audiences to fully appreciate The Ed Sullivan Show's unique role in history as a showcase for several generations of popular music legends. Among this writer's favorite performances on the 10-disc set are The Four Tops' medley of 1965 hits ("It's the Same Old Song/Something About You/I Can't Help Myself"), The Lovin' Spoonful's "Do You Believe in Magic," The Animals' rocking "Don't Bring Me Down," The Rolling Stones' rousing "Paint It, Black," and Holly's "Peggy Sue" and "That'll Be the Day," as well as the thrilling turns from Presley, The Band, The Byrds and The Beatles. Throughout the years, the studio sets and production values of the performances grew more ambitious as evidenced by the cosmic-styled medley of The 5th Dimension's "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" filmed in May 1969, and the Ike and Tina Turner Revue's explosive version of the Creedence Clearwater Revival hit "Proud Mary" in January 1970.

In addition to the performances, there are bonus interviews and brief newsreel-aided segments that shed light on the cultural and historic highlights of the times in which these performances were captured. A 36-page "Collector's Book" that features liner notes, trivia and wonderful photos enhances the title.

The best of popular music from the 1950s, '60s and early '70s is truly captured across Ed Sullivan's Rock & Roll Classics. 

Information: www.timelife.com.

The Animals' 'Retrospective' coming on November 18, 2022

Nice to see The Animals' aptly-titled 'Retrospective' will be released via vinyl this fall...Robert Kinsler

22-Track Collection Includes “House of the Rising Sun,” “We Gotta Get Out of This Place,” “Don’t Bring Me Down,” “Sky Pilot,” Eric Burdon & War’s “Spill The Wine,” Many More

­ On November 18, ABKCO Records will release, for the first time, a vinyl edition of Retrospective, the definitive 22-track collection spanning the years 1964-1970 from Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees The Animals. Originally released in 2004 on CD and SACD formats, the 180-gram black 2-LP set gathers all fourteen US top 40 hits by The Animals and late ‘60s lineup Eric Burdon & The Animals, including “See See Rider,” “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” “San Franciscan Nights” and the transatlantic number one “House Of The Rising Sun.” The set is capped by the 1970 smash hit “Spill The Wine” by Eric Burdon & War. An exclusive edition pressed on 180g orange vinyl is available at Target.  ­

­ Preorder Retrospective Now  ­

­  Formed in Newcastle, England in the early 1960s out of the ashes of The Alan Price Rhythm & Blues Combo, The Animals moved to London in ‘64 and were signed to EMI’s Columbia label by the visionary independent producer Mickie Most. Influenced by folk, blues, jazz, R&B, and early rock and roll, The Animals and front man Eric Burdon seemed tougher and more brooding than their British Invasion peers The Beatles and even The Rolling Stones. An international sensation almost out of the gate, the band toured and recorded non-stop until the end of 1968, going through several lineup changes and parting ways with Mickie Most in ’66 to work with producer Tom Wilson (Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, Mothers of Invention). After disbanding, Burdon joined forces in the early 1970s with Los Angeles funk band War for two albums and scored a Billboard number three (Cashbox number one) hit with “Spill the Wine,” which featured the spoken-word style that he effectively employed on many of the latter Animals albums.    The Animals’ approach to music was three-pronged. There were the “Animalized” covers of folk and blues songs like the traditional “House of the Rising Sun,” blues great John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom,” and “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” originally recorded by Nina Simone. Then there were tunes written for the band by Brill Building songwriters such as “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place,” by Mann and Weil (which became an unofficial anthem for disgruntled American forces in Vietnam), the Gerry Goffin/Carole King-penned “Don’t Bring Me Down,” and “Baby Let Me Take You Home” by Bert Berns and Wes Farrell. Lastly, The Animals had original compositions that they leaned towards in the later years. The thinly veiled ode to LSD “A Girl Named Sandoz” (named after the company that chemist Albert Hofmann worked for when he synthesized the drug). It was covered decades later by Smashing Pumpkins. “Sky Pilot,” the epic, cinematic anti-war masterpiece, and the contemplative “When I Was Young” helped define The Animals’ second wind in the flower power era.     “We were the ultimate club band,” concludes Burdon in Jim Bessman’s Retrospective liner notes. “We had our differences and sometimes came to blows, but we all stood together when anybody attacked us from the outside.”    The Animals Retrospective 2-LP  Side 1  1) House Of The Rising Sun 4:29  2) I'm Crying 2:47  3) Baby Let Me Take You Home 2:20  4) Gonna Send You Back To Walker 2:27  5) Boom Boom 3:49  6) Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood 2:29  Side 2  7) Bring It On Home To Me 2:42  8) We Gotta Get Out Of This Place (U.S. single version) 3:16  9) It's My Life 3:08  10) Don't Bring Me Down 3:17  11) See See Rider 4:01  12) Inside-Looking Out 3:49  Side 3   13) Hey Gyp 3:50  14) Help Me Girl 2:43 *  15) When I Was Young 3:01 *  16) A Girl Named Sandoz 3:07 *  17) San Franciscan Nights 3:20 *  18) Monterey 4:18 *  Side 4  19) Anything 3:20 *  20) Sky Pilot 7:27 *  21) White Houses 4:43 *  22) Spill The Wine 4:03 **  * Eric Burdon & The Animals  ** Eric Burdon & War    ABOUT ABKCO Music & Records, Inc., is one of the world’s leading independent entertainment companies. It is home to iconic music catalogues that include compositions and recordings by Sam Cooke, The Rolling Stones, Bobby Womack, Eric Burdon, The Animals, Herman’s Hermits, Marianne Faithfull, The Kinks as well as the Cameo Parkway masters by such artists as Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell, Clint Eastwood, The Dovells, ? And The Mysterians, The Orlons, Dee Dee Sharp, Charlie Gracie, Bob Seger, and The Tymes. Releases on ABKCO’s SAR Records include albums by L.C. Cooke, The Soul Stirrers, Billy Preston, Johnnie Taylor, The Valentinos, Mel Carter and more. ABKCO is active on many fronts, including the release of critically lauded soundtracks, compilations, reissues from its catalog, film, commercial placement of its master recordings and music publishing properties in all media. One Night In Miami…, ABKCO’s latest theatrical production, received a nomination for the 2017 Olivier® Award for Best New Play and three Academy Award nominations as a Major Motion Picture directed by Oscar® winner Regina King. ABKCO’s latest TV production is The Durrells in Corfu, based on Gerald Durrell’s book The Corfu Trilogy and ABKCO’s latest vinyl and CD releases are by The Animals: The Animals, Animalization, The Animals on Tour and Animal Tracks, and The Rolling Stones Singles 1963-1966 7” Box Set.      www.abkco.com www.facebook.com/abkco www.twitter.com/abkco www.youtube.com/abkco

 

Music News Roundup: Pink Floyd, Buddy Guy, John Lennon, a-ha, The Animals, Mike Campbell, more!

Check out TJR and Robert Kinsler discuss the major music news headlines of the last week on their new episode available HERE. 

The range of newsmakers includes Pink Floyd, John Lennon, The Animals, a-ha, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Buddy Guy, Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs and more!

Christone "Kingfish" Ingram / Photo: Bob Steshetz

Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs / Photo courtesy of the artist

First Four U.S. albums by The Animals, chart-topping 1960s British Invasion Band, to be reissued on 180-gram vinyl, audio CD with bonus tracks due May 20, 2022

 If you are a fan of The Animals, you'll want to read this! Robert Kinsler

The Animals, The Animals on Tour, Animal Tracks, Animalization get mono vinyl treatment for the first time in decades; Mickie Most Years And More Bundle Includes Vinyl Set + I Just Wanna Make Love To You 12” EP ­ ­

­ ­ ­ ABKCO will reissue the first four US albums by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees The Animals this May. Originally released between 1964 and 1966 on MGM Records, The Animals, The Animals on Tour, Animal Tracks and Animalization have been out of print for decades and will be made available on 180-gram vinyl in mono with original cover art on May 20. CD versions of all four titles will come with contemporaneous bonus tracks. Also out on May 20, The Animals Mickie Most Years And More vinyl bundle will come with a reproduction of the ultra rare, one-sided 12” EP I Just Wanna Make Love To You, which kicked off the British Invasion band’s career in 1963.  ­ ­ Pre-order Mickie Most Years And More ­ ­ Formed in Newcastle by frontperson Eric Burdon from the ashes of the Alan Price Rhythm and Blues Combo, The Animals were known for their hard driving, R&B-influenced sound and became a hit-making machine on both sides of the Atlantic right out of the gate. Their self-titled 1964 album includes the #1 US and #1 UK charting “House of the Rising Sun,” and was made in an era when they were “the most important and successful British export after the Beatles,” as asserted by Rolling Stone’s David Fricke. Despite its title, their February 1965 follow-up The Animals on Tour contains studio recordings and features the Top 20 single “I’m Crying.” Animal Tracks was released just six months later, in the same calendar year. As was customary for American versions of British records, hit singles were packed into it—“Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” (originally recorded by Nina Simone the previous year), Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home to Me” and the Mann/Weil-penned “We Gotta Get Out of This Place,” the latter of which became a de facto anthem for U.S. Armed Forces G.I.s deployed to Vietnam. 1966’s Animalization, released during the band’s final year of existence, saw original producer Mickie Most replaced by Tom Wilson (Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, the Velvet Underground, The Mothers of Invention). There is no shortage of Top 40 material, from “Don’t Bring Me Down” (written for The Animals by Gerry Goffin and Carole King), Ma Rainey’s “See See Rider” and the Animals’ re-imagining of a prison work song originally recorded by American folklorist Alan Lomax, “Inside-Looking Out.”     “To me, The Animals were a revelation,” said Bruce Springsteen at his 2012 SXSW keynote speech. He went on to describe their catalog as “the first records with full blown class consciousness that I had ever heard,” before picking up a guitar and performing a large chunk of “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” and declaring, “That’s every song I’ve ever written. That’s all of them. I’m not kidding either. That’s ‘Born To Run,’ ‘Born In the U.S.A.,’ everything I’ve done for the past 40 years, including all the new ones.” Billy F Gibbons of ZZ Top expounds, “Oddly enough, it was the British bands who turned a lot of us Americans onto the blues that were our own backyard, and no one did it better than The Animals.” Along with numerous other groups, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were also disciples of The Animals, having covered “Don’t Bring Me Down” at Farm Aid in 1985.    The CD versions of these titles will contain bonus tracks relating to the time periods in which they were originally released. The Animals has the unedited “Talkin’ ‘Bout You,” (the LP version was shortened due to the time constraints of the vinyl format), while The Animals on Tour has their versions of Jimmy Reed’s “Baby What’s Wrong,” Ray Charles’ “F-E-E-L” and a radio spot recorded for New Year’s Eve 1964. The CD version of Animal Tracks has five bonus tracks, including the hit “It’s My Life” and the UK version of “We Gotta Get Out of This Place.” The Animalization CD has stereo versions of three of the album tracks, which gradually overtook the mono format in the second half of the ‘60s.   ABKCO Records will be offering The Animals Mickie Most Years And More, a limited edition bundle consisting of all four titles on vinyl plus I Just Wanna Make Love To You—a faithful reproduction of the very first record by the band—a 12” EP privately issued in a run of 500 copies by Graphic Sound Ltd. Recorded on September 15, 1963. It contains the title track, “Big Boss Man,” “Pretty Thing” and an early version of “Boom Boom” (originally by John Lee Hooker) all on one side of a 45 rpm record housed in a plain outer sleeve. Captured by recording engineer Phil Woods at his home in Wylam, Northumberland, I Just Wanna Make Love To You is a peek into the early days of The Animals just before their rise international dominance.       The Animals (U.S., 1964) Side 1 House of the Rising Sun The Girl Can’t Help It Blue Feeling Baby Let Me Take You Home The Right Time Talkin’ ‘Bout You (edited) Side 2 Around and Around I’m in Love Again Gonna Send You Back to Walker Memphis, Tennessee I’m Mad Again I’ve Been Around CD bonus track: Talkin’ ‘Bout You (unedited)   The Animals on Tour (U.S., 1965)  Side 1 Boom Boom How You’ve Changed Mess Around Bright Lights, Big City I Believe to My Soul Worried Life Blues Side 2 Let the Good Times Roll I Ain’t Got You Hallelujah, I Love Her So I’m Crying Dimples She Said Yeah CD bonus tracks: Baby What’s Wrong F-E-E-L New Year’s Radio Spot   Animal Tracks (U.S., 1965) Side 1 We Gotta Get Out of This Place Take It Easy Baby Bring It On Home to Me The Story of Bo Diddley Side 2 Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood I Can’t Believe It Club A-Go-Go Roberta Bury My Body For Miss Caulker CD bonus tracks: Roadrunner Don’t Want Much We Gotta Get Out of This Place (UK Single Version) It’s My Life I’m Gonna Change the World   Animalization (U.S., 1966)  Side 1 Don’t Bring Me Down One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show You’re On My Mind Cheating She’ll Return It Inside-Looking Out Side 2 See See Rider Gin House Blues Maudie What Am I Living For Sweet Little Sixteen I Put a Spell on You CD bonus tracks: Don’t Bring Me Down (Stereo Version) Cheating (Stereo Version) See See Rider (Stereo Version)   I Just Wanna Make Love To You 12” EP (available as part of The Animals Mickie Most Years And More bundle) Side 1 I Just Wanna Make Love To You Big Boss Man Boom Boom Pretty Thing Side 2 intentionally blank   All tracks in mono unless otherwise stated   ABKCO Music & Records, Inc., is one of the world’s leading independent entertainment companies. It is home to iconic music catalogues that include compositions and recordings by Sam Cooke, The Rolling Stones, Bobby Womack, Eric Burdon, The Animals, Herman’s Hermits, Marianne Faithfull, The Kinks as well as the Cameo Parkway masters by such artists as Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell, Clint Eastwood, The Dovells, ? and The Mysterians, The Orlons, Dee Dee Sharp, Charlie Gracie, Bob Seger, and The Tymes. Releases on ABKCO’s SAR Records include albums by L.C. Cooke, The Soul Stirrers, Billy Preston, Johnnie Taylor, The Valentinos, and more. ABKCO is active on many fronts, including the release of critically lauded soundtracks, compilations, reissues from its catalog, film, commercial placement of its master recordings and music publishing properties in all media. One Night In Miami…, ABKCO’s latest theatrical production, received a nomination for the 2017 Olivier® Award for Best New Play and three Academy Award nominations as a Major Motion Picture directed by Oscar® winner Regina King. ABKCO’s latest TV production is The Durrells in Corfu, based on Gerald Durrell’s book The Corfu Trilogy and ABKCO’s latest releases are The French Dispatch Original Soundtrack and its companion album Tip Top by Jarvis Cocker.    www.abkco.com www.facebook.com/abkco www.twitter.com/abkco

Album Reviews: Keb' Mo' 'BLUESAmericana' & The Strypes 'Snapshot'

Listen to more samples and get Bluesamericana here



hear more samples and get Snapshot here

THE ANIMALS: THE MICKIE MOST YEARS AND MORE

The British Invasion continues (thankfully!), and here is the latest news related to that winning parade.

THE ANIMALS: THE MICKIE MOST YEARS AND MORE

SEMINAL BRITISH INVASION BAND’S FIRST EVER BOXED SET

OUT NOVEMBER 25, 2013

It’s been more than 50 years in the making but well worth the wait: the first ever Animals boxed set, The Animals: The Mickie Most Years And More, is set for release by ABKCO Records through Real Gone Music on November 25^th. Comprised of five CDs and many extras, the set offers a total of 61 tracks from one of the British Invasion’s most successful bands, fronted by the ever-enduring Eric Burdon. 

A set of multiple “firsts,” The Animals: The Mickie Most Years And More offers the group’s first four US albums -- The Animals, The Animals on Tour, Animal Tracks and Animalization -- on CD for the very first time, each offered with bonus material.  The first three of these were produced by the legendary Mickie Most, who went on to work with such notable artists as Herman’s Hermits, the Yardbirds, Donovan, Hot Chocolate, Suzi Quatro and other hit makers.

All of the discs that comprise The Animals: The Mickie Most Years And More have been newly re-mastered by Adam Ayan at Gateway Mastering who used transfers from original first generation, mono master tapes as his source.  The set features a plethora of bonus tracks -- a total of 16 -- including the very first Animals release, a 4 track EP entitled I Just Wanna Make Love To You that was issued in 1963 on the Graphic Sound label, later re-released by (British) Decca as In The Beginning There Was Early Animals.  Other bonus track highlights include four tracks never before released in the U.S., three non-LP/single-only versions including “We Gotta Get Out of This Place,” “Don’t Bring Me Down” and “I’m Gonna Change The World,” as well as “Roadrunner, “a UK-only track.

The lavishly packaged set includes extensive liner notes for each of the CDs by Rolling Stone Senior Editor David Fricke and each copy of The Animals: The Mickie Most Years And More comes with a 100% cotton Animals t-shirt.

Well worth the wait, indeed.

TRACK LISTING

Disc One

I Just Wanna Make Love to You (1963)

1.   I Just Wanna Make Love to You

2.   Big Boss Man

3.   Boom Boom

4.   Pretty Thing

Disc Two

The Animals (1964)

1.   House of the Rising Sun

2.   The Girl Can’t Help It

3.   Blue Feeling

4.   Baby Let Me Take You Home

5.   The Right Time

6.   Talkin’ ‘Bout You

7.   Around and Around

8.   I’m in Love Again

9.   Gonna Send You Back to Walker

10. Memphis, Tennessee

11. I’m Mad Again

12. I’ve Been Around

Bonus Track

13. Talkin’ ‘Bout You (full seven minute version)

Disc Three

The Animals on Tour (1965)

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

Bonus Tracks

13. Baby What’s Wrong

14. F-E-E-L

15. New Year’s Radio Spot (recorded December, 1964)

Disc Four

Animal Tracks (1965)

1.   We Gotta Get Out of This Place

2.   Take It Easy Baby

3.   Bring It on Home to Me

4.   The Story of Bo Diddley

5.   Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood

6.   I Can’t Believe It

7.   Club A-Go-Go

8.   Roberta

9.   Bury My Body

10. For Miss Caulker

Bonus Tracks

11. Roadrunner (previously unreleased in the U.S.)

12. Don’t Want Much (previously unreleased in the U.S.)

13. We Gotta Get Out of This Place (U.K. single version)

14. It’s My Life (single only)

15. I’m Gonna Change the World

Disc Five

Animalization (1966, produced by Tom Wilson)

1.   Don’t Bring Me Down

2.   One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show

3.   You’re on My Mind

4.  Cheating

5.   She’ll Return It

6.   Inside-Looking Out

7.   See See Rider

8.   Gin House Blues

9.   Maudie

10. What Am I Living For

11. Sweet Little Sixteen

12. I Put a Spell on You

Bonus Tracks

13. Don’t Bring Me Down (stereo)

14. Cheating (stereo)

15. See See Rider (stereo)

Pre-Order Now: http://smarturl.it/AnimalsBoxSet

ABOUT ABKCO -  ABKCO Music & Records, founded over 50 years ago by Allen Klein, is one of the world’s leading independent entertainment companies.  It is home to iconic catalog assets that include compositions and recordings by Sam Cooke, The Rolling Stones, Bobby Womack, Eric Burdon, The Animals, Herman’s Hermits, Marianne Faithfull, The Kinks as well as the Cameo Parkway masters by such artists as Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell, Clint Eastwood, The Orlons, The Dovells, ? & The Mysterians, Charlie Gracie, The Tymes and Dee Dee Sharp. Soundtrack releases include Edgar Wright’s The World’s End and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Wes Anderson’s 2013 Academy Award® nominated Moonrise Kingdom, The Darjeeling Limited and the 2010 Academy Award® nominated Fantastic Mr. Fox, Independent Spirit Award® Winner Safety Not Guaranteed, Our Idiot Brother,  the international blockbuster Fast Five, Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, The Men Who Stare At Goats, Boardwalk Empire Volume 2: Music from the HBO® original series and the soundtrack to the first season of the hit Showtime® series, Californication.  ABKCO is active on many fronts including the release of critically lauded compilations and reissues from its catalog, film and commercial placement of its master recordings and music publishing properties in all media.   ABKCO Films most recent release is The Rolling Stones Charlie Is My Darling – Ireland 1965.   Renowned cult director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s classics El Topo and The Holy Mountain, fully restored and remastered to HD, were shown at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival (Classics section) and at the prestigious 44th New York Film Festival. In 2003 ABKCO won a Grammy for the DVD release of Sam Cooke – Legend and the following year released the DVD of The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus to universal acclaim. Upcoming releases include a restoration of the Spaghetti Western Blindman starring Ringo Starr.  ABKCO Films is in pre-production on a biopic on the life of Sam Cooke.                  www.abkco.com                  www.facebook.com/abkco                                www.twitter.com/abkco

ABOUT REAL GONE MUSIC - Real Gone Music, formed and helmed by industry vets Gordon Anderson and Gabby Castellana, is an eclectic and prolific catalog and reissue label with distribution through Sony via Razor & Tie. Anderson and Castellana each started businesses in 1993 — Collectors’ Choice Music and Hep Cat Records & Distribution, respectively — that became two of the most important outlets for buyers and sellers of vintage music recordings. They joined forces in 2011 to launch Real Gone Music, which serves both the collector community and the casual music fan with a robust release schedule combining big-name artists with esoteric cult favorites. Real Gone Music is dedicated to combing the vaults for sounds that aren’t just gone — they’re REAL gone.