Chart-topping 1960s albums getting 180-g and CD reissues with bonus tracks

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 20th. CD versions of all four titles will come with contemporaneous bonus tracks. Also out on May 20th, The Animals Mickie Most Years And More vinyl bundle will come with a reproduction of the ultra rare, one-sided 12-inch EP I Just Wanna Make Love To You, which kicked off the British Invasion band’s career in 1963. All can be purchased via the ABKCO webstore.

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 No. 1 US and No. 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 US 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.”

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-inch 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.