Animals

The Animals were one of the hottest acts during the British Invasion. Led by lead singer Eric Burdon and keyboardist Alan Price, the band mixed rhythm and blues, soul, pop and rock (and later, with Burdon before the name, psychedelia) into an appealing mix that spawned numerous hits in the 1960s.

"House of the Rising Sun" was their only chart-topper. This 1964 song took a traditional arrangement and brought it into a new focus. It also was one of the longest songs of the time, in spite of information on the single, which read that it lasted less than three minutes.

The song is actually three minutes, and a masterpiece at that. However, the single version of this song is rarely heard on American radio, as even oldies stations play the unedited version--but what we have here is the single version, and you can hear where it the edit occurs.

The sleeve is the typical American sleeve of the time. When it was obvious what the "hit" side was, labels often simply printed the same thing on the sleeve's front and back, and you can see that here.

Animals - The House of the Rising Sun.mp3
Animals - Talkin' 'Bout You.mp3