Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!: Day 334 - The Animals

The Most Of The Animals - The Animals

Columbia

Produced by Mickie Most

UK Release

Released 1965

 (Australian Cover)

Tracklist

A1 We've Gotta Get Out Of This Place    
A2 Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood    
A3 Boom Boom    
A4 Baby Let Me Take You Home    
A5 Bright Lights Big City    
A6 I'm Crying    
A7 House Of The Rising Sun    
B1 It's My Life    
B2 Mess Around    
B3 Dimples    
B4 Bring It On Home To Me    
B5 Gonna Send You Back To Walker    
B6 I'm Mad Again    
B7 Talkin' 'bout You

The Best Of The Animals - The Animals

MGM Records

Produced by Mickie Most 

US and Canada Release

Released February 1966 (Though there are some that date it as 1965!)

US Chart #6

 Tracklist

A1 It's My Life    
A2 Gonna Send You Back To Walker    
A3 Bring It On Home To Me    
A4 I'm Mad    
A5 House Of The Rising Sun    
B1 We Gotta Get Out Of This Place    
B2 Boom Boom    
B3 I'm In Love Again    
B4 Roberta    
B5 I'm Crying    
B6 Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

******************
Dedicated to Hughie

If you look at the Discography of The Animals you will spot that there have actually been quite a few albums that bear the titles The Best of The Animals and The Most of The Animals. Some have the same artwork and most have a different tracklisting.

Today I thought I'd go right back to the original versions of the albums from 1965 and 1966.

The Most of The Animals was a UK release and comprises of some of the hit singles released by The Animals between 1964-65. Many of the songs had also been released on various EPs released between late 1964 and 1965.

 (The Debut EP released in the UK December 1964 but it actually wasn't the first one to be recorded)

In March 1964 the band released their debut single Baby Let Me Take You Home which reached #21 in the charts but it was their second single, House of the Rising Sun that was to have a huge impact and not just in the UK as it hit the top spot in Sweden, Australia, Canada and most importantly America.

(The House Of The Rising Sun - US Picture Sleeve)

The album contains another five Top Ten singles (I'm Crying - #8, Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - #3, Bring It On Home To Me - #7, We Gotta Get Out Of This Place -#2, and It's My Life - #7).

The Most Of seems like an unusual title but it actually refers to Producer Mickie Most.

(We Gotta Get Out Of This Place - Danish Picture Sleeve)

The Best Of The Animals was the first American compilation and was released early 1966. The album hit the Top Ten and stayed in the charts for two years. It also has the distinction of being the only album by The Animals to go Gold!

The Animals were one of the first bands that I really loved as a kid and although these two albums came out when I was the tender age of two the music that is contained within them shaped my love for all things musical. It was so good listening afresh to these last night and it was one of my friends on Facebook (Hughie) who inspired this post today after he had posted a great clip of the band performing Boom Boom at Wembley in 1965.

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!

45RPM: #31 It's My Life - The Animals (1965)

On this day in musical history The Animals found themselves in the studio laying down the track that would become the follow up to their #2 hit We've Gotta Get Out of This Place (The Beatles' Help prevented it from taking the top spot).

We've Gotta Get Out of This Place, It's My Life and Don't Bring Me Down (also a Top Ten hit reaching #6 in 1966) were all songs associated with the Brill Building in NYC, a place where scores of hit singles were being written.

The Animals premiered the song on American TV show Hullabaloo in Autumn 1965 (see video below).

Dave Marsh said, "It's My Life" was one of a wave of songs in 1965, by artists such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan, that ushered in a new role for rock music as a vehicle for common perception and as a force for social consciousness. Writer Craig Werner sees the song as reflecting the desire on the part of both the Animals and their audience to define themselves apart from the community they came from. Writer Dave Thompson includes the song in his book 1000 Songs that Rock Your World, saying simply, "There is no angrier declaration of independence than this."

It's My Life

Written by Roger Atkins and Carl D'Errico

It's a hard world to get a break in
All the good things have been taken
But girl there are ways to make certain things pay
Though I'm dressed in these rags, I'll wear sable some day

Hear what I say
I'm gonna ride the serpent
No more time spent sweatin' rent
Hear my command
It ain't no use, I'm breakin' loose,
Holdin' me down, stick around

But baby (baby)
Remember (remember)
It's my life and I'll do what I want
It's my mind and I'll think what I want
Show me I'm wrong, hurt me sometime
But some day I'll treat you real fine

There'll be women and their fortunes
Who just want to mother orphans
Are you gonna cry
When I'm squeezing them dry?
Taking all I can get
No regrets
When I ... openly lie
And live on their money
Believe me honey, that money
Can you believe, I ain't no saint
No complaints
So girl go out
Any doubt

And baby (baby)
Remember (remember)
It's my life and I'll do what I want
It's my mind and I'll think what I want
Show me I'm wrong, hurt me sometime
But some day I'll treat you real fine

(It's my life and I'll do what I want) Don't push me
(It's my mind and I'll think what I want) It's my life
(It's my life and I'll do what I want) And I can do what I want
(It's my mind and I'll think what I want) You can't tell me
(It's my life and I'll do what I want)

 It's My Life / I'm Going To Change The World

Columbia

Produced by Mickie Most

Released October 1965

UK Chart #7

US Chart #23

Canadian Chart #2

Swedish Chart #1

A- Side: It's My Life

B-Side: I'm Going To Change The World

Probably one of the most famous cover versions of the song is by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. It was a staple during the Born To Run tour of 1975-76 and other dates throughout the rest of the 1970's.

It's My Life

Recorded at
The Fabulous Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO, USA

February 28, 1977.