"The Night' by The Animals

Song#:  1565
Date:  08/13/1983
Debut:  82
Peak:  48
Weeks:  10
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  This British blues rock band fronted by Eric Burdon had its heyday in the mid-to-late 60s. They burst onto the US chart in 1964 with their #1 rendition of "House of the Rising Sun." Other classics would follow: "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" (#15, 1965), "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" (#13, 1965) and "See See Rider" (#10, 1966). By 1968, the group had experience enough personnel and musical changes that a split was inevitable. Later in 1977, the original members reunited for an album and tour, but then promptly went back to their own projects. A second reunion would happen in 1983 and the result was the album Ark. This first single was issued from the LP and it became their first to hit the US chart since 1968. It would also get onto the Rock chart at #34. Unfortunately, the album and single would get ignored in their native UK. After the supporting tour, the members would once again move on to other things. While there would be further incarnations billing themselves as The Animals, the Ark LP and tour would end up being the final reunion of the original members.

ReduxReview:  This was...well...weird. I'm not sure what to make of it. It's almost like J. Geils and The Kinks had a power pop baby. I'm familiar with the hits of The Animals and while I wouldn't expect them to replicate their 60's sound, I didn't expect them to sound like this either. It's often hard to judge something like this where an older act records again years later and attempts to stay fresh while keeping some hint of their former glory. Is this song bad? Not really. If a no-name band did it, I'd probably think it was pretty good. However, my brain is trying to factor in that this is The Animals and it is not quite making sense. Like Pat Boone trying to get the kids on-board with his album of heavy metal covers. This one is not that extreme, but it is slightly strange.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  Eric Burdon would go on to form his band War. They would have a major hit in 1970 with "Spill the Wine" (#3 Pop, #2 Rock). The song came about thanks to band member Lonnie Jordan who spilled a glass of wine on the mixing board at the studio where they were recording. Burdon found this incredibly funny and used the flub as inspiration. The song would appear on their debut album. Burdon would record one more LP with War before departing. War would continue without Burdon and go on to have six Top 10 hits.

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