The Animals: The Best of 60’s Psychedelic Rock

Looking for some of the best psychedelic rock from the 60s? Then check out our list of the top tracks from The Animals!

The Animals

The Animals were an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London upon finding popularity in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, hard-edged blues sound and deep-voiced frontman Eric Burdon.

The House of the Rising Sun

“The House of the Rising Sun” is a traditional folk song, sometimes called “Rising Sun Blues”. It tells of a life gone wrong in New Orleans; many versions also urge a listener to avoid the same fate. The most successful commercial version, recorded in 1964 by British rock group The Animals, was a number one hit on the UK Singles Chart and also in the United States and France.

The song is unclear as to whether it is about a brothel or a jail. Ronnie Hawkins version mentions both explicitly: “It’s been the ruin of many poor boy / And me, oh God, I’m one.” The oldest known version of the song is from 1933 and is called “Gamblin’ Man”, which suggests it may be about gambling rather than about sex work; other versions make no mention of either gambling or women.

The Animals’ manager, Mickie Most, gave them an arrangement he had recently bought for £30 from Alan Price, organist with their Newcastle-based club act The Alan Price Rhythm & Blues Combo. Price claimed he had been inspired by Lead Belly’s recording; he said he changed some of the lyrics that he considered too specific to New Orleans (such as references to Basin Street).

We Gotta Get Out of This Place

We Gotta Get Out of This Place is a song by the Animals, written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. It was a major hit for the band, reaching number two in the UK in 1965 and number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US in 1966. In 2004, it was ranked number429 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Don’t Bring Me Down

“Don’t Bring Me Down” is a song by English rock band the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was written by band members Jeff Lynne and Richard Tandy, and produced by Lynne. The song was released in 1979 as the fourth and final single from the album Discovery. It was the band’s last top-ten hit in both the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number four, and in the US Billboard Hot 100, where it reached number nine. In 2001, Q Magazine placed “Don’t Bring Me Down” at number 72 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Tracks Ever.

The Beatles

We all know The Beatles. They’re one of the most popular and well-known bands of all time. But did you know that they were also a big part of the 60’s psychedelic rock scene? Let’s take a look at their influence on the genre.

I Want To Hold Your Hand

“I Want to Hold Your Hand” is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and recorded in October 1963, it was the first Beatles record to be made using four-track equipment. With advance orders exceeding one million copies in the United Kingdom, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” would have gone straight to the top of the British Record Retailer chart at the end of December 1963. But when advance copies were released in mid-November, radio stations across America put it on heavy rotation—it went on sale there on 26 November, and within three weeks had sold over a million copies and was at number one on Billboard magazine’s Hot 100 chart; it replaced “She Loves You” at number one in both Billboard and Cashbox. Remaining there for seven weeks, it was knocked off by the Beatles’ “She Loves You”, but returned to number one for three more weeks before being replaced by “Please Please Me”. It spent a then unprecedented 15 weeks at number two without ever reclaiming its peak. In 2013, Billboard ranked it as the most successful song of all time in the US Hot 100.

All You Need Is Love

All You Need Is Love is a song by The Beatles that was released in 1967. It is one of their most well-known and iconic songs, and it has been covered by many artists over the years. The lyrics of the song are simple and direct, and they speak to the power of love as a force that can overcome any obstacle. The song has been used in many films and TV shows over the years, and it remains a popular choice for weddings and other special occasions.

Come Together

“Come Together” is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song is the opening track on their 1969 album Abbey Road and was also released as a single coupled with “Something”. The song reached the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart in the United States and peaked at No. 4 in the United Kingdom.

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band that was formed in London in 1962. The band’s original lineup consisted of Mick Jagger (lead vocals, harmonica), Keith Richards (guitar, vocals), Brian Jones (guitar, harmonica), Ian Stewart (piano), Charlie Watts (drums), and Bill Wyman (bass). The band’s primary songwriters, Jagger and Richards, assumed leadership after Andrew Loog Oldham became their manager in 1963. Jones left the band less than a month before his death in 1969, having already been replaced by Mick Taylor.

(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. The first stable line-up consisted of Brian Jones (guitar, harmonica), Mick Jagger (lead vocals, harmonica), Keith Richards (guitar, vocals), Bill Wyman (bass), Charlie Watts (drums), and Ian Stewart (piano). Stewart was removed from the official line-up in 1963 but continued as a touring member until his death in 1985. Jones left the band less than a month prior to his death in 1969, having already been replaced by Mick Taylor, who remained until 1974. After Taylor’s departure, Ronnie Wood took his place in 1975 and has been on guitar in tandem with Richards ever since. Since Wyman’s retirement in 1993, Darryl Jones has served as their bassist.

The Stones have released 30 studio albums, 23 live albums and numerous compilations. Let It Bleed (1969) was their first of five consecutive number one studio albums in the UK. Sticky Fingers (1971) was the first of eight number one studio albums in the US. In 2008, the band ranked 10th on the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists chart. In 2012, they were ranked number four on Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 Greatest Artists of All Time list and number forty-five on VH1’s 100 Greatest Artists of All Time list. The band have received numerous awards and nominations, including five Grammy Awards wins – Best Contemporary Pop Performance for “Brown Sugar” and Undercover – Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for “Start Me Up”, Best Rock Album for Voodoo Lounge and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”.

Get Off of My Cloud

“Get Off of My Cloud” is a song by The Rolling Stones, released as a single in 1965. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and produced by Andrew Loog Oldham.

The song was a return to the raw, blues-based sound that characterized the Stones’ early work. Jagger has said that he came up with the title and most of the lyrics while taking a bath at Keith Richards’ house in Redlands, Sussex. The rest of the band wrote the music. The song is often seen as an indictment of the celebrity lifestyle and those who pursue it.

In spite of its dark subject matter, “Get Off of My Cloud” was a commercial success, reaching number one in both the UK and US, as well as several other countries. It has been included on multiple Stones compilations, including Hot Rocks (1964–1971) and Forty Licks.

Paint It, Black

“Paint It, Black” is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released as a single in May 1966. It was later included as the opening track to the US version of their 1966 album, Aftermath. Released during a time when Anglo-American relations were strained following the Vietnam War and racial tensions within the US were at an all-time high, “Paint It, Black” reached number one in both the US and UK charts.

The song has been described as a “moody and atmospheric work which perfectly captured the zeitgeist of its time”, with its themes of loss and despair being seen as representative of the social turmoil of the 1960s. The Rolling Stones have regularly performed “Paint It, Black” in concert throughout their career, and it has been covered by a number of other artists including Siouxsie and the Banshees, Johnny Marr, Janet Jackson and U2.