The Animals - The Best of the Animals

Here's the problem with The Animals: Eric Burdon is a massive narcissist...and yet he's a brilliant singer in one of the greatest blue eyed soul bands ever. As I listened to this compilation of The Animals best songs (and yes, most of their best songs are here) my brain was wrestling with itself over whether to pay attention to the music or Eric Burdon's massive ego. What I decided was that the music was brilliant, and there's very little chance I'll ever meet Eric Burdon, so I guess I can let it slide.

I highly recommend the classic take on "House of the Rising Sun," but I also love "Boom Boom" and "It's My Life." The crazy meta-song "The Story of Bo Diddly" almost made my brain explode, but I'll be revisiting that one again for sure. All in all this is a great compilation, and highly recommended to fans of white guys who knowingly rip off black music, but include a song about the fact that they are white guys ripping off black music ("The Story of Bo Diddly") just to mess with everyone. But seriously, this is a great comp with a bunch of great tunes.

Baleeted? No. Not even Eric Burdon's massive ego could make me.