Absolute Animals 1964–1968

This compilation captures the sound of a band that always felt a bit more dangerous than their peers. While the Beatles were singing about holding hands, The Animals were channeling the soot and sweat of Newcastle into a minor-key blues that felt like a warning. The first half of the record is a masterclass in R&B-inflected rock, where Alan Price’s organ stabs through the air like a serrated knife and Eric Burdon’s baritone rumbles with an authority that belies his age. It is music for the dark corners of a pub, for the moments when the weight of the world feels particularly heavy.

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