Eric Is Here

david rabinovitz (November 21, 2011)

When this album first came out,Rolling Stone gave it a wholly undeserved vicious review that,I believe,temporarily derailed Eric Burdon's career. The album was a change of direction for The Animals emphatically symbolized by the title itself that demoted the rest of Animals to mere sidemen. I'd love to re-read that review these 40 plus years later. I suspect that the review doesn't hold up as well as this superb record that integrated jazzy arrangements with Eric Burdon's trailblazing, peerless(but for Jagger) blue-eyed soul.... I don't know who the reviewer was but I'd hazard the guess that his ears tightened up because the horns violated some misbegotten sense of Rock purity...... It's a great album with Eric at his most masterful vocally,and an unusual and appealing mix of songs . ...... Rolling Stone for no good reason gave him a very raw deal,at a point in time when their reviews meant something akin to a New York Times theatre review on opening night...................... David Wingate
.................David Wingate