Search - Eric Burdon & the Animals :: Winds of Change/Twain Shall Meet

Thomas D. (RockerBoomer) from SOUTHAMPTON, NY
Reviewed on 6/25/2014...

This is a TWO-DISK set NOT 1 disk. I'm just saying.

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Psychedelic Eric reinvents himself California style

George T. Parsons | Nevada City, CA | 04/26/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Leaving the UK for the California coast, he picks up a new band and also reinvents himself as a sorta peace & love cosmic older brother, instead of a boasting, boozing blues singer. From '67 and '68. Eric had become psychedelised and the evidence oozes out of every pore of these two albums presented here as a double disc set with the original liners to Winds of Change, and additional ones by Alan Clayson. There are hits (San Francisan Nights, Monterey, and Sky Pilot) there are a few clinkers, and a lot of Eric Burdon's most interesting work. All originals except for a trippy reworking of the Stones' Paint It Black. In addition to the hits, some of Eric Burdon's most interesting work resides on these sides: Poem by the Sea, Hotel Hell, Good Times, Anything, Orange and Red Beams, We Love You Lil, and All is One are among the best songs Burdon ever had a hand in writing. The shout/spoken Man-Woman predates his later 70's work with War, the spoken work story The Black Plague is still chilling in an A.E. Poe meets EC Comics sorta way. San Franciscan Nights captures a moment or at least a bit of the mythology of a magical moment in a corny/sweet 3:24. Hotel Hell has lonely Spanish trumpet casting long shadows across acoustic guitar and Eric's darkest sleepless 3:AM musings. Good Times looks back on hard drinking days with hard won wisdom, and potent hooks that recall his earlier work more than anything else here. The all embracing love song Anything is perhaps Eric's most blissed out recorded moment. The first disc/album is the better, but they are both well worth investigating by anyone curious about the more experimental pop musical moments of the later 60s, by one of it's underappreciated and more gifted practitioners."

Summer of Love in 2003

Steven H. Dymond | Englewood, CO USA | 04/22/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Back in 1966, at the age of 11, when the Beatles were the rage, I fell in love with the Animals strong raunchy blues. No velvet coats for these guys. Eric Burden has always been a re-inventor and creative force. HE has the gift of of being able to powerfully deliver spoken words as well as singing. Winds of Change and the Twain are some of later albums, along with Love Is. I have all of these in the original vinyl and traveled to England in 1972 to buy them, as they were hard to find then. Now I have them again in a more useable format.
The two subject albums are creative, The Twain is pshycedelic in feel and celebrates Monterey Pop festival, really different and not blues. The weaker of the two IMHO, excluding its only 'hit' Sky Pilot, again relevant in light of Iraq.Winds of Change, offers spoken stories about hispanic lovers parting and reuniting as well as medieval plague with very cool background music, a cover of Paint it Black, and some other driving tunes. It stands up well thirty years later. These are not the top forty covers or compositions. They are original and different, and interesting, especially for the time. Some songs have born the test of time better than others-see the editorial review-they are notably those played on the radio. My CD came as two CDs one for each album, liner notes which arent that accurate IMHO, and little of the original art. Still I like the albums."