Eric Burdon & the Animals — “White Houses”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 10, 2023

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

949) Eric Burdon & the Animals — “White Houses”

Ah, the Eggman. Protesting inequality and proclaiming “[y]ou better get straight”, this “surprisingly lyrical . . . piece of piercing social commentary about America in early 1968” (Bruce Eder, https://www.allmusic.com/album/every-one-of-us-mw0000654427) was a surprising choice for an A-side in November ’68 (better get straight?!), but hit #67 in the U.S. anyway. It’s “elegant mid-tempo pop jazz with urban visions, a good guitar solo . . . and outstanding Latin percussion”. (Aloha Criticon, https://www.alohacriticon.com/musica/reediciones-discos/eric-burdon-the-animals-every-one-of-us-1968/)

The song comes from the Every One of Us album (see #513), of which Bruce Eder says:

Eric Burdon & the Animals were nearing the end of their string, at least in the lineup in which they’d come into the world in late 1966, when they recorded Every One of Us in May of 1968 . . . . The group had seen some success, especially in America, with the singles “When I Was Young,” “San Franciscan Nights” and “Sky Pilot” over the previous 18 months, but had done considerably less well with their albums. Every One of Us lacked a hit single to help drive its sales, but it was still a good psychedelic blues album, filled with excellent musicianship . . . . [T]he group as a whole would pack it in with the waning of 1968.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/every-one-of-us-mw0000654427

In the other hand, Jeff Burger says that Every One of Us . . . is [a] most forgettable [album] . . . with songs like … “White Houses” . . . sounding like filler from a group that has run out of ideas.” (https://americanahighways.org/2020/03/29/review-the-animals-second-act-plus-a-new-gordon-lightfoot-cd/amp/). Burger, show me the beef!

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