''Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted'' is a 1977 reunion album by

the Animals The Animals (also billed as Eric Burdon and the Animals) are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London upon finding fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound and ...

. They are billed on the cover as the Original Animals.

History

The album marked a reunion of the five original Animals from the group's first incarnation —

Eric Burdon Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer. He was previously the lead vocalist of R&B and rock band the Animals and funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, pow ...

, Alan Price,

Hilton Valentine Hilton Stewart Paterson Valentine (21 May 1943 – 29 January 2021) was an English skiffle and rock and roll musician who was the original guitarist in The Animals. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 and into Hollywoo ...

Chas Chandler Bryan James "Chas" Chandler (18 December 1938 – 17 July 1996) was an English musician, record producer and manager, best known as the original bassist in The Animals, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He ...

, and John Steel, in their first recording sessions since 1965. Bassist Chandler produced the effort using his Barn Records team. The title refers to the first sentence of

William Connor Sir William Neil Connor (26 April 1909 – 6 April 1967) was an English newspaper journalist for the ''Daily Mirror'' who wrote under the pen name of "Cassandra". Biography William Connor wrote a regular column for over 30 years between 1935D ...

's first column in the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...

'' after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

: "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted ...". The album was remastered and reissued on CD in 2000 by

Repertoire Records Repertoire Records is a German record label from Hamburg, Germany, specialising in reissues of classic pop and rock albums originally issued in the 1960s and 1970s. The chairman is Thomas Neelsen. See also * List of record labels File:Alvin ...

Reception

The album has received good critical notices. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' writer Dave Marsh called it "a surprisingly successful ..one-shot, with the original group, again dominated by Price and Burdon, turning in fine, hard-nosed blues performances." Bruce Eder of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

judged it "just short of a lost classic." However, record company promotion for the album was weak, no tour was held, and the sound was out of time with the popularity of disco and punk rock; it thus reached only #70 on the U.S. pop albums chart, #24 in

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and did not chart at all in the UK.

Track listing

Side one

# "Brother Bill (The Last Clean Shirt)" ( Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Clyde Otis) – 3:18 # "

It's All Over Now, Baby Blue "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan and featured on his '' Bringing It All Back Home'' album, released on March 22, 1965, by Columbia Records. The song was recorded on January 15, 1965, with Dylan's acousti ...

" (

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

) – 4:39 # "Fire on the Sun" (Shaky Jake aka James D. Harris) – 2:23 # "As the Crow Flies" (

Jimmy Reed Mathis James Reed (September 6, 1925 – August 29, 1976) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His particular style of electric blues was popular with blues as well as non-blues audiences. Reed's songs such as "Honest I Do" (1957), " ...

) – 3:37 # " Please Send Me Someone to Love" ( Percy Mayfield) – 4:44

Side two

# " Many Rivers to Cross" ( Jimmy Cliff) – 4:06 # " Just a Little Bit" (John Thornton,

Ralph Bass Ralph Basso Jr. (May 1, 1911 – March 5, 1997), known as Ralph Bass,The birth surname of Ralph Bass's paternal grandfather, who was born in Italy, was DuBasso. was an American rhythm-and-blues record producer and talent scout for several indepen ...

, Earl Washington, Piney Brown) – 2:04 # "Riverside County" (

, Alan Price,

, John Steel) – 3:46 # "

Lonely Avenue "Lonely Avenue" is a popular song written by Doc Pomus that was a No. 6 rhythm and blues hit for Ray Charles in 1956. Background The song drew the attention of the music business to Doc Pomus, who had previously had little success as a songwrit ...

" (

Doc Pomus Jerome Solon Felder (June 27, 1925 – March 14, 1991), known professionally as Doc Pomus, was an American blues singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-writer of many rock and roll hits. Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall ...

) – 5:16 # " The Fool" (Naomi Ford,

Lee Hazlewood Barton Lee Hazlewood (July 9, 1929 – August 4, 2007) was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960 ...

) – 3:24

Personnel

The Original Animals

– vocals * Alan Price – keyboards *

– guitar *

– bass * John Steel – drums

Technical

* Alan O'Duffy – engineer * Paul Hardiman – mix engineer * Jo Mirowski – design * Terry O'Neill – photography

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1977 albums The Animals albums Albums produced by Chas Chandler