Love Is (The Animals album)

Love Is
Studio album by Eric Burdon and the Animals
Released	December 1968 (US) and May 1969 (UK)[1]
Recorded	October 1968
Studio	TTG (Los Angeles) Sunset Sound (Hollywood)
Genre	Psychedelic rock R&B[2] progressive rock[1]
Length	66:32
Label	MGM
Producer	The Animals
Eric Burdon and the Animals, UK chronology
The Twain Shall Meet (1968) Love Is (1968)
Eric Burdon and the Animals, US chronology
Every One of Us (1968) Love Is (1968) The Greatest Hits of Eric Burdon and The Animals (1969)

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Allmusic	[2]

Love Is is the third album by Eric Burdon and the Animals. It was released in 1968 as a double album.

Love Is was issued in both the United Kingdom and United States. It was the last album released before the Animals' second dissolution in 1968. An edited version of the track "Ring of Fire" was released as a single and peaked at No. 35 in the UK singles chart, breaking the top 40 in Germany, Holland, and Australia as well.^[3]

Aside from the self-penned "I'm Dying (or am I?)", the album consists entirely of cover songs with extended arrangements by the Animals and sometimes even additional lyrics and musical sections. The entire Side D is occupied by a medley of songs originally by Dantalian's Chariot, a former group of band members Zoot Money and Andy Summers. Dantalian's Chariot archivists have been unable to locate a recording of "Gemini", and it is possible that Eric Burdon and the Animals were the first to actually record the song.^[4]

This album captured the only studio work of future Police guitarist Andy Summers with the group. The recording of Traffic's "Colored Rain" includes a guitar solo by Summers which runs a full 4 minutes and 15 seconds. To ensure he ended at the right place, Zoot Money kept count throughout the solo and gave him the cue out at bar 189.^[5]

1. "River Deep, Mountain High" (Phil Spector, Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich) – 7:23
2. "I'm an Animal" (Sylvester Stewart) – 5:34
3. "I'm Dying (Or Am I?)" (Eric Burdon) – 4:28

4. "Ring of Fire" (June Carter, Merle Kilgore) – 4:58
5. "Colored Rain" (Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood) – 9:38

6. "To Love Somebody" (Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb) – 6:55
7. "As the Years Go Passing By" (Deadric Malone) – 10:13

8. "Gemini" (Steve Hammond) / "Madman Running Through the Fields" [listed as "The Madman"] (Zoot Money, Andy Summers) – 17:23

Eric Burdon & The Animals

• Eric Burdon — lead vocals, spoken word
• Zoot Money — bass, backing and co-lead (3, 8a) vocals, organ, piano, spoken word (8a)
• Andy Summers — guitar, backing vocals
• John Weider — guitar, violin, backing vocals
• Barry Jenkins — drums, percussion, backing vocals

with:

• Robert Wyatt — backing vocals (1)^[6]
• brass? arranger? female vocalist on "To Love Somebody" ??

LP
1968, MGM SE 4591-2, U.S.A.
1968, MGM U.K.