THE ANIMALS-RETROSPECTIVE: Here's everything a casual fan of Newcastle bad boys THE ANIMALS could reasonably ask for, tracking bruising blooze yowler ERIC BURDON's various shifts in musical styles during the second half of the swingin' sixties. The original quintet's string of hits focused on grit-saturated covers of folkie warhorse HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN and JOHN LEE HOOKER's lurching BOOM BOOM, mixed with the more pop-centric BRILL BUILDING stabs WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE and DON'T BRING ME DOWN. Soon enough, BURDON was helming an entirely new set of ANIMALS and shouldering the writing chores himself. His  psychedelic vision yielded the hip tributes SAN FRANCISCAN NIGHTS, SKY PILOT and MONTERREY (detailing that massive musical "be-in" starring JANIS, JIMI and THE WHO) and the introspective pearl WHEN I WAS YOUNG. His final burst of popularity was forged in tandem with soul funk brothers WAR for the  Latino laced SPILL THE WINE...they moved on, scoring many more chartbusters even as BURDON's solo career sank from view. But for half a glorious decade, THE ANIMALS proved the Brit wave band to beat in terms of ballsy idealism as opposed to "pretty boy" pablum.