Eric Burdon - Roxy Live (1999) [CD Rip]

The Eric Burdon performance captured here was recorded at the Roxy nightclub in Los Angeles in 1976. Burdon includes extended version of two of his Animals hits, "House of the Rising Sun" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," but his primary concern is with introducing a batch of new, politically oriented songs written for a proposed film, Mirage, that was never made. The lyrics concern racial and Native American concerns, and Burdon sings them passionately, but the messages are less emphasized than the rock fervor of the band, led by guitarists Aalon Butler and Snuffy Walden and also featuring keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick, bassist Greg Brown, and drummer Alvin Taylor. Their style is screaming '70s rock, with lengthy guitar solos within long, loose arrangements. Burdon, who had released a chart album, Stop, the year before, was not yet an oldies act in 1976, and therefore could justify devoting most of a set to new material. But he still must have tried the patience of his listeners at the time, and subsequent ones won't find much of the familiar Eric Burdon here. This is an album for die-hard Burdon and Animals fans, and a minor effort even for them. ~William Ruhlmann