Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer-songwriter and actor. He was previously
the vocalist of rock band The Animals and funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, powerful blues-rock voice. He is also known for his aggressive stage performances.
Eric Burdon has one of the most powerful and distinctive voices in rock and roll. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 1994, and hailed by Rolling Stone as one of the 100 Greatest Voices of All Time, Burdon's music forged new territory while also topping the charts for over 5 decades.
Highly prolific, Burdon has released nearly 50 records in those 50 years, as front man of The Animals
and WAR and simply as Eric Burdon. Through the changing sounds and genres, what remains constant is his courage as an artist to explore new sounds, leading into new territory with his unrivaled and unique voice. Eric Burdon has shared the stage with legends such as Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Witherspoon and Otis Redding, and recently cited by cutting edge musicians like Patti Smith and Iggy Pop in their personal top tens.
Eric began his musical journey as a young man growing up in Newcastle, England. Listening to his
idols, Ray Charles and Bo Diddley, Eric immersed himself in American blues and jazz. As front man and driving force of the British Invasion band The Animals, Burdon helped shape rock and roll's DNA, and Eric's imposing yet soulful vocals are the driving force of the iconic favorite "House of the Rising Sun".
A long string of hits followed, including "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" and the Vietnam-era
anthem, "We Gotta Get Out of This Place." Pioneering the psychedelic San Francisco sound, Burdon's classics include "San Franciscan Nights" and "Monterey". As the lead singer of the Animals, Eric Burdon was one of the British Invasion's most distinctive vocalists, with a searingly powerful blues-rock voice. When the first lineup of the group fell apart in 1966, Burdon kept the Animals' name going with various players for a few years.
Usually billed as Eric Burdon & the Animals, the group was essentially Burdon's vehicle, which he
used to purvey a far more psychedelic and less R&B-oriented vision. Occasionally he came up with a good second-division psychedelic hit, like "Sky Pilot"; more often, the music was indulgent, dating it almost immediately. Burdon's real triumphs as a solo artist came at the beginning of the '70s, when he hooked up with a bunch of L.A. journeyman soul/funksters who became his backing band, War.
Recording three albums' worth of material in the year or two that they were together, the Burdon/War
records could ramble on interminably, and would have benefited from a lot of editing. But they contained some spacy funkadelia of real quality, especially their number three hit single "Spill the Wine," which was almost recorded as an afterthought in the midst of sessions dominated by exploratory jams. Eric Burdon & War were already big stars on record and stage when Burdon, for reasons unclear to almost everyone, quit the band in 1971.
Burdon continued through the years to perform with different iterations of the Animals, while also
founding and fronting the funk group War, one of the first multiracial bands, and topped the charts again with his groundbreaking hit single "Spill the Wine". In the following decades Burdon has become and accomplished painter and author, and he continues to record and tour as a solo artist. 2012 will see the release of his new album, "Til Your River Runs Dry."
In 2012, he experienced an unexpected comeback when Bruce Springsteen made him a cornerstone of his keynote speech at South by Southwest. Burdon joined Springsteen on-stage and was soon in demand.
Last Drive is the first and only studio album by Eric Burdon's Fire Dept., released in 1980.
Every song title from the album is also listed on the front cover. Also some lyrics are visible on it, "Outlaw motorcycle gangs have joined forces with the citizen drivers, look out for hot Chevey panel truck" (from "The Last Drive") and "Take my spirit someplace else" (from "The Last Poet").
The front cover was drawn by Eric Burdon. The band's logo, visible on the back cover, was drawn by Gerd Grzelak. The album was recorded at the "Tonstudio", Hiltpoltstein, West Germany (April 1980) and at "La Playa", Frejus, France (June 1980). The inner sleeve photographs were taken by Jürgen V. Gzarnowski.
Fire Department
Eric Burdon - lead vocals
Jackie Carter - vocals
Frank Diez - guitar
Bernd Gärtig - guitar, vocals
Jean-Jacques Kravetz - keyboards
Reginald Worthy - bass guitar
Bertram Engel - drums, vocals, synthesizer, steel drums
Nippy Noya - Afro percussion
TRACKS
01. The Last Drive 4:10
02. Power Company 4:16
03. Bird On The Beach 7:02
04. The Rubbing Out Of Long Hair 2:46
05. Atom-Most-Fear 4:17
06. Dry 4:43
07. Female Terrorist 6:47
08. The Last Poet 2:47
BIRD ON THE BEACH LYRICS
Stood with my kid on the lonely windswept beach
The winter sun was on the horizon, and we were both out of reach
She ran ahead of me looking for the next surprise
Our souls were wet from the incoming tide
She stopped and looked at me Lord, with tears in her eyes
It's only a dead bird, and his soul has gone to the sky
He's free, not like you and me
He's free, not like you and me
I never ever thought, that you would be so out of reach
And the lonely times have been like poison, child
I wish I could practice, what I preach
Then I can release these feelings, that I've been holding deep inside
Been missing you so much baby, the only healer can be time
By then you will have forgotten the dead bird on the beach
But please, don't forget your father, child, Cause he's out of reach
Yeah, my dream is to be free, free, free, freedom for you and me
Yeah free, free, free, freedom for you and me
You'll hear my music in the wind
Hearbeat like the rolling tide
One thing, you can be sure of, my love
Wherever you go, I'll hold your love inside
And I take a look, don't cry
Even if he was livin' and you had him in your hands
You'd still have to open up and let him fly
That bird must be free!
She turned around and looked at me Lord, with tears in her eyes
It's only a dead bird, and his soul has gone to the sky
He's free, not like you and me
He's free, not like you and me
Freedom
Freedom for you and me
Freedom
Freedom
Free
Freedom...
I never knew of this album, many thanks.
ReplyDelete-Brian