BURDON REVISITS ANIMALS,WAR

By STEVE SEYMOUR

Eric Burdon wailed, cajoled and pleaded his way through 14 songs Friday night, Oct. 26 at the Island Resort and Casino in Harris singing material by the Animals and War.

He performed a dozen hits and a couple near misses, backed by a crack six-piece band consisting of guitar, keyboards, bass, drums and a two-man horn section.

Burdon launched the evening with a spirited take on singer-songwriter Randy Newman's "Mama Told Me (Not To Come)," a chart-topper by Three Dog Night in 1970. Burdon first recognized the song's potential in 1967 when he recorded the tune for his "Eric Is Here" long-player. The song wasn't a hit.

Dressed in black with his trademark sunglasses, Burdon roared through "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" and "When I Was Young" No. 15 smashes from 1965 and 1967, respectively. The lyrics to the latter contain the line, "She was brown and I was pretty green," which always made me chuckle.

Burdon followed with enthusiastic takes on "Inside-Looking Out" and the ballad "Anything," two more mid-Sixties gems.

An entertaining sax solo highlighted "Spill The Wine," which Burdon had recorded with War, his funky back-up band in early 1970.

While Burdon spoke mostly to introduce his songs, he chided security at this point saying, "Leave my people alone" to guards who were stopping people from taking pictures in the aisles.

Burdon dug deep into his catalog for the next two numbers. "The Fool" was the closing track on the Animals' 1977 reunion album, "Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted." The bluesy "Mother Earth" was another War track, from the LP "Eric Burdon Declares War."

The 77-year-old blues singer returned to his glory years, showcasing his hit versions of Goffin-King's "Don't Bring Me Down" and Sam Cooke's "Bring It On Home To Me."

"The House Of The Rising Sun," a traditional song arranged by Alan Price, received the treatment it deserved as an all-time monster, with Burdon's emotional vocals up front. The band, born post-Rising Sun, obviously delighted in playing the cut, one of 1964's top sellers.

"We Gotta Get Out Of This Place," featuring some tasty keyboards, closed the show.

A two-song encore followed. "It's My Life," from the album "Animal Tracks," was joined by "Hold On! I'm Comin'," a cover by the R&B duo Sam Moore and Dave Prater.

Like the rest of the audience, I was thrilled with the show. You could argue Burdon was even better than when he recorded all his classic tracks.

This was actually the third time my wife Sue and I had seen Burdon, sort of.

Back in the day we travelled to Oshkosh to see our idol perform at the annual WaterFest summer concert series. Unfortunately, the show was rained out, although we did get to meet Burdon backstage.

The next time we saw him was at the opening concert for the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland in 1995. From our vantage point in the stadium, Burdon was about one-inch tall and was allowed just two songs, paired with New Jersey rocker Bon Jovi.

So the third time really was a charm, you see. ###

LP COVERS EVOLVE WITH TIMES

As the Sixties evolved so did album cover art, reflecting the rapidly-changing culture of the times.

That's the contention of Doug Sjoquist whose collection, "The Golden Age of Album Covers 1967-1983," graces the gallery at Escanaba's Bonifas Arts Center.

For most of the decade, albums usually featured artist portraits and conventional lettering, producing lackluster appeal. Sjoquist, retired humanities professor at Lansing Community College, described the product as "boring."

Then came 1967. Innovative album sleeves by the likes of The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones, Cream, Velvet Underground, Grateful Dead and King Crimson ushered in an era of extraordinary creativity that increasingly reflected the revolutionary music in the grooves of the records inside.

The use of portraiture declined and original artwork bloomed until the introduction of the compact disc when cover art shrunk to CD size.

A former instructor at Bay College, Sjoquist was a teenage drummer when he purchased "Disraeli Gears" and "Axis: Bold as Love." The stunning cover to "In the Court of the Crimson King" in 1969 prompted him into a lifetime of collecting album art.

"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' is also featured prominently in the display for its gatefold sleeve, printed lyrics and Hindu imagery.

Music fans will recognize many of the exhibit's covers including Santana's "Abraxas," another gatefold sleeve.

As his collection grew through the years, Sjoquist used it in teaching world civilization and history of rock music courses. He also said it was a good way to "illustrate the relationship between art history and popular culture." He made presentations of album cover art at national conventions in Traverse City, Las Vegas and Portland, Or.

The 80-cover exhibit is organized into sections emphasizing Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. There are two main themes, world cultures and art history.

A handful of the albums illustrate the period before 1967, including the Beach Boys, Rolling Stones, Sonny and Cher, Dave Clark Five and Beatles' "VI," an American compilation record. Several other Fab Four covers, not shown in the display, may have under-recognized significance. "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver" strayed from the standard format.

The former album, issued in 1965, presented a distorted photograph of the group with bubble-shaped letters, designed by Charles Front, forming the title. The group's name did not appear on the cover.

Artwork designed by bassist and mop-top friend Klaus Voormann fronted the following year's release. His cover collage was a combination of photos and drawings quite unlike any cover of the period. Intentionally black and white, the band's moniker was absent again.

"I'm convinced anyone interested in art history, world civilizations, world religions, and pop culture would find this exhibit aesthetically pleasing and educational," Sjoquist said in a rationale and brief history of his exhibit.

We agree.