The Black Man's Burdon Kentucky

The Black Man's Burdon

Eric Burdon & War

Avenue / Rhino Records, 1971

REVIEW BY: Eric E5S16

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 08/21/2000

Eric Burdon was most famous with his group The Animals. Burdonleft the Animals at the end of the 1960s, and helped form a bandnamed War, who would later find fame after he left. ("Cisco Kid,""The World Is A Ghetto," "Low Rider," "Why Can't We Be Friends.")Burdon & War's second album together, The Black Man's Burdon, defines rock with a mix of jazz, asound unheard of in the music of The Animals.

Take the case of the opening track, the near-15 minute jam,"Paint It Black Medley". The Rolling Stones favorite is here;however, it is set to a latin-jazz beat, where even Carlos Santanamay have recorded this song back in the late 1960s/early 1970s.Part of the medley continues the latin-jazz sound with other songsin this medley: "Laurel & Hardy / Pintello Negro / P.C. 3 /Blackbird." All in all, this song is a true great jam, muchdifferent that the Rolling Stones version.

"Spirit" combines soul with jazz. A near-10 minute jam, it alsois impressive. "Beautiful New Born Child" is rock, however itdoesn't catch the excitement as the first two songs; it kind ofdrags, being just over five minutes in length.

Another quite impressive remake is the Moody Blues' "Nights InWhite Satin I." It's much slower, and mysterious. It merges intothe next two songs, "The Bird And The Squirrel" and "Nuts, SeedsAnd Life." These songs mix latin-jazz and some very impressive bassplaying by B.B. Dickerson.