The Eric Burdon Band - Sun Secrets (1974) plus bonus 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood' CDS (2001)

(U.K 1960 - Present)

Born in 1941, Eric Burdon was – along with his band The Animals – one of the most important standard bearers of the British Invasion of America, right after The Beatles and ahead of The Rolling Stones, The Who and The Kinks. Their 1964 interpretation of “House of the Rising Sun” was a global hit and inspired Bob Dylan (who recorded an acoustic version on his first album) to go electric and hit the stage from then on backed by a rock band.

Eric Burdon is a street kid from Newcastle upon Tyne. He burnt the midnight oil in the nightclubs on the docks. Had music not intervened, he might well have slipped into a career as a petty criminal, the kind of English gangster so aptly parodied by Guy Ritchie in films like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. But Burdon’s voice was his ticket to escape that bleak industrial destiny, and his “We Gotta Get out of This Place” went on to inspire Springsteen’s “Born to Run”.

Eric Burdon 1973

Burdon was always an incurable hothead, prone to rages and no stranger to breaking contracts, a situation that would make him a lifelong underdog and impede his path to world stardom. By the end of the 70s he was so broke that he was living in a car on Sunset Strip.

Burdon regularly changed both his band and musical style. Alongside his passion for original American blues, he got together in the late 60s with black LA band War – itself a political statement in the Black Panther era – and, inspired by Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and Rahsaan Roland Kirk, expanded his musical spectrum with jazz and funk.

This project was not meant to last for long, though. Constant quarrels with Record Companies and Eric’s continuous abuse of drugs and alcohol made him break up with WAR and decide to get on with a solo career. 

This turn brought him in touch with guitarist Aalon Butler (labelled by some as the reincarnated Hendrix) with whom he recorded and released “Sun Secrets” in 1974 and a followup record "Stop" in 1975.

Eric Burdon’s creative output has made an important and profoundly authentic contribution to popular culture. Together with Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones, he counts as one of that legendary generation’s last men standing.

Sun Secrets

Sun Secrets is an album by the Eric Burdon Band recorded in 1973 and released in December 1974. It includes some re-recording of songs, with which lead singer Eric Burdon topped the charts a few years before. The band included Aalon Butler on guitar, Randy Rice on bass and Alvin Taylor on drums.

“The Real Me”, “Ring of Fire” and “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” were released as singles. The album peaked at No. 51 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1975.

Sun Secrets relies heavily on his experiences with The Animals and WAR era, albeit with a twist. In this album, Eric buries his blues roots as deep as he can and performs, among others, classic Animals hits like "It’s My Life" (opening cut), "Don’t let Me Be Misunderstood" and "When I was Young", although in a unique, angry and aggressive way, with a rock energy that startles.

He seems to denunciate his own past, twisting it in purpose, trying, maybe, to change the way things flow, already knowing that he cannot. Johnny Cash’s hit "Ring Of Fire" arrangement in this album is given in such a way that it proves beyond any doubt what Eric was like at those times and the way that he looked upon himself as an artist. "The Real Me" and "Letter from The Country Farm" show the most heavy, melancholic and isolated Eric ever, while the instrumental title track "Sun Secrets" seems alittle out of place, although it does close the album with a level of calmness and resolve.

Released without Eric Burdon's authorization, Sun Secrets is nothing for the singer to be ashamed of artistically. With approximately 24 minutes per side, Sun Secrets is a far cry from The Black Man's Burdon and the rhythms of the group War. As Mountain guitarist Leslie West would do a year after this when he formed the Leslie West Band, Burdon beats him to the punch with a self-titled group that rocks -- rocks harder than the Animals, rocks harder than War.

In short, this album is innovative reinvention, with a three-piece unit blitzing behind its singer as he reinterprets Animals classics like "When I Was Young," "It's My Life," or the Hendrix/Cream riff-laden version of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood,".

The tragedy of it all is that, according to the singer's biography, 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood' by Eric Burdon with J.Marshall Craig (Thunder's Mouth Press), Burdon did not want this material made public. The tapes were signed to Capitol and released without his permission.

In Eric's words: "Our L.A rehearsal tapes were released as an album called Sun Secrets. Fucked once more !"

Produced by Jerry Goldstein, these "recordings" feature the original lineup of what he says in his book is "The first in a long series of Eric Burdon band(s)." Capitol released two different versions of this disc -- the full-length commercial LP, and a "Radio Programming Aid" which has edits of everything except for the 13-minute Burdon co-write "Letter From the Country Farm." It's disheartening to read the agony for the star during these sessions and the touring from this period in his life, but it's refreshing to hear in these grooves that under adverse conditions the star still comes out on top artistically. [Extracts from urbanaspirines and therockasteria]

This post consists of FLACs ripped from my Vinyl pressing (purchased from the La Trobe University Union Record Store in the late 70's) and includes full album artwork for Vinyl & CD, along with label scans.  I've always enjoyed listening to this album, especially Burdon's rework of the Animal tracks, but could never fathom why the album was named after the weakest track on the album. Another Capitol blunder I guess.

For your enjoyment, I am also making available a FLAC rip of the 3 track 'Collectors CD' (pictured above) that accompanied Burdon's Autobiography "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", which I purchased over 20 years ago. All tracks were re-recorded specifically for the book I believe.

Tracks:

01 - It's My Life

02  - Ring Of Fire

03  - Medley : When I Was Young / War Child

04  - The Real Me

05  - Medley : Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood / Nina’s School

06  - Letter From The County Farm

07  - Sun Secrets 

The Eric Burdon Band were:

Eric Burdon - Vocals

Aalon Butler - Guitar

Randy Rice - Bass

Alvin Taylor - Drums

Sun Secrets Link (248Mb)

Collectors CD Tracks:

01 - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

02 - Lionize

03 - House Of The Rising Sun

Bonus Collector CD Link (112Mb)