Today's Forgotten Oldie...

"Don't Bring Me Down" was the third of The Animals' epic personalisations of Goffin-King material, following the 1965 hits "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" and "It's My Life". The Animals had always had a somewhat contentious relationship with such songs, knowing they gave them hits but preferring the more straightforward R&B numbers they used for album tracks. The Animals' arrangement is led by a pulsating organ riff from Dave Rowberry, which is then set against a prominent bass guitar line from Chas Chandler. Hilton Valentine decorates the song with unusual fuzz guitar chords. Eric Burdon sings the verses in a quiet manner: "Don't Bring Me Down" was a solid hit, reaching the Top 10 (#6) in the UK pop singles chart, and falling just short of that on the U.S. pop singles chart, reaching number 12 during June and July 1966. Rolling Stone would later write that "Don't Bring Me Down" represented one side of the Goffin-King "boy-girl, loneliness-togetherness" duality. Allmusic considers "Don't Bring Me Down" an exemplar of The Animals' "brutally soulful inspiration." Whatever you call it, it's my favorite Animals song ever!