As the lead singer of the Animals, Eric Burdon was one of the British Invasions 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 and the Animals, the group was essentially Burdons vehicle, whom 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 almost immediately. Burdons 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 ...