The Psych Ward–The Twain Shall Meet by Eric Burdon & the Animals
The Psych Ward–The Twain Shall Meet by Eric Burdon & the Animals
If you’re like me, you probably were familiar with the first group known as The Animals–the aggregation who scored the #1 hit with “House of the Rising Sun” as well as radio staples like “We Gotta Get Out of This Place”, “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”, and “It’s My Life” before you became acquainted with Eric Burdon and the Animals, the late 60s psychedelic version of the band in which Burdon was the only original member. It’s the latter group who delivered The Twain Shall Meet in March of 1968.
It wasn’t until I was all grown up that I acquainted myself with the psychedelic version of the band and came to love the album we’re discussing here. I started off with an Eric Burdon and the Animals compilation disc that featured “Monterey”, the lead track on Twain, and “Sky Pilot”, the epic anti-war song also featured on Twain. After tiring of the compilation, I decided to dig a little deeper and purchase a CD copy of The Twain Shall Meet.
“Monterey” is a straightforward song about the Monterey Pop Festival held in June of 1967—the Summer of Love. In it, Burdon name-checks a bunch of the acts who performed at the fest—The Byrds, the (Jefferson) Airplane, The Grateful Dead, The Who, Ravi Shankar, and “Jimi Hendrix set the world on fire”. Actually, it was just a guitar, but it was obviously quite a spectacle. Despite a hyperactive sitar, “Monterey” comes across as more of a novelty song than a psychedelic one.
It’s not until the second track, “Just the Thought”, that the record takes on a trippy feel. Burdon’s vocals are stoic with an echo-like backing vocal over a picked acoustic guitar with flutes and strings. “There’s a staircase in my living room/ And it leads to (k)nowhere land/ There are flowers growing from my wall/ They lend a touching hand”. Was he tripping? I think he might have been.
“Orange and Red Beams” is another psychedelic highlight. There’s some type of reverse reverb effect on Burdon’s world-weary vocals that places the echo of his voice just before he sings the lines. The somber tone of his vocals is juxtaposed by uplifting trumpets and flutes.
The aforementioned “Sky Pilot” is another standout track. Burdon’s lead vocals are either sung at times through a megaphone or with an effect. There is a prevalent bass line, a groovy but understated lead guitar, and regal trumpets. The song is divided into two parts that are broken up by an instrumental jam complete with battle sound effects and bagpipes.
Despite some hokey hippie moments, The Twain Shall Meet is a classic psychedelic album. The good significantly outweighs the bad. Producer Tom Wilson deserves credit for taking some risks and succeeding at creating a hallucinatory aura on this LP.
Related: The 100 Best Psychedelic Rock Albums of the Golden Era
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