Eric Burdon & The Animals – Faces & Places Vol. 1 12" Vinyl LP Album

- Live at Club A’Gogo, Newcastle upon Tyne, recorded 1963 – released 1965 (BYG Records France)

Album Front Cover Photo of Eric Burdon & The Animals – Faces & Places Vol. 1 Visit: https://vinyl-records.nl/

"Faces & Places Vol. 1" captures Eric Burdon & The Animals in their wild, pre-fame years — live, loud, and unpolished at Newcastle’s notorious Club A’Gogo. Produced by Giorgio Gomelsky, the record distills British R&B’s raw beginnings into a smoky, sweat-soaked time capsule. From Bo Diddley’s tribal pulse to Boom Boom’s swagger, this 1965 French BYG Records release remains one of the purest live documents of the early 1960s rhythm & blues scene.

Table of Contents

"Faces & Places Vol. 1" (1965) Album Description:

The Raw Pulse of Early British R&B

Some albums smell like cigarette smoke and cheap beer even before you drop the needle — “Faces & Places Vol. 1” is one of them. Recorded live in 1963, before British rhythm & blues went respectable, it captures The Animals as they truly were: hungry, loud, and still half-feral from the clubs of Newcastle. You can almost hear the walls sweating.

Before the World Was Listening

By late ’63, London was only just beginning to notice the northern R&B boom. The Beatles had cracked the code, but Eric Burdon and his pack were prowling a different alley — raw American blues, not polished pop. Club A’Gogo was their den, a cramped furnace where Burdon’s rasp met Alan Price’s swirling organ in front of a crowd that never quite decided whether to dance or duck for cover. Producer Giorgio Gomelsky, always sniffing out sparks, pressed “record” and caught lightning in mono.

Captured Chaos

“Faces & Places” wasn’t some planned debut — it was closer to a bootleg blessed by chaos. These takes show the band before managers, stylists, or fame. There’s no gloss, only adrenaline and instinct. Burdon shouts more than he sings, Hilton Valentine’s guitar scrapes like steel on brick, and Price’s organ grinds behind it all like a barroom sermon in overdrive.

The Sound of Grit

Listen to “Let It Rock” or “Boom Boom” and you’ll hear them teetering between reverence and rebellion — young Brits trying to channel Bo Diddley and John Lee Hooker with nothing but nerve. “Dimples” staggers forward with that off-kilter swing born in sweat-stained clubs, while “C Jam Blues,” with Sonny Boy Williamson dropping by on drums, unravels gloriously before pulling itself together again. Imperfect, yes — and utterly alive.

Among Their Peers

In a year when the Yardbirds chased precision and The Stones cultivated their calculated sleaze, The Animals were the wild card — too rough to polish, too good to ignore. Compared to those peers, this record sounds prehistoric, a fossil humming with voltage. But that’s the appeal: no filters, no safety net, just five blokes tumbling headlong into American blues and leaving a trail of broken strings.

The French Connection

By the time BYG Records issued this French pressing in 1965, The Animals had already broken big with “House of the Rising Sun.” The group immortalized here no longer existed, yet French fans received a time capsule — a snapshot of Britain’s R&B underground before fame came knocking. The gatefold sleeve felt almost archival, a love letter to the smoke and sweat that birthed it.

Legacy and Reflection

Critics barely looked up when it appeared, which may have been a blessing. It’s too raw for polite review columns. Today collectors recognize it as an unguarded glimpse of the band’s formative power. Burdon never sounded this young again, and the band never this reckless.

Drop the needle and you’re back in ’63: the amps hum, the beer’s flat, and five kids from Newcastle are trying to make American blues their own. It’s not perfect — it’s alive. And that’s rarer than mint vinyl.

Album Key Details: Genre, Label, Format & Release Info

Music Genre:

English Beat / Early British Rhythm & Blues

Emerging from Newcastle’s club scene in the early 1960s, this raw blend of rhythm & blues and beat music fused American blues roots with British grit. It was the foundation of the British Invasion sound that would later sweep across the Atlantic, turning local pub energy into global rebellion.

Label & Catalognr:

BYG Records – Cat#: 529.901

Album Packaging

Gatefold sleeve with printed inner panels.

French edition released with Barclay label branding on back cover.

Media Format:

Record Format: 12" Vinyl LP
Total Weight: 230g

Year & Country:

1965 – France

Production & Recording Information:

Producers:
  • Giorgio Gomelsky – Producer
    Visionary behind the Crawdaddy Club and early Yardbirds recordings. Captured The Animals’ raw 1963 live energy before fame transformed them into chart fixtures.
Recording Location:

Club A’Gogo – Newcastle upon Tyne, England

Recorded live on December 30, 1963 in the band’s home turf venue, famous for its sweat, smoke, and shouting crowds.
Label Background:

BYG Records, founded in Paris in 1967, became a haven for adventurous blues, jazz, and experimental releases. The label’s French licensing arm reissued early British R&B performances like this one, pairing underground authenticity with European distribution flair.

Collector’s Note: The Legacy of Club A’Gogo and the Sound that Followed

When I first picked up my copy of Eric Burdon & The Animals – Faces & Places Vol. 1 (1965), I didn’t just hear a live album — I heard the ghost of Club A’Gogo. That cramped Newcastle dive was where this noise was born: sticky floors, rattling pint glasses, and Eric Burdon’s voice cutting through cigarette fog like a broken amplifier. Everyone played there — bluesmen on tour, Geordie kids still learning their chords, and audiences who looked like they’d just come from the shipyards, because they had. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was alive.

The Gogo taught the North East something priceless: you didn’t need London’s blessing to make a racket worth hearing. That defiance carried straight through to the late ’70s, when a new crop of locals — Tygers of Pan Tang, Venom, and their hard-living kin — took the same attitude, turned up the distortion, and accidentally helped launch the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. The spirit of that club — raw, unpolished, a little damp — never died. It just swapped harmonicas for Marshall stacks.

Back then, of course, there was no “scene page” or cloud folder to store any of this history. Just battered gig posters, half-wiped cassettes, and maybe one mate who owned a reel-to-reel but couldn’t find blank tape. Now, decades later, every needle drop of Faces & Places feels like a backup of those nights — the analog kind, stored safely in grooves instead of pixels.

Band Members / Musicians:

Band Line-up:
  • Eric Burdon – Vocals
    The band’s fierce, soulful frontman whose gravel-edged voice became one of the most recognizable of the British Invasion. After The Animals, Burdon’s career stretched across decades — from psychedelic adventures with War to solo projects soaked in blues and protest fire.
  • Hilton Valentine – Lead Guitar
    Known for his ringing, percussive guitar on “House of the Rising Sun,” Valentine helped define the jangly British R&B tone. His career later continued through various Animals reunions and as a respected figure of the Newcastle music scene.
  • Chas Chandler – Bass
    Beyond his steady basslines, Chandler’s legacy grew when he discovered and managed Jimi Hendrix, bringing him to London in 1966. Later, he managed Slade, proving his sharp ear for raw talent and hit potential.
  • Alan Price – Organ, Piano
    His swirling Vox organ defined The Animals’ early club sound and gave depth to their blues covers. After leaving the band, Price found success as a solo artist and composer, notably writing the soundtrack for Lindsay Anderson’s O Lucky Man! (1973).
  • John Steel – Drums
    The steady pulse of The Animals, Steel’s drumming anchored their chaotic live shows with controlled power. He remained the band’s rhythmic core in many reunion line-ups, keeping The Animals’ legacy beating long after the sixties ended.

Complete Track-listing:

Tracklisting Side One:
  1. Let It Rock Cover
    Cover of Chuck Berry’s energetic rock classic.
  2. Gotta Find My Baby Cover
    Originally by Chuck Berry, adapted with Burdon’s trademark growl.
  3. Bo Diddley Cover
    A pounding tribute to Bo Diddley’s primal rhythm patterns.
Video: The Story of BO DIDDLEY - Eric Burdon & The Animals (incl. lyrics)
Tracklisting Side Two:
  1. I'm Almost Grown Cover
    Another Chuck Berry number, delivered with sweat and swing.
  2. Dimples Cover
    A John Lee Hooker slow-burner with a hypnotic pulse.
  3. Boom Boom Cover
    Hooker’s signature song, roughened by the band’s youthful energy.
  4. C Jam Blues Guest
    Features guest musician Sonny Boy Williamson on vocals and harmonica (not drums as mistakenly printed on the French sleeve).
Video: The Animals Boom Boom live at Wembley, 1965

Disclaimer: Track durations not listed on sleeve. The album was recorded live in 1963 and released in France in 1965. Later reissues may include alternate track sequencing.

Collector’s Note: Sonny Boy on Drums?

When I picked up my copy of Eric Burdon & The Animals – Faces & Places Vol. 1 (1965), I nearly spilled my coffee reading the back cover: “Sonny Boy – drums on C Jam Blues.” Now, I love a good surprise, but the image of Sonny Boy Williamson II tossing aside his harmonica to sit behind a drum kit was a bit much, even for the wild mid-’60s. The truth? A translation hiccup somewhere between Newcastle, Paris, and the printer’s office. It should have read “with Sonny Boy Williamson,” not “on drums.”

Back when I bought Faces & Places, there was no Google to check this sort of thing — just a magnifying glass, a half-legible liner note, and perhaps a friend with a bootleg discography on floppy disk. Misprints like this were part of the charm: little mysteries pressed in wax, forever confusing collectors and making us feel oddly grateful for our analog inconveniences.

Additional Notes:

This French edition of Faces & Places Vol. 1 is sometimes miscredited as a studio compilation, but it is in fact a live performance recording. The back cover credit “Sonny Boy – drums on C Jam Blues” is a known misprint; Sonny Boy Williamson II performed vocals and harmonica, not drums.

No mastering, photography, or cover design credits were printed on the release. Artwork was likely produced internally by Barclay’s in-house design team.

Album Front Cover Photo
Front cover of Eric Burdon & The Animals – Faces & Places Vol. 1. The 1965 French BYG Records LP sleeve shows a live photograph of Eric Burdon mid-performance, singing passionately into a silver microphone wrapped in yellow tape. He wears a paisley-patterned brown shirt, his face lit by a red stage light against a dark background. Above, the title 'face and place vol. 1' appears in bold black and red type with geometric late-modernist layout, and 'eric burdon + animals' printed in heavy black lettering below a red frame. The design reflects 1960s French sleeve minimalism and the fascination with raw British rhythm & blues energy.

The front cover of “Faces & Places Vol. 1” is a striking snapshot of mid-1960s rhythm & blues energy distilled into one image. Centered beneath a red stage light, Eric Burdon grips a silver microphone wrapped in yellow tape, caught in the moment of delivering a gritty vocal line. His paisley-patterned shirt and heavy wristwatch capture the fashion crossover of working-class toughness and bohemian flair that marked the early British R&B scene.

The photograph, credited to Dominique Boec, radiates immediacy — the singer’s face half-lit by the spotlight, his eyes closed, the atmosphere thick with cigarette haze and heat. Above the photo, bold typography commands attention: eric burdon + animals in blocky black letters, framed by a red border that evokes the aesthetic precision of 1960s French graphic design.

In the upper-right corner, the minimalist title face and place vol. 1 appears in playful red and white lettering, partially overlapping itself — a design quirk that feels almost improvised, much like the band’s raw live performances. The composition balances chaos and clarity, mirroring the group’s blend of blues grit and youthful urgency.

As an artifact, this sleeve reflects the moment when British R&B was no longer confined to northern clubs but began crossing borders, carried by labels like BYG Records and Barclay France. It’s both a document and a promise: the sound of five musicians still discovering their power, frozen forever in a burst of analog light and color.

Album Back Cover Photo
Back cover of Eric Burdon & The Animals – Faces & Places Vol. 1, French BYG Records 1965 pressing. The artwork features a monochrome blue duotone of the band — Eric Burdon at the front with microphone, Alan Price on organ, Chas Chandler on bass, John Steel on drums, and Hilton Valentine on guitar — printed against a cream background. At the bottom left, track listings for both sides are printed in small sans-serif text, including the noted misprint 'Sonny Boy – drums on C Jam Blues'. The BYG Records logo, catalogue number 529.901, and production credits for Giorgio Gomelsky are positioned below, giving the sleeve a clean but striking pop-art aesthetic typical of mid-1960s French design.

The back cover of “Faces & Places Vol. 1” turns raw performance into pop-art minimalism. Rendered in bold cyan against a cream backdrop, the five members of The Animals appear in mid-performance: Eric Burdon leans forward at the mic, Alan Price at the keys, Hilton Valentine and Chas Chandler flank him with guitars, and John Steel steadies the rhythm from behind the drum kit. The entire composition is cropped like a spontaneous flash — as if caught mid-song in an explosion of light and sound.

Printed in small black text at the lower left, the tracklist divides the record into its two live sides: Let It Rock, Gotta Find My Baby, Bo Diddley, I’m Almost Grown, Dimples, Boom Boom, and C Jam Blues — the latter infamously credited with the line “Sonny Boy – drums on C Jam Blues.” The credit, of course, is a misprint; Sonny Boy Williamson II contributed harmonica and vocals, not percussion.

The lower right corner bears the BYG Records and Barclay distribution marks, alongside the catalogue number 529.901 and the credit Produced by Giorgio Gomelsky. A tiny, hand-drawn penguin mascot — the whimsical BYG emblem — completes the composition. This design approach, stark yet playful, exemplifies French mid-sixties sleeve art: fewer colors, sharper contrasts, and a deliberate sense of modern cool that turned liner notes into visual rhythm.

Close-up Photo of Record Label
Close-up of the BYG Records label for Eric Burdon & The Animals – Faces & Places Vol. 1, Side One. The label is a warm mustard-yellow color with white BYG RECORDS lettering beneath a stylized, cartoonish Buddha-like figure with a mischievous smile. Around the edge, white text states manufacturing rights and restrictions. Printed near the spindle hole are the catalogue number 529.901 and speed marking 33 T., with the SACEM rights box and Mono–Stéréo note on the right. Below, the tracklist lists 'Let It Rock', 'Gotta Find My Baby', and 'Bo Diddley', followed by the production credit 'Produced by Giorgio Gomelsky'. The design reflects the French label’s experimental mid-1960s aesthetic — bold, distinctive, and instantly recognizable on the turntable.

This close-up of the “Faces & Places Vol. 1” Side One label captures the unmistakable style of BYG Records, a French imprint known for its vibrant visual identity and bold catalog of European jazz and rock releases. The deep mustard-yellow surface, encircled by crisp white lettering, immediately draws the eye toward the center where BYG’s impish, Buddha-like mascot dominates the design — half serene, half mischievous.

The label reads “Made in France” at the top, with 33 T. and catalog number 529.901 positioned to the left of the spindle hole. To the right appear the Mono – Stéréo designation and the SACEM rights box, indicating legitimate French distribution. Below, the track listing — Let It Rock, Gotta Find My Baby, and Bo Diddley — sits above a neat production credit for Giorgio Gomelsky.

The grooves surrounding the label were cut notably deep, typical of French pressings of the era, giving the record its characteristic warm analog resonance. Beyond function, this design embodies the 1960s European fascination with playful minimalism — a visual counterpoint to the raw British R&B energy etched in its grooves.

Note: The photos above depict the actual album. Slight variations in color may appear due to lighting or camera flash. Images can be zoomed in and out on touchscreen devices for closer inspection.

Index of Eric Burdon & The Animals Album Cover Gallery & 12" Vinyl LP Discography Information

thumbnail image of album front cover
ERIC BURDON - The Early Animals with Eric Burdon

In 1973, British Rock/Blues-Rock legends, "The Animals", released "The Early Animals with Eric Burdon", a captivating album. This LP, graced with liner notes by Tom Carlson and a striking cover design by Daniel, offers a nostalgic journey into the band's early years. With Eric Burdon's soulful vocals, this album is a timeless tribute to the band's iconic sound and their enduring influence on the music scene.

thumbnail image of album front cover
ERIC BURDON & THE ANIMALS - Faces & Places

"Faces & Places Vol. 1" is a captivating live album by "Eric Burdon with The Animals", recorded in 1963. Produced by Giorgio Gomelsky, the album showcases the talents of Eric Burdon on vocals, Alan Price on organ and piano, Chas Chandler on bass, Hilton Valentine on lead guitar, and John Steel on drums.