Eric Burdon Band – Record-facts…

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Sun Secrets is an album by The Eric Burdon Band recorded in 1973 and released in December 1974.

They formed in 1971, after Burdon left his previous band War to cut an album with blues/jazz-great Jimmy Witherspoon.

The album 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.

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.

It’s innovative reinvention, and quite pleasing, not only to hear the three-piece unit blitzing behind the 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,” but on the instrumental title track as well. 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 out.

The tapes were signed to Capitol and released without his permission. Produced by Jerry Goldstein, they are called “rehearsal tapes” by the singer and 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.

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

Track listing

“It’s My Life” – 4:43 (Roger Atkins, Carl D’Errico)
“Ring of Fire” – 6:11 (June Carter, Merle Kilgore)
“Medley: When I Was Young / War Child” – 8:30 (Burdon, Aalon Butler)
“The Real Me” – 3:34 (Burdon, Aalon Butler)
“Medley:Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood / Nina’s School” – 8:25 (Bennie Benjamin, Sol Marcus, Gloria Caldwell, Burdon, Aalon Butler)
“Letter from the County Farm” – 13:05 (Burdon, Rosco Gordon)
“Sun Secrets” – 3:02 (Aalon Butler)