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// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did "Inside-Looking Out" say to the window? You're transparent.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Inside-Looking Out"
Germany sleeve art
Single by the Animals
from the album Animalization
B-side
Released11 February 1966
Recorded9 January 1966
StudioLansdowne, London
GenreGarage rock, rhythm and blues, psychedelic rock
Length3:44
LabelDecca
Songwriters
ProducerTom Wilson
The Animals singles chronology
"It's My Life"
(1965)		 "Inside-Looking Out"
(1966)		 "Don't Bring Me Down"
(1966)
Audio
"Inside-Looking Out" on YouTube

"Inside-Looking Out", often written "Inside Looking Out", is a 1966 single by the Animals, and their first for Decca Records. It was a moderate hit, reaching number 12 on the UK Singles Chart, number 23 in Canada, and number 34 in the United States on the U.S. pop singles chart. It was the group's final single with drummer John Steel, who left shortly after its release. He was replaced by Barry Jenkins, who would go on to play with Eric Burdon and the Animals.

Recording

[edit]

"Inside-Looking Out" was taped on 9 January 1966 during a marathon session, together with the tracks "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show", "Maudie", "Outcast", "Sweet Little Sixteen", "You're On My Mind", "Clapping", "Gin House Blues", "Squeeze Her, Tease Her", "What Am I Living For", "I Put a Spell on You", "Thats All I Am To You" and "She'll Return It",[1] all of whom appeared on the Animals third British studio album Animalisms.[2] These recordings were the first ones by the Animals to be produced by Tom Wilson.[3] The sessions were conducted at Lansdowne Studios in Holland Park, London with Adrian Kerridge engineering.[4] The Animals guitarist Hilton Valentine stated that the recording lacked any overdubbing and that the band members were confused during the session, asking "where do we go next?".[5]

Composition

[edit]
Structural similarity between "Rosie" and "Inside-Looking Out"
"Rosie"
"Rosie", performed by the Animals on BBC Radio.[6]
"Inside-Looking Out"
The single version of "Inside-Looking Out.
Problems playing these files? See media help.

The song is very loosely based on a prison work chant entitled "Rosie," attributed to C. B. and Axe Gang, that was collected by musicologist Alan Lomax at the Parchman Farm prison in Mississippi and released in his album Popular Songbook.[7][8] The Animals had performed "Rosie" on various television shows and radio broadcasts, including at the Richmond Jazz And Blues Festival on 8 August 1965.[9] Valentine reflected that "it [the song] was different every night" and that the "arrangement kept changing".[5] Lead vocalist Eric Burdon and bassist Chas Chandler had "customised" the track during the group's performances of it, primarily writing new lyrics.[6] According to Valentine, it was primarily the lyrics that differentiated "Inside-Looking Out" from "Rosie", opining that it structurally was identical to a recording of "Rosie" he possessed.[6]

As a result, the Animals' interpretation is credited to John and Alan Lomax with Eric Burdon and Chas Chandler.

Release

[edit]

The Animals premiered "Inside-Looking Out" prior to release on a performance of The Ed Sullivan Show on 6 February 1966 before the single's release, where they performed the song and the prior hit "We Gotta Get Out of This Place".[5][10][11] In the UK, "Inside-Looking Out" was released as the Animals' first single on Decca on 11 February 1966.[11][12][13] The British release had "Outcast" on the B-side.[14] When MGM Records released the single in the US that same month,[2] "Outcast" was substituted by "You're on My Mind", a song that had been composed by Burdon with keyboardist Dave Rowberry.[14]

Reception

[edit]

Cash Box described the single as a "raunchy, pulsating blues-soaked plea in which a rejected fella begs his ex-girlfriend to return to him."[15]

Writing in 2001, David Fricke express that the song was brutal "for guys who had no firsthand experience of chain-gang life", opining that for the song's duration, the Animals never sounded more like real animals – vicious, hungry, desperate".[16] Reflecting to Forbes magazine's Jim Clash in 2020, Valentine revealed that "Inside-Looking Out" was his favorite song by the band, stating that "it seems like it'd be boring, but it isn't" and that "It's fun to play".[17]

Charts

[edit]
Weekly chart performance for "Inside-Looking Out"
Chart (1966) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[18] 20
Canada (RPM)[19] 21
France (SNEP)[20] 20
Ireland (The Herald)[21] 8
Malaysia (Radio Malaysia)[22] 8
Netherlands (Veronica Top 40)[23] 24
Singapore (Radio Singapore)[24] 6
Sweden (Kvällstoppen)[25] 14
Sweden (Tio i Topp)[26] 12
UK (Disc Weekly)[27] 8
UK (Melody Maker)[28] 8
UK (New Musical Express)[29] 6
UK (Record Retailer)[30] 12
US Billboard Hot 100[31] 34
US Cash Box Top 100[32] 34
US Record World 100 Top Pops)[33] 32
West Germany (Musikmarkt)[34] 39

Cover versions

[edit]

Influences and samples

[edit]
  • A reworking of portions of the song was also recorded by the Austrian band Novak's Kapelle in 1969 as "Hypodermic Needle".
  • Grand Funk's version is sampled in the songs "Sound of da Police" by KRS-One and "High 5 (Rock the Catskills)" by Beck.

References

[edit]

References

  1. ↑ "Animals - 1966". Chrome Oxide. Archived from the original on 2 August 2026. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  2. 1 2 Egan 2001, p. 205.
  3. ↑ Egan 2001, p. 74.
  4. ↑ Fricke 2022, Insert.
  5. 1 2 3 Fricke 2022, p. 1.
  6. 1 2 3 Egan 2001, p. 75.
  7. ↑ Cohen 2003, p. 73.
  8. ↑ "Rosie, sung by C.B. Cook. Session IV". University of Mississippi. 2 January 1948. Archived from the original on 16 December 2025. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  9. ↑ Egan 2001, pp. 69, 75.
  10. ↑ "Artists - The Animals". Ed Sullivan. Universal Music Group. Archived from the original on 25 January 2026. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  11. 1 2 Anon. (22 January 1966). "New Animals' LP and single" (PDF). Melody Maker. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 February 2026. Retrieved 10 September 2026 – via WorldRadioHistory.
  12. ↑ Anon. (5 February 2026). "Newies from Animals, P & G, Supremes, Gerry, & the Stones" (PDF). Record Mirror. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 February 2026. Retrieved 10 September 2025 – via WorldRadioHistory.
  13. ↑ Anon. (29 January 1966). "Animals' New Single" (PDF). Melody Maker. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 July 2025. Retrieved 10 September 2026 – via WorldRadioHistory.
  14. 1 2 Egan 2001, p. 76.
  15. ↑ Anon. (19 February 1966). "Pick of the Week" (PDF). Cash Box. p. 20. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 February 2026. Retrieved 12 January 2022 – via WorldRadioHistory.
  16. ↑ Fricke, David (17 May 2001). "Animalisms". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 9 October 2025. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  17. ↑ Clash, Jim (16 October 2020). "Why Did The 60s Group The Animals Break Up At The Height Of Its Popularity?". Forbes. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  18. ↑ Kent 2005.
  19. ↑ Anon. (14 March 1966). "R. P. M. Play Sheet" (PDF). RPM. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 December 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2026 – via WorldRadioHistory.
  20. ↑ Fabrice 2001.
  21. ↑ Anon. (2 March 1966). "Herald Top 10". p. 7. Retrieved 7 September 2026 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. ↑ Anon. (23 April 1966). "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. p. 41. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 June 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2026 – via WorldRadioHistory.
  23. ↑ "Inside-Looking Out" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Archived from the original on 17 March 2026. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
  24. ↑ Anon. (9 April 1966). "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. p. 54. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 October 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2026 – via WorldRadioHistory.
  25. ↑ Hallberg 1993.
  26. ↑ Hallberg & Henningsson 2012, p. 448.
  27. ↑ Anon. (5 March 1966). "Top 30". Disc Weekly. p. 12.
  28. ↑ Anon. (5 March 1966). "Pop 50" (PDF). Melody Maker. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 December 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2026 – via WorldRadioHistory.
  29. ↑ Anon. (26 February 1966). "NME Top Thirty". New Musical Express. p. 7.
  30. ↑ "Inisde - Looking Out by Animals". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 13 February 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
  31. ↑ Anon. (2 April 1966). "Hot 100" (PDF). Billboard. p. 22. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 October 2025. Retrieved 20 December 2025 – via World Radio History.
  32. ↑ Anon. (26 March 1966). "Cash Box Top 100" (PDF). Cash Box. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 August 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2026 – via World Radio History.
  33. ↑ Anon. (2 April 1966). "100 Top Pops" (PDF). Record World. p. 17. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2026 – via World Radio History.
  34. ↑ "Inside - Looking Out" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Archived from the original on 7 September 2026. Retrieved 7 September 2026.

Sources

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Inside-Looking_Out&oldid=1376072032"