"Inside-Looking Out", often written "Inside Looking Out", is a 1966 single by

the Animals The Animals, currently billed as Eric Burdon & the Animals (featuring original frontman Eric Burdon) and also as Animals & Friends (featuring original drummer John Steel (drummer), John Steel), are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Ne ...

, and their first for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

. 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 Barry Jenkins (born November 19, 1979) is an American filmmaker. After making his filmmaking debut with the short film ''My Josephine'' (2003), he directed his first feature film '' Medicine for Melancholy'' (2008) for which he received an Inde ...

, who would go on to play with Eric Burdon and the Animals.

Background

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 Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music during the 20th century. He was a musician, folklorist, archivist, writer, scholar, political activ ...

and released in his album ''Popular Songbook.''Sturman, Janet
"Rosie."
Instructor materials for Music 109, "Rock and American Popular Music." As a result, the Animals' interpretation is credited to

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

and Alan Lomax with

Eric Burdon Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer and songwriter. He was previously the lead vocalist of the rhythm and blues, R&B and Rock music, rock band The Animals and the funk band War (band), War. He is regarded as one of the Br ...

and

Chas Chandler Bryan James "Chas" Chandler (18 December 1938 – 17 July 1996) was an English musician, record producer and manager, best known as the original bassist in The Animals, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. H ...

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described the single as a "raunchy, pulsating

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

-soaked plea in which a rejected fella begs his ex-girlfriend to return to him."

Chart performance

Cover versions

*In 2001,

released a live cover on ''Official Live Bootleg 2000''. * Japanese

group sounds , often abbreviated as GS, is a genre of Japanese rock music which became popular in the mid to late 1960s and initiated the fusion of Japanese ''kayōkyoku'' music and Western rock music. Their music production techniques were regarded as playin ...

band

The Mops The Mops (Japanese: ザ・モップス) were a Japanese psychedelic rock/garage rock group active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They were one of the most notable bands of the group sounds genre. History The Mops were formed in 1966 by a gro ...

covered the song on their 1968 album ''Psychedelic Sound in Japan''. The nearly 6-minute version from the album also includes the bass line from

The Blues Magoos The Blues Magoos are an American rock group from The Bronx, a borough of New York City, United States. They were at the forefront of the psychedelic music trend, beginning in 1966. They are best known for the hit song "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Ye ...

(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet" is a song by the American rock band Blues Magoos, released in October 1966. It was a chart hit in the United States in February 1967. It was written by Ron Gilbert, Ralph Scala and Mike Esposito. It reached number 5 ...

. *In 1969 it was covered by

Grand Funk Railroad Grand Funk Railroad (often shortened to Grand Funk) is an American rock band formed in Flint, Michigan, in 1969 by Mark Farner (vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica), Don Brewer (drums, vocals) and Mel Schacher (bass). The band achieved pea ...

, who on their album ''

Grand Funk Grand Funk Railroad (often shortened to Grand Funk) is an American rock band formed in Flint, Michigan, in 1969 by Mark Farner (vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica), Don Brewer (drums, vocals) and Mel Schacher (bass). The band achieved peak p ...

'' added some marijuana references to the lyrics such as changing the original's "rebirth" to "reefer" and "canvas bags" to "nickel bags" ("burlap bags" in later reissues). It was not only their sole UK Top 40 hit, but also a concert staple of the band for years and is included on their ''

Live Album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...

''. * The

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

-based 1960s garage rock band

The Rationals The Rationals were an American rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan. History The Rationals formed in 1964 and first recorded a single for a local label, A2 Records, in 1965. After scoring a local hit with the tune "Gave My Love",Richie Unterber ...

covered the song in a medley with

Smokestack Lightning "Smokestack Lightning" (also "Smoke Stack Lightning" or "Smokestack Lightnin'") is a blues song recorded by Howlin' Wolf in 1956. It became one of his most popular and influential songs. It is based on earlier blues songs, and numerous artists l ...

. It was released on their 2009 compilation album ''Think Rational!''. *It was later covered by

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

band

The Obsessed The Obsessed is an American doom metal band from Potomac, Maryland, led by Scott "Wino" Weinrich. Formed in 1979, they recorded a few demos and played a handful of live shows until they first split up in 1986 when Weinrich joined as lead vo ...

, released on their 1999 compilation album ''

Incarnate Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It is the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or an anthropomorphic form of a god. It is used to mean a god, deity, or Divine Being in ...

'' and again by

the Greenhornes The Greenhornes were an American garage rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio, formed in 1996 by vocalist/guitarist Craig Fox, bass guitarist Jack Lawrence and drummer Patrick Keeler. They released their debut album '' Gun For You'' in 1999, foll ...

on their 2001 self-titled second album. *Canadian guitarist

Pat Travers Patrick Henry Travers (born April 12, 1954) is a Canadian rock guitarist, singer and songwriter who began his recording career in the mid-1970s. Early life Travers was born and raised in Toronto. Soon after picking up the guitar at age 12, h ...

also covered the song in 2003 on his album ''Power Trio''. * The Makers * Shot on Site * Gerry Joe Weise

Influences and samples

*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 "Sound of da Police" is a song by American rapper KRS-One. Recorded at D&D Studios in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York Sta ...

" by

KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from the Bronx. He rose to prominence as part of the ...

and "High 5 (Rock the Catskills)" by

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...

References and notes

1966 songs 1966 singles 1969 singles Songs written by Eric Burdon The Animals songs Grand Funk Railroad songs Song recordings produced by Tom Wilson (record producer) Decca Records singles MGM Records singles Songs about prison {{1960s-single-stub