House of the Rising Sun / Quasimodo Suite

excellent . worth listening .

Not even going to try and convince anyone that this should be their next purchase. I was, still am on a little adventure in trying to find all the versions of "House of the Rising Sun" that I can. I grew up listening to my dad play the song on his guitar back in the 60's & 70's...I probably heard Waylon's version before I ever heard The Animals version. This song is just a personal favorite of mine.This version is very different than any other I've ever heard, has a Latino, Disco feel to it, yet it still carries the original feel that I got listening to my dad and the Animals versions. It is very upbeat and faster paced than most of the versions that I'm familiar with. Plus it is 15+ minutes, with a long instrumental section.All three Mix versions on this release are very enjoyable from my perspective. All three versions are also included here as just instrumentals. If you are a fan of "House of the Rising Sun" I think you'll be pleased with this.

I should have looked a little bit closer when it stated that House of the Rising Sun was sung by Leroy Gomez. While lEroy sang on the first album containing the excellent "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", he did not sing "House of the Rising Sun." That was sung by Jimmy Goings. This version is not bad, but it's not the original tune, and neither is the recently released "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", Essential 12" cd. These should state somewhere on them that they are not the originals.

I bought this completely forgetting that Jimmy Goings was the lead singer of SA when this song and its parent album "Santa Esmeralda 2/The House of the Rising Sun" came out in 1978. There are no liner notes to explain how this CD came to be, when it was recorded, or why. The vocals are different from the LP version, so it may well be Leroy Gomez singing. (Mr. Gomez sang SA's 1st, biggest, and greatest hit, "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood".) The sound is either actual or faithful to late '70's disco so this should please fans. So count this an unofficial unoriginal mystery, but one you can dance to.