The Animals: Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted (United Artists)

LONG-DEAD GROUPS usually come back for commercial reasons – individual careers are slipping, the musicians are no longer recognized in the streets – and the results are predictably depressing: the new appearance is the final reminder of the old death, of glories long gone. The Animals' "revival" album is a refreshing exception to this rule and a model for other defunct groups (take note, Beatles). It is not a new bid for stardom but a reminder of old friendships.