Eric Burdon and the Animals at John Varvatos

Eric Burdon, who turned 72 while on an American concert tour last week, was among the leaders of music's British Invasion in the early 1960s. Nearly 50 years later, he ranked 57th among "The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time" in a panel of 179 experts in the November 27, 2008 issue of Rolling Stone. Tonight, Burdon performed a guest-list-only show in the John Varvatos men's clothing store that once housed CBGB's. The store's merchandise was removed for the night and replaced by a stage, lights and sound system greater than CBGB's ever had. Although billed as Eric Burdon and the Animals on this tour, however, this was Burdon and a new band with no musicians from the group of that name that he led in the 1960s and reunited briefly in the 1970s and again in the 1980s.

At John Varvatos, Burdon's 75-minute set included several unremarkable songs from his bluesy 2013 album, 'Til Your River Runs Dry. Going back to his roots, this is the music that Burdon loves and in which he grounded his earthy rock vocals. The set also included the crowd-pleasers, several entirely reworked 1960s hits, including "It's My Life" and "House of the Rising Sun." Amazingly, although Burdon's signature gritty and utterly masculine voice was not nearly as powerful as it was in his earlier years, his vocal performance was still far stronger than that of most contemporary male singers. This was a classic performance by a classic artist. Eric Burdon and the Animals will be performing at the Highline Ballroom on May 15 and 16.