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Steppenwolf - Monster... prog?

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Topic: Steppenwolf - Monster... prog?

Posted By: bucka001
Subject: Steppenwolf - Monster... prog?
Date Posted: January 12 2012 at 13:49

Just a great album from the latter months of 1969. To me, it's a prog album. The first tune, Monster, is ten minutes long with different sections connected together (i.e., every classic prog song). And no "jamming," as is typical of the late 60's. Just wonderful composition, with one of the truly stirring choruses of all time to bring it home. Truly a glorious anthem.

The first side has only three songs, all of them very strong. The second, only four. The album cover is a gatefold with a great painting when it folds out and no text (it's the first Steppenwolf album to not feature the song titles on the outside cover). Very prog. But, it was made in '69, well before the classic prog bands (save Crimson) put out their best known work.

Is anyone else hip to this album, are there any other fans? And do you think it can be classified as prog?

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jc

Replies:

Posted By: bucka001
Date Posted: January 12 2012 at 14:23

The title cut, Monster. Great stuff.

http://youtu.be/thfPnorJOss" rel="nofollow - http://youtu.be/thfPnorJOss

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jc

Posted By: bucka001
Date Posted: January 15 2012 at 06:32

Sorry to sound so surprised, but there's really not one peson on this forum who's hip to this tune/album? I think maybe you have to be 1) American, and 2) of a certain age. Definitely surprised though... (I know Steppenwolf played in the UK/Europe in the late 60's/70's, but again, you'd have to be a certain age to have seen them)

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jc

Posted By: gr8dane
Date Posted: January 21 2012 at 20:15

OK bucka.

You are not the only fan of this band.

Though I only have a best of album where Monster is there,but only the first 4 minutes.

I heard the youtube clip you posted,and i guess you can spot a bit of prog there,but what I really see/hear it as acid-rock.

Sorta along the lines of Iron Butterfly.

Saw Steppenwolf last year at a free show here in Toronto Canada,and it was great.He's (Kay) got musicians along that has been with him for the last 15-20 years,so there.Still going strong.

Prog or not.They got some great tunes.

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Shake & bake.

Posted By: bucka001
Date Posted: January 24 2012 at 16:15

Thanks for replying. I hear what you're saying about the album not striking you as prog. But if you got it at the time, there wasn't too much around like that was like it (even Steppenwolf's fanatical followers were taken aback by a ten minute tune separated into sections). There aren't any bizarre time signatures or anything like that, but it does have a quasi-classical structure, etc.

And it really divided the Steppenwolf following. They had three studio albums before this, with each yielding a three minute top 10 hit single (Born To Be Wild, Magic Carpet Ride, Rock Me) and they were one of those bands that had teeny boppers as well as underground 'heads' who were into them. This album pretty much alienated the teeny boppers and was aimed at the 'head', college protester faction. All the young girls who thought that Steppenwolf was cute and saw them on Ed Sullivan or The Smothers Bros bowed out at this point because they just couldn't relate to tunes like the ten minute Monster (a history lesson on the U.S. and how we found ourselves in this [Viet Nam] mess), Draft Resister (a sympathy song for those fleeing from the draft), From Here to There Eventually (a critique of organized religion), and Move Over (a call for our leaders to lead or get outta the way). Great musicianship, songwriting, and playing.

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jc

Posted By: earlyprog
Date Posted: January 25 2012 at 04:03

The title track strikes as the first signs of AOR. It really reminds me of Styx and Journey....prog-related.

Ahead of it's time.