IN-A-GADDA-DA-VIDA

1968 was a pretty tasty year on the coast and an early peak for Iron Butterfly, an acid-rock band with a pleasantly cheesy streak. This was an album I truly did discover by rifling through my older siblings LPs and deciding I needed to "borrow" this strange titled disc. Even back in the 70s I recognized that the band felt dated and as I got older it seemed everyone liked to ridicule this album despite professing some level of affinity for it. I join with a minority of my fellow reviewers in preferring the short tracks on side one to the legendary behemoth of side two.

While the music within was nothing new by '68 and the writing less exciting than something like "Piper at the Gates", In-A-Gadda is a fine album and one that I enjoy as much today as anything by the Doors for whom they are so often compared. And while Butterfly never had the luxury of an explosive Jim Morrison at center stage, in my opinion their musicians are just as interesting. Ingle's organ sound and playing have a sinister vibe and depth to them, very cool, his playing holds my attention far more than Manzarek's endless repetitions. Erik Brann is a cool guitarist with a penchant for melodic lines and crisp, biting chord strums. Side one's short tracks are an interesting slice of psych-pop with a great period organ sound that should please any fan of the genre. Side two has some glorious moments as well, but suffers somewhat from the fact that about 10 minutes of cool music are stretched a bit much at 17 minutes. Yet its dramatic forays play out like music for an exploration, with big riffs and over-the-top organ, strange Syd-inspired screeches, effective near-silence, and even a drum solo. If you got the time, why not? Turn out the lights, kick back, and time travel back to the good days.

An easy recommendation to fans of 60s psych rock and organ rock. There is plenty of fun here if you don't take things too seriously.

Share this IRON BUTTERFLY review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Finnforest
• Report this review (#1154595)
• Buy IRON BUTTERFLY music online with PA partners
• Show all IRON BUTTERFLY MP3/Stream
• Go to IRON BUTTERFLY page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for IRON BUTTERFLY related discussions