Sun and Steel (1975)
I've written about every original-era Iron Butterfly, except for the big one. For my prelude to the Ball album (see below), I wrote the following:
Iron Butterfly. Sigh. Was there ever a group with more commercial potential, and then just fell off the face of the Earth? Maybe, but this band has to be at least in that conversation. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida wasn't just a good seller, it was a major blockbuster - the album that put album rock on the map. And it was highly influential to boot. One can hear the early Krautrock and UK Vertigo groups taking a page directly from it. They were, in effect, crowned to be America's own Led Zeppelin - a band that opened for them, before ultimately the other way around.
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And then I went on to describe why Iron Butterfly weren't meant for the big time. So now we tackle the album that sent the group through the stratosphere. They weren't a one hit wonder in the traditional sense, which is usually saved for singles and the like. When I started hitting the used bins in early 1984, most of the record store owners had to say something about everything I bought - for some unknown and annoying reason (aged druggies in reality). Such as Focus' Moving Waves. "We used to get stoned during the yodeling parts...". In general, the reaction I received for albums I brought to the counter were "what the hell is that anyway?". Oftentimes I didn't know either - it looked cool so thought I'd try it out. Usually for less than three bucks (today some are going for $500 or more you Einsteins). But there were two bands that received outright derision from these clowns. One was Grand Funk Railroad (which I will still defend) and... Iron Butterfly. Especially this album. Constant references to what a joke it was. Not good music like - I dunno - The Band or Bruce Springsteen. Yea, OK. I'll make my own decisions, thank you. I always marched to my own drummer anyway (so to speak haha in this case), so other's opinions didn't matter much to me at age 19. Still don't nearly 40 years later.
I always liked the first side. In some ways it's similar to Brainticket's Cottonwood Hill. I love those first two tracks and would die to hear more like it. But the focus is always on the 30 minute Brainticket suite. Same for In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. All the songs are good - much better than the short form tracks on Heavy or Ball. So they improved in this way too. One wonders what would have happened had they just stuck with the single version of the title track, and added four or five more songs like it. Would have the album been more well received today? Would have it been as monumental as it was in its day? I think the answer to the first question is yes, and the second a big no.
The old-timers will tell you the truth - there just wasn't anything like this in 1968. I was all of 3 when this came out, so I cannot tell you a thing about its impact real time. But I am a student of history and it becomes clear that one must have context when listening to it. And do not kid yourself - if you don't think young Germans and Englishmen were tuned deep into this, then you're not serious. One can hear the embryonic form of Krautrock very clearly. And so did all those bands in the British underground.
About midway through the six minute mark comes the famous drum solo. Now if you can take anything away from my ramblings on this blog, you will have noted I hate drum solos. To me they are the biggest waste of recording space ever. I love this drum solo. It is a work of art. He's not spazzing out like an overly caffeinated zoo animal bashing on whatever he can find. Yea, I've sat through plenty of Neil Peart's drum solos at Rush concerts. Ron Bushy wins. Maybe not on technical points, but on enjoyable points. And - oh by the way - it ends at the nine minute mark. A whopping two and a half minutes of solo time, big deal. Then comes in the haunting organ. Like early Tangerine Dream or Mythos - or Pink Floyd. Yea, your cherished gods Pink Floyd were listening too. Everyone was, that's the point of this review. Then comes the guitar. It just oozes psychedelic atmosphere. How about checking out what they're doing at the 13 minute mark. Seriously? You're going to declare this album is no big deal?
And here we are in 2023, and people are still talking like the record store guys in 1984. No hope for mankind I guess.
Ownership:
Metamorphosis is the album that supports the thesis of Ball. By this time, Iron Butterfly were so utterly confused as to what their self-identity was, they ended up in a stasis of nothingness. Like many bands coming from the US in 1970, Iron Butterfly's album can simply be described as "rock". It's mildly heavy, it's mildly progressive, and it's mildly annoying. 'New Day' represents about the only decent song here, while the rest sort of blows by without notice. 'Butterfly Bleu' is their last gasp at thinking perhaps maybe they were still a groundbreaking unit. And there are glimpses of great within, but of course most of it is just noodling around in the name of high art. They really had no clue at this point what they had started only two short years before. And then finally Ingle threw in the towel. Game over. As we learned with the 45 of 'Silly Sally', Iron Butterfly continued on in vain without him. They were moving in the direction of BST styled horn pop, so they were definitely going the wrong way. It was hopeless.
Iron Butterfly were to reform in the mid 70s without Ingle in tow. That unit predictably had little impact and also imploded. For the 40 years since then, Iron Butterfly has reformed (with Ingle this time) and broken back up. There's always going to be a new album, but yet it never somehow surfaces. Now the living members are in their 70s. Somehow I doubt a Spettri like phenomena will happen here (2973 La nemica dei ricordi). Woulda, coulda, shoulda. That should be on their tombstone outside the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. Almost there, but not quite.
Former ownership: 2009 Victor (CD). Papersleeve.
Iron Butterfly. Sigh. Was there ever a group with more commercial potential, and then just fell off the face of the Earth? Maybe, but this band has to be at least in that conversation. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida wasn't just a good seller, it was a major blockbuster - the album that put album rock on the map. And it was highly influential to boot. One can hear the early Krautrock and UK Vertigo groups taking a page directly from it. They were, in effect, crowned to be America's own Led Zeppelin - a band that opened for them, before ultimately the other way around.
Ball is exactly the type of album that demonstrated why Iron Butterfly weren't meant for the big time. It's just so average. A band caught twixt and between heavy rock, pop rock, and psychedelic with no ambition. All played at 70% of capacity and enthusiasm. There's excellent stuff on here for certain, like 'In the Time of Our Lives', 'Filled With Fear' and 'Belda-Beast', but nothing mind blowing as on In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. Doug Ingle was an immense talent. I don't get The Doors comparisons, other than they both had sonorous voices. Ingle was far more rough than Morrison, and had he come along a generation later, would have made for the perfect heavy metal lead singer. His keyboard style was born from the church (his dad's Midwest influence), and he sounds like he's playing a pipe organ sometimes. Ball should have been the album to project Iron Butterfly to the next level of creativity. But they seemed to recoil from the responsibility. Nine songs totaling 33 minutes, some of which are real throwaways. Nothing really memorable. It seems they didn't know their place in history and thus gave it away unceremoniously. And this was the album they did exactly that with. There's another chapter to tell here of course, but that's for the Metamorphosis review.
Ownership: 1969 ATCO (LP). Gatefold Unipak. Acquired in 2020.
Iron Butterfly's debut is often flogged because of what came after it, not because of the album itself. The weighty expectations of a much forgotten album, and in retrospect, isn't heavy in the slightest. As stated by others, heavy didn't mean "heavy metal" in 1968. Even philosophically no one will ever accuse Iron Butterfly of being Descartes. But that doesn't mean that the group didn't release a competent, if not extraordinary, late 60s psych release. There are four really solid tracks here in 'Possession', 'Unconscious Power', 'You Can't Win', and 'Iron Butterfly Theme' with fine organ, guitar, and vocals. Sure, there's some filler here too. Honestly, rare is the US major label psych album which didn't have filler. Keep expectations in check, and I think you'll find Heavy an album worthy of your time.
Ownership: 1969 ATCO (LP). Acquired in 2021.
7/12/16 (review); 10/2/21
