June 14, 1968 - Iron Butterfly and In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

Nearly 6 months after "Steppenwolf" was released, the next song in my library was released on June 14, 1968, "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", off of the album of the same name by Iron Butterfly. But who is Iron Butterfly? They were originally a five-piece rock band from San Diego, though on "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" (their second album) they are a four-piece. They consist of Erik Brann (guitars), Lee Dorman (bass), Ron Bushy (drums) and Doug Ingle (organ, lead vocals). The title track is the only song I have by Iron Butterfly, but boy is it a good one, and clocking in at over 17 minutes (taking up the entire 2nd side of the record) a long one indeed.

This epic song kicks off with Ingle's organ, whose driving riff carries this whole song.  It's just such a catchy, awesome riff and once the guitar starts as well, you know that something special is starting.  Ingle's easy sing-a-long lyrics make this a fan favourite right from the get-go, and after 2 minutes-ish, the first solo begins.  Brann takes us on a 4-4 1/2 minute journey, which is long for the time, before the drums take center stage. After about 3 minutes of drumming from Bushy that wasn't really fancy, but definitely cool enough to keep your attention, Ingle's keyboard starts to fade in and eventually becomes the lead instrument. These long "movements" I will call them, that are each distinctly their own, but also flow seamlessly between each other would become indicative of the genre progressive rock, something this song perfectly embodies. After a keyboard "movement", the whole band is back together again around the 12 and a half minute mark with a thundering re-entry. After another brief guitar solo, the rhythm section takes off and we even get a short bass "movement". This leads to a short organ solo, followed by some more great guitar, before they finally return to the original riff that kicked it all off. They tie the whole thing together nicely, with some finishing keyboard flourishes to end the song. Wow! What an adventure! I love this song and look forward to more extended instrumental pieces going forward as progressive rock really takes form.

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