Customer Reviews

Ball

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"BALL" is the Butterfly's peak moment, and Collectors Choice has re-released it with enough tape hiss to actually ruin the listening experience. I'd mistakenly expected a remastering a la the "In-a- gadda-da-vida" reissue by Rhino, and this sure isn't it. In this day of so many careful and high-quality remastering jobs, this is a major disappointment. Thank God for the two extra songs. Otherwise, I'm sure the original Atlantic Records release sounds superior to this. In fact, other than the pops and crackles, my original 1968 vinyl copy has better sound!

For those who experiment with any new digital audio resotration software, you should be able to figure out the reason they can not improve upon this recording.
It will virtually eliminate the frequencies of a bad recording in the first place.
It will pretty much wipe out the high's and the lows will be mud.
Many albums from this era were recorded poorly.
How many of you purchased the digital remasterd Disraeli Gears? Same thing. A wall of hiss, especially noticeable on Strange Brew. My vinyl sounds better.
There is nothing you can do. I purchased a German import CD of Ball many years ago and it was the same.
They could not improve on it.
Enjoy it as it is. I bet many of you still listen to vinyl with cracks and scratches like myself.
Belda Beast is timeless. Superb effort from the Iron.
Way underrated when compared to their big hit Inna Gadda.
Great song writing and top notch melodies.

I also agree that Mr. Talsma is a bona fide know-nothing. To say that Iron Butterfly "never broke true" (did he mean "never broke through"?)is a total joke. My God, "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" was one of the biggest-selling albums of all time, and although "Ball" didn't sell the numbers it's predecessor did, it clearly shows IB expanding their sound, growing and venturing into new musical ideas. The album has it's weaker moments, but there are killers too, like "In The Time Of Our Lives" and "Soul Experience." I saw and heard Butterfly play some of this album live at the Fillmore East in NYC and they did the material well. All in all, not my favorite Butterfly effort, but a very good one.

If I had the option, I would give the extra-track version of "Ball" SIX stars instead of five (which is the highest rating). The songs are just too brilliant to name individually, but my favorites are "Soul Experience," "In the Times of Our Lives," "Lonely Boy," "Real Fright," "It Must Be Love," and "I Can't Help But Decieve you, Little Girl." This album is heavy metal at its best, besides Britney Spears' "lonely," and "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida." Buy this CD as soon as you can!!!

I'm really surprised more people aren't aware of Iron Butterfly's Ball. When I think about psychedelic sounds, I believe some of the tracks on THIS album are the ultimate example of that.

Yes, it's true some of the songs sound a bit dated, but who cares? No one seems to care that Pink Floyd's Piper at the Gates of Dawn is stuck in the late 60's, so the same shouldn't be a problem with this Iron Butterfly album.

Not only does the album contain psychedelic pop songs similar to the stuff from side one of the previous Iron Butterfly album (you know, the popular album) but there's also a few songs that sound VERY different from anything I've ever heard before, such as "In the Time of Our Lives". I have NEVER heard a vocal melody like that combined with a strange atmosphere from a late 60's song. Talk about standing apart from everything else around that period in time.

"Real Fright" reminds me of those old Castlevania video games, or Dracula himself for that matter. In fact, the lead singer frequently reminds me of Dracula's voice, haha. Don't ask me why!

"Lonely Boy" makes me think the band must have been influenced by the likes of the Righteous Brothers, and two songs in particular that capture the psychedelic style so well would be "Soul Experience" and the closer, the 6 minute "Belda-Beast". Now THOSE are two incredibly cool songs.

I highly recommend this album to fans of hard rock, blues rock, space rock, and especially psychedelic rock.

This was their 3rd album. It had a few minor hits but it rocks! VERY UNDERRATED!

Here is a breakdown of the songs on this masterpiece.

In The Time Of Our Lives: Has a droning quality about it. Spooky lyrics. Was one of the A-sides on the album. Great track

Soul Experience: The other single from the album. One of the few flower power cuts. A difference from the previous album which had about 5 of them. Very underrated song, this should have been a huge hit.

Lonely Boy: Love song. The best part of the song is Erik Braunn's bluesy/jazzy solo in the middle. Apparently there is another version unreleased with some longer soloing which i wish would see the light of day. As for the vocals, Doug Ingle is more of a rock shouter than a balladeer.

Real Fright: Great song beginning to end. Awesome solos, especially the keyboard lines that provide the basis for the intro to the song.

In The Crowds: The flip to Soul Experience. Great short song! (only 2:12) One of my favorite set of lyrics in any of their songs. Also some good drum fills too!
"I'm in dire need of a someone somewhere"
"My mind wanders the crowds in a search"
"In the search of a warmth that i feel in my life"

It Must Be Love: In my review of Metamorphosis, i said what was Mike Pineras defining guitar moments. THIS is Erik Braunn's. (one of them anyway) One of the heaviest of it's time. Some nice vocal harmonies too! This was the flipside of In The Time Of Our Lives

Her Favorite Style: Quite the goofy song. Sounds like the Addams Family. Quirky song with pretty dumb lyrics. Fun though!

Filled With Fear: Another song with spooky lyrics. Nice guitar lines from Erik Braunn. BTW those seemingly female ghostlike sounds is Erik Braunn, he had a childish harmony voice. (same sound that ends Flowers and Beads from the Vida album)

Belda Beast: Sounds like a Pink Floyd song that would fit perfectly on Dark Side Of the Moon. The good news is that they didnt rip off Pink Floyd. This album came out 3 full years ahead of Dark Side. Supposedly Erik Braunn sings this song. However it sounds nothing like his later MUCH worse vocals from Sun & Steel and Scorching Beauty so i dont think it is him. Plus it sounds like Doug Ingle.

This one is a keeper. You can't deny that Vida is a classic album and cut. But i have to say it does get tedious. This is a consistant effort which merits repeat listening.

You know, albums like this one are a problem. I really wanted to like it more than I did when it came out. I actually heard "In the Crowds" played on the jukebox at college. The bass player was really good--drums and guitar also. The singer was a bit of unusual. I bought it though and for time warping I'm glad it's still around.

It now may be hard to fathom, but when Led Zeppelin toured the states in early 1969, Iron Butterfly were the bigger act when both were on the bill. In fact, they were Atlantic's flagship band. In-A-Gadda-Di-Vida came out the year before, 1968. and the title track was the first real FM radio staple. No Zeppilin, no Yes, no King Crimson, no such thing as progressive rock. Want to hear prog? Iron Butterfly' only realy competetors was Hendrix, maybe Vanilla Fudge.

Curious, then, that when they released Ball as a follow up, Iron Butterfuly stuck to conventional rock songs. "In The Time Of Our Lives," "Lonley Boy," and "Real Fright" may have had varied styles among them, but they never strayed far from conventional or what was then called "heavy" rock.

In sum, this album is a nice listen, and not just a period piece. All the songs are well written. Doug Ingle had a booming voice if not a great range, and even the fuzz guitar holds up--well, reasonably-- today, even though you can tell it is straight out of 1969.

The problem for Butterfly was, rock was getting both more progressive and heavy by the month in 1969. This band could be king of the roust when "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" was slicing Gary Pucket and Frankie Vallie to ribons in 1968. But now, Ball was competing with Led Zeppelin II and Court Of The Crimson King. Both these bands also had better writting and understood how to create extended pieces. Fuzz rock was kid's stuff next to Page and Fripps brutal and complex attacks. By the time Ball bounced, rock had passed this band by.

But it is still a great album for the songs. Had it come out a year earlier, or if Butterfly had written a proper prog piece and goosed the distortion, more of today's metal singers might be derivative of Doug Ingle and not Robert Plant.

BALL is a wonderful listening experience . The instruments and the sounds they make are refreshing theres a precission and placement in space that rewards careful and repeated listens.The songs are well thought out and rehearshed. Every instrument is given room to shine in each individual manner. THE grooves are too numerous and varied to grow irksome or muddled like much of their contemporaries , this is indeed a memory trip before guitar goons like jimmy pagetook center stage without a shred of humilty or integrity and blasted all hopes of hEarING HARD SYMPHONIC ROCK TILL i heeard YES.[BEFORE TALES]DEBAUCHERY.

This was the first album I ever owned...I got it in the early 70's and I'm not tired of it yet. I think this is IB's finest album. This is their only album that I like every song.