Customer Reviews

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (Dlx)

5 star:		(73)
4 star:		(43)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The use of the organ in the 60's instantly reminded me of the Doors and Ray Manzarek, whose signature organ made "Light My Fire" a hit. There's a bit of organ solo reminiscent of "Light My Fire" in "Most Anything You Want." But Iron Butterfly made their mark by the title track of their second album, which originally came out six days before I was born. "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is a verbal corruption of "In The Garden Of Eden" or "In The Garden of Life", vida being Spanish for life. And given their name, iron indicating hard, butterfly being a delicate creature, it's easy to see that along with the Who and Blue Cheer, they were the forerunners of heavy metal.

The idyllic 60's love and happiness feeling is underscored in "Most Anything You Want", where the big goal is "I just want to make you happy and spend my lifetime with you." The piercing electric guitar complements lead vocalist Doug Ingle's organ well. And also noticeable is Ingle's deep and resonant lead vocals, which gives the band and this album quite a distinction.

"Flowers And Beads" is an idyllic skipping tune like the Turtles' "Happy Together". A title like that smacks of what the Summer of Love, which was the year before this album's release, was about. And yes, the corny and trite, "Girl I love you, I love you, I need you in this lifetime/girl I just know I love you, don't you think my love is true?" definitely makes this a period piece. The harmony vocals recalls the Beatles, and this song is "She Loves You" taken to another level, only now it's "I love you."

"My Mirage" recalls the Doors, particularly the punchy chords of "Five To One" but with harmonies recalling the Byrds. This was a song written in memory of a friend of the band who died in an accident.

"This is termination, the outcome of your life." Guitarist Erik Brann wrote and sang lead in "Termination", which was inspired by the sirens from Greek mythology. Love that fuzzy guitar.

The hard-driving guitar and drums of "Are You Happy?" made me realize why IB was placed in the heavy metal section of my music store.

Three versions of the title song are present. The complete 17 minute version, which I'll never be bored of, from opening organ arpeggio (where notes are played one by one instead of all at once), bassline, then the guitar, and Doug Ingles' spectrally deep vocals, the fiery guitar solo, drum solo, organ solo, elephant bellows effect by Erik Brann, all the way up to Ingle signalling the final minutes by going "two three four". Given what the title was a slurred version of, the concept of walking with a special one in a paradise continues the theme of the Summer of Love: "Oh won't you come with me and take my hand, oh won't you come with me, and walk this land, please take me hand." Along with other songs, they also play an extended if not the full version of this song in the concert film "Musical Mutiny" with some amaterishly added psychedelic art effects. So much better than Slayer's thrashed version on the Less Than Zero soundtrack.

The live version was from their 1970 live album. The tempo is slightly quicker than the studio version. This one has the various solos in the middle and clocks in at 18:50.

And the final is the abridged 2:52 single edit which made it to #30 on the Billboard charts. A bit unsatisfying given the long meandering full version.

This deluxe version by Rhino Records contains extended liner notes and the original notes, as well as the cool lenticular cover of the butterfly that seems to flap its wings if you tilt it. All that remains for me is to find someone to take my hand in that garden of life.

Remember extended LPs, those records you'd buy which had one song you liked? Remember how you convinced yourself it was OK to buy it, even though you didn't like the rest of the album? It was OK then, and it is OK now. "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" has five songs you never heard of, and one song you should know.

In the rock-and-roll canon, that great list of songs everyone generally agrees is great, you'll find a few Elvis, Stones and Beatles tunes. Zeppelin will have their share, and you'll see the Doors, Clapton, Buddy Holly and other familiar names repeated throughout that list. Then, somewhere close to #100 or 150, you'll see 'Iron Butterfly'. Who? It doesn't matter who. It matters what. The what is "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," a 17 minute work of rock-n-roll art.

To say Iron Butterfly was a one hit wonder is only relating half of the story. This wasn't like "People!" whose cover of "I Love You," hit high and then was forgotten when band members split to do other things. That's a real one hit wonder. Iron Butterfly had one hit, but it would be like if Zeppelin only gave the world "Stairway to Heaven." The one song is enough to seal them in rock-n-roll history.

Has anyone covered this song? No one cares, because this is the version everyone wants.

The rest of the album is classic psychedelia. It is not bad, but they are all B-sides to a drum solo dynamo. Like Skynard's guitar in "Freebird," the drum solo here is what everyone talks about. The physical endurance to carry it off, and the musical strength to sustain the rhythm back into the song is amazing.

Buy the CD, record it to your hard drive, then do as I do, pop it in your playlist while you surf the net.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

I don't have much to add to what the others said about this album, musically, but I have an important recomendation. The tracks other than the title track are forgetable, but the title track is what it is all about.

I have the original Atlantic CD, and it is the *worst* sounding CD I have. There are terrible drop outs on the vocals. I also have the Rhino reissue version and it sounds *great*. Besides being remastered for good quality sound, it has bonus tracks of the live version if I-A-G-D-V (also great, some people like it better than the studio version) and the single version. So unless the Atlantic version has been remastered (and I don't know if it has been), don't get it and get the Rhino version instead - for the much improved sound quality and the bonus live track.

Of course, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida contains the mother of all drum solos. It seems to have influenced every drum solo after it.

This album was a seminal part of every teenager's album collection (including mine) in the 60's right along with the obligatory Hendrix and Cream albums. Granted, the remaining tracks couldn't compare to the title cut, but at 17 minutes plus, who the hell cared?

That said, I would recommend that anyone considering buying "In a Gadda Da Vida" purchase a turntable and buy a used copy in vinyl at a record store. The sound quality of the CD is the worst of any album I've ever heard. The guitar solos in particular were mixed down way low and lose the ambience and sonic clarity of the record. The only thing stopping me from giving this CD a lower rating is the fact that at least someone had the guts to try and do it...and at least left the drum and organ solos in pretty good shape.

1968 was not so long ago. Yet, when I listen to this music from my youth, the Summer of Love and psychedelic music seem a lifetime ago. The moment I heard "Most Anything You Want," the first track on this expanded re-release of "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," 1968 came flooding back into memory as though a door had been opened. This phenomenal re-release is the definitive version of the classic album, and includes three versions of the song "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida."

The opening song is a simple love song that is relatively middle-of-the-road for the 60s. The combination of instruments is standard, with a lead guitar, bass guitar, organ and drums. This song contains elements that, in retrospect, we identify with songs associated with the summer of love. The song places the album in its era and allows you to realign yourself with that time before moving on.

Some categories are overused. Hippie music is perhaps one of those overused categories. However, "Flowers and Beads" seems to fit in that category, given that both were characteristics of those people called hippies in the 60s. The song is, similar to the opening song, very middle-of-the-road for that era with a recognizable sound. I like this song better than the opening song because of the harmonies.

The music changes tone for "My Mirage," veering from the middle-of-the-road into psychedelic music. The allusions to either the results of chemically enhanced activities or to a meditative state are unmistakable. The music matches pace with the lyrics contains several riffs that are very interesting and catchy and move this CD from the pop-like opening tracks to something that would be more at home on a Doors album. Note that Iron Butterfly and the Doors were contemporaries and had debut albums in subsequent years.

The next song moves into a genre with a harder edge. This music contains flavors of hard rock and progressive rock, both of which were still in their formative years. There were moments in "Termination" that sounded similar to moments on some of Yes's early albums. This psychedelic flavored hard rock song is one of the best songs on this CD.

The order of the songs gives you the feeling that the album is building to something. The final song on the first side of the original album was "Are You Happy," which contains musical elements similar to earlier songs on this CD. I also enjoy the bridge, which has moments that are similar to some of Jethro Tull's later music. There is a power guitar section that seems derived from Jimi Hendrix's music. The lyrics are almost unnecessary as the guitar noodling in the last half of this song really make up the essence of this song. There are a series of wonderful riffs in this song that may have inspired a number of later songs. This song is yet another of the better songs on this album, and with the previous song makes this album one for fans of early hard rock.

At last we reach the end of the album, and three versions of the anthem of psychedelic rock, "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida." The first version is the 17:10 song that originally filled the second side of the vinyl album, though the current listing on Amazon shows that version at 17:05. The second version is a live version that has an introductory portion on the organ that lasts for a bit more than 50 seconds before getting into the song itself. The third version is the single version that makes it seem as though the vocals are more significant than the original intended. "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is a vehicle to allow the hard rock bridge to go on for a lengthy period of time, coupling the opening and closing vocals. The lyrics are incredibly simple and yet are among the most memorable lyrics of rock music from any era.

The song does move into the kind of instrumental noodling that was significantly more common in the 1970s. Because of the drive of the song and the relatively free form of the music, this song stays away from progressive rock. The song does combine things being done by other artists of the era, notably Jimi Hendrix and the Doors, adds in other elements uniquely those of Iron Butterfly, and comes up with one of the early milestones in hard rock.

While the group was likely not seeking the kind of notoriety that the song brought, the album was incredibly successful by any standard. The album was the first album to earn an RIAA platinum award. The song itself was considered one of the first songs of hard rock, and is considered by some to be the first acid rock song. The song peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200 chart, and spent 140 weeks (nearly three years) on the chart.

The song and album were recorded by the second Iron Butterfly lineup of Doug Ingle singing and on keyboards, the late Erik Brann on lead guitar, Lee Dorman on bass, and Ron Bushy on drums. Unfortunately, they were unable to duplicate their success on subsequent albums and the group broke up in 1971.

This CD also includes a 36-page booklet providing background information for the song and the group. The story of the title of the song and album differs from a previously documented version, and has cast doubt on the true origins of the song's title.

Fans of classic hard rock need this recently re-mastered album for their collection. The re-master is supposedly from first generation master tapes. Fans of psychedelic rock, acid rock, and classic rock will also want this album. Listening to "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is pure bliss. You will enjoy this one!

For some people, (I can't be the only one) In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida has become not only a favorite psychedelic album, but a favorite Christmas album as well. As far back as I can remember, this album was played at our house along with all of our other holiday music. The hi-fi back then had one of those light-show things plugged into one of the speaker jacks, and it would flash in time to the music...I especially liked to watch the lights during the famous "drum solo". Boom boom boom, thump thump thump, boom boom boom, thump thump thump, badoom, bathump, badoom, bathump you remember, doncha? And during the organist's solo, as the melody wound its way eerily to a conclusion of "oh tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy, oh tidings of comfort and joy." Wheeee, far out, man!
As for the technical details of this particular CD, diehard fans will notice that the audio mix of the live version of the title track is somewhat different than the mix that's on the original album of "Iron Butterfly Live", which is also available on CD from Atco. You would never notice this unless you had both CD's like I do. All in all, it is a wonderful CD and you should listen to The Whole Thing, in order, not just the one song. All the songs are beautiful and they should be fully enjoyed in all their splendor. Thanks for reading my review!

Well, what can one say about Iron Butterfly. This was a true original rock band that paved the way for a sound to come. The flower power national anthem In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida was and still stands as a great tune in any era. One of the first big drum solo songs that had you tapping your feet and hands to, I feel that the whole album was a beginning of the long one song side album format. The rest of the tunes are great and one has to give every credit to the solid guitar work of the late Eric Braun, his scorching solo's sound as animal as a screeching Mastadon. Check his affect after the drum solo! We lost Eric on July 28th 2003 of heart failure at the age of 52, but not a bad way to be remembered as a 17 year old kid with some of the hottest guitar licks ever. Buy this, and the live album also if you never had the chance to see them.

Don't listen to people who bag this masterpiece. Even if it was the only track on the disc it would be worth the price. It is not overblown, cliched, too long etc. It is a fully developed example of everything that was great about rock music of this period. The other tracks are no duds either.

I only had a faint memory - like with King Crimson, or with the soundtrack of "The Trip" by the Electric Flag - that, way back, I really digged (or dug?) Iron Butterfly. Still, I was gearing myself for big time disappointment: I hadn't listened to these guys for 30 years+ But Man! I shouldn't have worried so much: this remains great stuff: not the amateurish sound that I kind of feared. So join BBS! (Bring Back the Sixties!), slow down, relax and let In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida invade your ears!

When I first brought this album home, the garage band I was in, flush from our success at handling the full 7-minute version of the Doors' "Light My Fire", tackled this 17-minute epic--we were so blown away by it. Never mind that we had a keyboardist who was learning as he went along on his first-ever musical instrument, a barely competent guitarist in my kid brother, and the fact that I did a fairly decent vocal imitation of lead singer/ organist Doug Ingle (big freakin' deal). It was a case of why the dog licks itself--because it can. And we did it. At least recognizably, anyway. Nowadays, it's easy to dis this number, and not just by virtue of its datedness. Critics trot out equally-dated rhetoric like "self-indulgent", as if no one's caught after all these years that an artist or an entertainer is by definition a loose cannon. If you have self-discipline there, it always, repeat, ALWAYS results in assembly-line sameness. But you know, our self-taught keyboard player picked up the single version of the song, and what did he get? The song's only actual verse--which makes no sense even by that era's "poetic" ethos--played once, then repeated, then a four-beat count-in on drums (with Ingle doubling the drums on vocals; "hup-hup-hup-hup"), then (thank God), a final repeat of that verse. One of the most boring two-and-a-half minute expenditures of time ever, not to mention the biggest waste of a teenager's 98 cents. Anyone who's ever heard both versons of the song for comparison can easily spot the fact that the vocals aren't what the number's about--it's a jam, pure and simple, just like on a Miles Davis track of that era. Okay, the real version's hampered by an over-disciplined drum solo based on shave-and-a-haircut, two-bits, joined eventually by Ingle doing some noodling on organ that incorporates "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" (which makes that stretch a combination Christmas carol and knock-knock joke)--but it's probably rock's first foray into jazz-type jamming. Our generation, in our talent for worshipping the trival and trivializing the meaningful, made it into an anthem. The plain fact was that the track made the album worth what each of us paid for it. Isn't that the best reason to buy an album? Oh yeah, the price we paid also got us "Are You Happy", a driving tarantella-beat rocker that quickly beacame a natural show-opener for the group.