Customer Reviews

Heavy

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I love this album. Granted, it's not perfect. The sound quality is a bit muddy at times, and a few of the performances resemble rough drafts which were never expanded upon or finished. But there are some killer tracks included on this album. The trademark Butterfly sound is already in place, and Doug Ingle sounds good. No, he's not Robert Plant or even Jim Morrison. But he emotes with a raw passion that certainly comes through here, devoid of pretense. When the band backs him up, vocally, they sound similar, and the voices mesh well. No, DeLoach wasn't the best vocalist on the planet. But he provided an excellent counterpoint to Ingle's deep- throated gospel- oriented wails. DeLoach represented the "light", Ingle the "heavy", and the band works as a team on this album, coming up with some cool original tunes and a nice cover of "Get Out of My Life, Woman" (Allen Toussaint). The bass lines foreshadow all of the group's recordings that followed; in fact, bassist Jerry Penrod sounds like a major influence on Lee Dorman. Listen to him on "Unconscious Power", and you'll hear it. It would have been interesting to hear where the band would have gone had this line-up stayed intact. Best songs: "Unconscious Power", "Stamped Ideas", "Iron Butterfly Theme", "Fields of Sun".

Okay, maybe that is a bit exaggerrated. However, when Iron butterfly started playing the club circuit in '66, there had never been anything that sounded like them. Dubbed "heavy metal", Butterfly both directly and indirectly influenced more bands than arguably anyone else. However, this album shows that butterfly were not a one-trick-pony, and also dabbled in psychedelia, pop, and other styles too. While their following album honed their style to near-perfection, "Heavy" is quite possibly the most historically-important Rock album ever.

If you are a classic rock fan, then you need to buy this CD. Iron Butterfly is truly a perfect name for this band; the way they blend light and heavy sound is amazing. They were the true pioneers of heavy metal, yet their music is melodic due to the keyboards. This is their debut, and it is probably their best album as well. "Fields of sun", "possesion", and "get out of my life woman" are three songs that any true classic rock fan wouldn' be missing from their collection.

"Heavy," Iron Butterfly's debut album is the perfect predecessor to "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida." This album shows that Iron Butterfly was far from a future one-hit-wonder band. Every song I just sampled rocks: "Possesion," "Unconsious Power" (Both were on the first Butterfly single), "Iron Butterfly Theme," just to name the ten killer tracks. I am so glad that this album is now available on CD for all Iron Butterfly fans to have and hold forever.

"Iron Butterfly Theme" finshes up this CD, and it is indeed heavy. Heavy riff, with the guitar player making noises over top the whole thing. No, these aren't the greatest songs ever, but the feel gets you. It's electric, and definitely the early blossoming of Metal. It sounds nothing like any modern metal, but the blueprint is there.
I don't think the band's line up sounds very different at all from the one that made "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida". There are a few tunes that remind you of mid-sixties proto punk ("Gentle as it May Seem"), but mainly it's all what you expect from Iron Butterfly-a mysterious vibe, and organ dominating in the mix a little too much sometimes, and slow/heavy rythms that prophesied Zeppelin and Sabbath. This is history, so if you want the history of metal, check it out.

Like most people, I got hooked on Iron Butterfly by listening to the CLASSIC "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" (See my review of said album). After I got a copy of "'Vida," I set out to get more of these hard/heavy rock pioneers' music. One of the CDs I picked up on my quest was their first effort, "Heavy." Having heard some of this CD from the "Light And Heavy" best-of CD (review coming soon), I was prepared for the slight shock of Daryl DeLoach's singing (it's a lot different than Doug's rich-sounding voice), and I could focus on the music on the CD. Although I will admit that this CD might be a tad weak in content, that's not to say that it doesn't have some killer tracks that forecast the Butterfly's future greatness. Favorites here are "Possession" (one of Doug Ingle's first efforts in songwriting, and not too bad at that), "Unconscious Power" (this one has a definite "Day Tripper" vibe to it), "Gentle As It May Seem" (OK, so the lyrics are a little corny, but you can tell the band's having fun here), "Look For The Sun" (nice bluesy/funky organ solo by Doug here), and of course, the epic instrumental "Iron Butterfly Theme" (You can tell where they got the title for the album just by listening to this track!) If you like Iron Butterfly for more than just "'Vida," You'll probably like this CD.

You want music heavy on the minor key? This is it! Doug Ingle's keyboard playing on this album is second only to Ray Manzarek of the Doors. The album is an expression of pure unbounded joy, with a beat! A fine album (for a first try.)

You want Bass, You got bass, If you are a in a rock band,Get this cd. This is the best Iron Butterfly lp they made, It's hard to believe that inadoddavidda outsold this record.

Well, well. I'm glad to see this one is still around. I have fond memories of this album playing while I was trying to get my grades up to go to a real college! I digress. Nice record. Cleaner sounding California stuff. It can't deserve the "Heavy" appellation any longer. Those darn Hippies! Bass player really good, guitars actually doing modern sound. Songs a little goofy and of the day, but I can still listen. The "Iron Butterfly Theme" could make a good concert piece today. It could be really "Heavy".

Okay, maybe that is a bit exaggerrated. However, when Iron butterfly started playing the club circuit in '66, there had never been anything that sounded like them. Dubbed "heavy metal", Butterfly both directly and indirectly influenced more bands than arguably anyone else. However, this album shows that butterfly were not a one-trick-pony, and also dabbled in psychedelia, pop, and other styles too. While their following album honed their style to near-perfection, "Heavy" is quite possibly the most historically-important Rock album ever.