helterskelter.ca

IRON BUTTERFLY
1968 - Heavy.
1968 - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.
way more Helter Skelter.

January 22, 1968 - 2023: 55 years of: Heavy.

On the sunny West-Coast, we find heaviness ...burn them flowers !

Young acidrock aficionados to become leaders of the late 60s US counterculture. Between the Ying-Yang, between black & white and between light & heavy, we find the perfect sonic balance genesis of IRON BUTTERFLY.

The soft keys sets the mood for the loudness-war, as the melodramatic "Possession" snakes in. Right into the rockabillia-vibed "Unconscious Power" and "Gentle As It May Seem" ...a track not written by THE MONKEES. The decibel-meter is put to test on "Fields Of Sun" and the boogie-rhythm of "Stamped Ideas".

Darkness takes over and swallows the atmosphere on "You Can't Win" and the cataclysmic monumental epic grand-finale of the "Iron Butterfly Theme". A gigantic ghostly instrumental exploration that defines prog-rock, years before RUSH took over.

While Great Britain had a substantial lead during the mid 60s UK / US rocknroll war, the counter-attack power of Uncle Sam's Red, White & Blue boys didn't disappoint. In a mere five months time, the BUTTERFLY would change the game with more IRON, on the trendsetting hot Summer 1968 hypnotizing In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida LP.

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RIP Ron Bushy (1941-2021)

*
Unconscious Power = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcpKE4LD0W4
Heavy = full LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYLBoAcRJWw&list=PLBBF6ADCE32DBAA29
Live at the Fillmore East in 1968
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2jvDHLaKdE

June 14, 1968 - 2023: 55 years of: In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.

Total nirvana ...inside The Garden Of Eden.

The counterculture was at full swing, Summer 1968 was the epitome of acidrock and it's libertarian esthetics. Following January '68s adventurous Heavy debut-LP, the IRON BUTTERFLY would now push the boundaries of music beyond the cosmos ...and rewrite rock-history.

The speakers tears out and the Hi-Fi is set afire with the opener "Most Anything You Want". Loud rock and crips dynamics continues on with the pretty girl gift of "Flowers And Beads", while the screaming almost heavymetal "Are You Happy" is another test-drive for the unaccustomed eardrums out there.

The blunt power of flower-power pushes the scene into a wild inferno, the hip and diametrically dark "Termination" is the sweet poison, fed with a spoon. Overdriven surf-guitars and thick bass-lines intertwined with the lovely ending message of: "This is termination, the outcome of your life."

And now the breakthrough concept-track that became the sound of a generation ...the 17 minutes and 11 second progrock / acidrock mastermind. The voice, the beat and that haunting circular riff, that keeps on choking the audience. The trend-breaking and trend-setting title-track "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is a deep voyage into the mind, heart and soul of psychedelia. The ultimate out of body experience that even features individual guitar solos, drum solos, keyboard solos and bass solos.

The term "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" was coined by mishearing the phrase "In The Garden Of Eden" of a drunken drummer to his fellow bandmate, how rocknroll. The world's first 15min+ progrock attempt ? very likely. The full long-form unedited piece became a favorite for DJs, providing them a deserved 17min break for extra curricular-activities. "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" an ethereal escapade.

Soundtrack for 1968's Summer, the "Vida" LP crowned the flower-power movement and opened the doors to the eventual prog-rock plethora of the 70s. The In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida LP now stands as RIAA-certified 4x Platinum ...and remains the Mother of hippie-tracks. "Vida" ...forever synonymus with rocknroll's hazy folklore.

The boys would reach a higher plateau and get high again with 1969's spacial Ball LP.

"Please take my haaaaaaaaaaaaannd !!!"

RIP Erik Brann (1950-2003)
RIP Lee Dorman (1942-2012)

*
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIVe-rZBcm4
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida = full LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QZdITJX6I0&uy_l8KzVu9C9CJuOUivhxk7Jp5FpsnCnfSDA
Interview and performance in 1968
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kAHqIkc0qQ
Live at the Fillmore East in 1968
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGUrhtfvMIE&list=PLhrF4FY0qTgz1wXeQbltNEfRHjuXW8qXz