June 29, 2012 Playlist

"Ball" by Iron Butterfly (1969)
CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Iron Butterfly  "Ball"  1969 (USA)
For a brief moment in 1968, the pop music world seemed to belong to Iron Butterfly.  Their first album Heavy had been moderately successful and they shared stages with groups like The Doors, Blue Cheer and Spirit on L.A.'s hot club scene.  Then their second album released later that year (though with a different lineup of musicians) included one of the first side-long songs, a 17-minute acid dirge riff entitled "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".  It was just the right combination of psuedo-profundity and druggy "hea-vee"-ness to become an unlikely smash hit.  So what did they do next?  A more varied album called Ball with a few proto-progressive touches which actually sold pretty well too, though you'll never hear it on the radio . . . except on Kosmik Radiation!  I think it could be the best of their LP's (though the first one is quite charming too, and I-A-G-D-V  is too ridiculous not too love!)
The most famous "classic quartet" lineup of Iron Butt (ie, the one that did "Gadda") actually only recorded two studio albums (out of six the band produced including the mid-70's reunion).  So anyway, digga "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"! (You-A-Knowa-You-Wanna!)  Here's clips of the band lip-synching to the two flop singles from this week's Classic Album:  the somewhat spooky "In The Time Of Our Lives", and the incongruously grooovy "Soul Experience".  After a live album in 1970 (as I recall the opening band on that tour was an unknown British group called Led Zeppelin -- who blew them off the stage), guitarist Erik Brann quit the group and faded into obscurity until the 1974-75 reunion albums (the only other member who participated in those was drummer Ron Bushy, the only person who plays on every Iron Butterfly record).  But in between those eras, IB made one more album called Metamorphosis before bassist Lee Dorman and replacement guitarist Larry Reinhardt left to found the unsung heavy-prog band Captain Beyond in 1972 (whew!)  Here's a clip of the 1971 lineup ("mark III" if you're keeping score at home) performing the epic would-be follow-up to "Gadda", which was entitled "Butterfly Bleu" and lasts for almost 20 minutes!
(N) = New Release
Artist Song Album Year (label) Country
Rosetta West
Dead Of Night
Underground Volume 1 (N)2012 (self release)USA
Grifters
Bronze Cast
 		Crappin' You Negative
1994
USA
Mercy Whip
You Got Served
Mercy Whip EP (N)2012 (self release)USA
BeefusI Never Should Have Married A Transformer
45 RPM CD Single (N - CD single)2012 (self release)USA
Black BananasDo It
Rad Times Xpress IV (N)2012 (Drag City)
USA
Public Image Ltd.Terra-Gate
This Is PiL (N)2012 (PiL Official Ltd.)
UK
Chuck Prophet
Temple Beautiful
Temple Beautiful (N)2012 (Yep Roc)USA
 
  
Iron Butterfly
In The Time Of Our Lives
 		Ball
 CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK
1969
USA
Iron Butterfly
Soul Experience
 		Ball
 CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK
1969
USA
Iron Butterfly
Belda-Beast
 		Ball
 CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK
1969
USA
Iron Butterfly
Scorching Beauty
 		Sun & Steel
1975
USA
KISS
Hotter Than Hell
 		Hotter Than Hell1974
USA
 
  
Captain Beyond
Distant Sun
 		Sufficiently Breatless
1973
USA/UK
Grand Funk Railroad
Into The Sun
 		On Time
1969
USA
Blue Cheer
Sun Cycle
 		Outsideinside1968
USA
Parliament
Red Hot Mama
 		A-side 7" single (First Thangs CD)
1970
USA
Funkadelic
Super Stupid
 		Maggot Brain
1971
USA
 
  
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Third Stone From The Sun
 		Are You Experienced?
1967
USA/UK
Pink Floyd
Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun (live)
 		Ummagumma
1969
UK
Black Moth Super Rainbow
Born On A Day The Sun Didn't Rise
 		Eating Us
2009
USA
Broth
Maņana (Sun Shine On)
 		Broth
1971
USA
T.I.M.E.
Tripping Into Sunshine
 		T.I.M.E.
1968
USA
The Plastic Cloud
Face Behind The Sun
 		The Plastic Cloud
1969
Canada
Iron Butterfly
Look For The Sun
 		Heavy
1968
USA
The Scorpions
Sun In My Hand
 		In Trance
1975
Germany
 
 
Black Mountain Mary Lou
Year Zero Original Soundtrack (N)2012 (Jagjaguwar)
Canada
Peaking Lights Dream BeatLucifer (N)2012 (Mexican Summer)USA
Wet Hair
Fade Til Morning
In Vogue Spirit (N)2011 (De Stijl)USA
Amps For Christ & WoodsSleep
Woods / Amps For Christ (N - collaboration)2012 (Shrimper)
USA
 
 
Sun Ra
Sun Song
 		Sun Song
1956
USA
Alice Coltrane
The Ankh Of Amen-Ra
 		Universal Consciousness
1971
USA
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Hippery Slippery Flippery
 		Rip Rig & Panic
1965
USA
Charles Mingus
Jellyroll
 		Mingus Ah Um
1959
USA
                 
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