Emily: The first half of the album consists of psychedelic songs about love, trees, and hippies. It's cool to listen to, but it's pretty standard fare for the era. What makes this album a classic is the second half. Or, rather, one song that took up the entire second side of the record. Yep, it's In A Gadda Da Vida, a seventeen minute long psychedelic trip through what may or may not be the Garden of Eden. Of course I had heard of the song before - who hasn't? - but before today I had never listened to it all the way through. The beginning and end mirror each other with gravelly singing and the iconic bass line. What really struck me, though, was the middle section. The band breaks it down with keyboards, drums, and even an organ, creating otherworldly sounds that probably only make sense with the help of LSD. The sound changes and evolves throughout, yet it sounds so harmonious that you barely realize you've been listening to the same song for a quarter of an hour. This track alone is enough to cement Iron Butterfly's place in hippie history, and the entire album just adds to their musical credibility.
Favorite Tracks: In A Gadda Da Vida; Most Anything You Want; Flowers and Beads
Zack: Since Emily covered half of the album, or track 6 as it's known, I guess I'll discuss the other five. All the rest of the songs are of normal, radio-friendly length, which really just makes it more unusual that the seventeen minute song was the single. They all feature an organ which, I think we can all agree, is pretty bitchin'. And there's that consistent gruff vocal work that just makes you want to dance around naked in the mud somewhere. Seriously, if there was a mud pit anywhere in Philadelphia, I would be completely submerged in it right now. Furthermore, apparently this was the first album ever to be awarded platinum status. I don't know why, but I feel like that's a really random achievement to hand out. I mean, if I'm the RIAA and it's 1976 and I have to go back and award the first ever platinum status label, I would think there would be a few choices over Iron Butterfly. I'm not saying that the band isn't cool, because they totally are, and I'm not saying that this album wasn't good because it rocked, but I just would have expected them to go in a more transcendent, everyone-knows-who-this band/singer-was kind of artist. I don't know record sales off the top of my head, and I pity you if you do, but I would think that some album by The Beatles, or Elvis, or Sinatra, or just about half of the pre-1976 artists on the list cracked the platinum level. Why not award it to them instead? Guess we've got entry #612 in the list of mysteries that will never be solved.
Favorite Tracks: In A Gadda Da Vida; Are You Happy; My Mirage
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