Iron Butterfly
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

THE REVIEW

For my first review, I wanted to choose a great album that has often been defined as a milestone in Rock and Metal. I was indeed very surprised that no one had reviewed it yet...

Let's get to the point. We are in 1968, in the middle of the psychedelic rock era, one year before what would become THE CONCERT by definition, Woodstock. It is in this context that for years Iron Butterfly, a Californian quartet, have been making a name for themselves in venues, with their heavy sound that combines classic acid-rock with the power of garage-rock of the "worst kind".

Their first album, "Heavy" (1968), was definitely innovative, but nothing exceptional. The big success came with "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", also released in '68. The album opens with "Most Anything You Want"; the song, like many by our band, begins with a good electric guitar riff followed by a pleasant organ theme played by Doug Ingle. It's Ingle himself who sings this and all the songs, with his particular style, much changed from the previous "Heavy". Right after the three minutes of this song, we move on to "Flowers And Beads"; the lyrics are once again about love, but this time the rhythm is softer and well accompanied by Ingle's voice. "My Mirage" has a much darker and mystical atmosphere, mainly thanks to the excellent organ melody.
New guitarist Erik Brann stands out positively for his technical skills and sudden yet delicate style changes. The fourth track is the only one not written by Ingle, in fact "Termination" is the work of bassist Lee Dorman and guitarist Erik Brann. The introduction features a great raucous guitar riff accompanied by Ron Bushy's constantly moving cymbals. The song continues with a serene atmosphere characterized by some nice guitar-organ-bass chases. At this point comes "Are You Happy", a pleasant pop track that will thrill the audience at Iron Butterfly's live shows (just listen to the screams in "Live" from '70...); pounding drums and distorted guitar dominate in this song that starts with "Are you happy?" almost shouted by Ingle. The guitar solo followed by the small organ-only breaks is beautiful.

Well, a good album so far, but it's precisely the last track that will make Iron Butterfly famous, selling them millions of copies of the said work and placing them in the rock pantheon for life. The title track "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is the true masterpiece. A 17-minute song that will contain one of the most well-known motifs and one of the first drum solos of that length ever performed. It all starts with Ingle's organ immediately intoning the main theme. We then hear the drums come in, followed by guitar and bass. And here's the voice that will sing the entire song's lyrics in a fantastic style; Ingle almost seems drunk while singing (The title "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" itself is said to be a distortion, made by him while under the influence, of "In A Garden Of Eden") and he demonstrates it with his voice's continuous ups and downs. The effect is divine.
The lyrics are otherwise very simple:
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, honey, don't you know that I love you? In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, baby, don't you know that I'll always be true? Oh, won't you come with me and take my hand? Oh, won't you come with me and walk this land?