"iron in The Soul"

Digitally remastered box set featuring all of the albums and singles recorded by the legendary American acid/progressive rock band Iron Butterfly recorded for Atlantic's Atco label between 1967 and 1971 and additional recordings made at the Fillmore East in New York City in April 1968. Iron Butterfly first came together in San Diego, California in 1966 with a line-up of Doug Ingle (vocals, organ), Danny Weis (guitar), Greg Willis (bass), Jack Pinney (drums) and Darryl DeLoach (vocals). After performing in the San Diego area the band relocated to Los Angeles in search of a recording contract, with Willis soon departing to be replaced by Jerry Penrod on bass. Jack Pinney also departed and was eventually replaced by Ron Bushy. The band’s psychedelic and acid rock style was honed during regular appearances at LA venues such as the Whisky a Go Go and the Galaxy Club, which saw Iron Butterfly develop a loyal following and led to the band signing with Atlantic’s Atco label in 1967…

UK five CD set containing a quintet of albums housed in mini LP sleeves and packaged together in a slip case. This set from the heavy rockers includes the albums Heavy, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, Ball, Live and Metamorphosis.

Michael Burks' third release on Alligator Records, Iron Man, is as close to being a live album as you can get from a studio performance. This could be attributed to Burks using his seasoned road band on this date instead of the Memphis studio musicians used previously on Make It Rain and I Smell Smoke. Alongside Burks' searing Flying V strut, Wayne Sharp's greasy Hammond B-3 dominates this set, reveling in soul and rock influences, including a cover version of Free's "Fire and Water," a definite nod to the blues-rock audience Burks has gained over his 30-plus years on the road. While Iron Man is an overall inspired modern electric blues disc, a few missteps hamper the session. "Ashes in My Ashtray," penned by Chicago bluesman Jimmy Johnson, would have made a better instrumental in this particular case, as the lyrics get in the way of an intense Burks guitar performance.

The heavy, psychedelic acid rock of Iron Butterfly may seem dated to some today, but the group was one of the first hard rock bands to receive extensive radio airplay, and their best-known song, the 17-minute epic "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," established that more extended compositions were viable entries in the radio marketplace, paving the way for progressive AOR…

This album stands as something of a minor landmark, musically - as far back as the late '70s, its presence in used record bins attracted a great deal of attention from historically minded collectors, as a genuine live recording of its era, and of a hard rock, heavy metal band, at that. Not too many concert recordings were attempted in hard rock in those days, and even a lot of what was issued in the way of live albums - John Lennon's Live Peace in Toronto and the Rolling Stones' Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! come to mind - were done under duress, as an attempt to undermine bootlegs that had shown up. And when one considers that Atlantic Records never even got around to recording the Rascals in concert, the very existence of Iron Butterfly Live can only be regarded something of a gift (though one that a lot of us would gladly trade for a period concert recording of Felix Cavaliere, et. al)…