Iron Butterfly - Live (1970, Atco)

Click here to download the entire album


So, you always liked "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" but it just wasn't long enough for you. Well, problem solved. I give you Iron Butterfly's 19-minute live version which covers the entirety of side 2. The song is longer than all five tracks on side 1 combined, and unfortunately it makes the file too large to post on box.net, so I've divided it in two.

The tracks I've posted all come from the original vinyl, which I picked up at Vintage Vinyl in St. Louis for 99 cents. Obviously I knew "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," but what really enraptured me was the horrible/great cut-and-paste collage artwork that adorned the album. It features the band members' heads on animal bodies and other moderately inept proto-Gilliam collaging.

The side one tracks are a pleasant surprise, each one is nearly as strong as "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" in terms of melody, groove, and heaviness if not in ponderous musicianship. "You Can't Win" is the obligatory anti-Vietnam song while "Soul Experience" is the obligatory "open up your mind" song and so on.

The whole recording is really bass-heavy and features Darryl DeLoach's absurd vocal intonations (e.g. "Be-uh your-uh se-uh-ye-uh-elf" rather than "Be your self.")

All Music Guide had this to say:

A dull document of Iron Butterfly's thundering live show, Live is notable for its second side, which contains a 20-minute version of "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida." Even though it's only three minutes longer than the original version, it's three times as tedious.
--2 stars--

Aww. It's not that bad. Also, of note: The lead singer of Iron Butterfly Darryl DeLoach looks remarkably like Wayne Coyne: