METAMORPHOSIS

By this time the Butterfly's wings had started to wilt, but this is really not a bad album. Eric Brann left the group to be replaced by not one but two guitarists. Larry Rheinhart and from Blues Image (famous for the hit "Ride Captain Ride") Mike Pinera. Founder, keyboardist and lead vocalist Doug Ingle finally upgraded from his tinker-toy Vox organ to the beefier sounds of the Hammond and added a clavinet as well. The results are bit of a mixed bag but it does have it's moments.

Aside from the FM radio hit Easy Rider (Let The Wind Pay The Way), the biggest standout is the 14 min. Butterfly Bleu. An interesting experimental blues piece with some of IB's trademark psychadelic sound and what I think (and don't hold me to this) the first use of the talk-box well before that curley-haired-prettyboy-guitar star from Humble Pie who made the girls squirt by growling Show Me The Way into it.

All in all it's a pretty good album with a few interesting moments but nothing too essential or groundbreaking. IB had potential, but decided to just let In-A-Vida-Da- Gadda be the cash bag. Too bad. 'Nuff said: 2 1/2 stars.