IN-A-GADDA-DA-VIDA

Iron Butterfly

Proto-Prog

3.46 | 274 ratings

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Rune2000
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator

It's questionable whether Iron Butterfly had any actual effect on the progressive rock movement of the '70s, still In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is a landmark in its own right no mater the connection.

After hearing quite mixed opinions of this album I honestly didn't know what to expect of it. One thing that I definitely had in the back of my head was that this must be one psychedelic piece of work. It turned out not to be the case since In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida was far from a trippy experience I originally had anticipated since only side two can be considered truly psychedelic.

Side one consists mostly of rather typical rock tunes from the late '60s. But that doesn't mean all of it is bad, in fact most of these tracks are really catchy and enjoyable. I realize that Flowers And Beads has been criticized in the previous review but that won't stop me from proclaiming it as my favorite off this release. Are You Happy? would be a runner-up for that title.

I wasn't actually that impressed by the notorious title track. The main theme is quite ingenious but there isn't much else beyond that here and stretching out the composition to a 17-minute mark makes it overstay its welcome. All we really get is a bunch of solos which make me think of those live performances of Free Bird that Lynyrd Skynyrd have been famous for back in the day.

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is an album that might be important from a historical point of view but the material here isn't all that exciting once you begin dissecting it for any prog references.

***** star songs: Flowers And Beads (3:09)

**** star songs: Most Anything You Want (3:44) Termination (2:53) Are You Happy? (4:29) In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (17:05)

*** star songs: My Mirage (4:55)

Rune2000 | 3/5 | 2010-3-4

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