Showing posts with label progressive rock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label progressive rock. Show all posts

March 28, 2020

Pink Floyd ~ The Division Bell released

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photo by Styrous®
       
      
       
      


       
      
       
      

The Division Bell, the fourteenth studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, was released on March 28, 1994, twenty six years ago today, by EMI Records in the United Kingdom and on 4 April by Columbia Records in the United States.         
       
       
       
Division Bell blue vinyl LP record label detail, 'kite' side
detail photo by Styrous®

Division Bell blue vinyl LP record label detail, 'bear' side
detail photo by Styrous®


        
Viewfinder link:      
        
all things Pink (Floyd)         
      
     
       
Styrous® ~ Friday, March, 27, 2020           












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March 22, 2015

101 Reel-to-Reel Tapes 103: Iron Butterfly ~ Metamorphosis

















  
Iron Butterfly ~ Metamorphosis 
reel-to-reel tape box cover detail 
cover photo by Roger Webster
detail photo by Styrous®


~ ~ ~

In addition to my 20,000 Vinyl LP collection I'm selling, I have reel-to-reel, pre-recorded tapes for sale. If interested, contact me by email please, not by a comment. 

I have the Iron Butterfly ~ Metamorphosis, reel-to-reel tape, for sale on eBay. I have others for sale on eBay now (see links below).    
 
~ ~ ~

Metamorphosis is the fourth studio album by Iron Butterfly, released on August 13, 1970. Iron Butterfly's album, Metamorphosis, was the new line up with Mike Pinera on Guitar and Vocals and Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt on Guitar. Ron Busy on drums, Lee Dorman on Bass, Doug Ingle on vocals and Keyboards. Though it was not as successful as its predecessor Ball (1969), it reached number 16 on the US charts. Erik Brann, who left because of band disputes, was replaced by four session guitarists. Two of them, Mike Pinera and Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt (called El Rhino on the sleeve), would become members of Iron Butterfly shortly after the album's release. Officially, the album is credited not to Iron Butterfly, but to "Iron Butterfly With Pinera & Rhino", in reference to the two aforementioned guitarists. The album is noted for having one of the earliest uses of the Talk box on a rock album. 



reel-to-reel tape box front cover
cover photo by Roger Webster
detail photo by Styrous®


As with all my other albums, there are favorites of mine on this one also. This time, they all happen to be on the second side.

reel-to-reel tape box back cover 
cover photo by Roger Webster
detail photo by Styrous®


Soldier in Our Town starts out with with a slow drum & hi-hat beat and goes into a torpid rock ballad love sung by Doug Ingle that is stunning.

Easy Rider (Let The Wind Pay The Way) starts moderately fast but quiet before breaking out into an aggressive syncopated sort of tom-tom beat hard rock tune that totally rocks out. Easy Rider reached number 66 on the Billboard chart, making it the band's biggest hit aside from In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.


reel-to-reel tape box back cover detail
cover photo by Roger Webster
detail photo by Styrous®


Of the three songs on this album I mentioned that I like, my very favorite is, Butterfly Bleu, what an amazing song it is.

Butterfly Bleu is another epically long song by Iron Butterfly (the other one being, of course, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida). It is slow, with a great bass guitar and drum beat intro. The vocal by Mike Pinera is superb. At a little over four minutes it goes into a fantastic instrumental break that ruptures into a faster beat at four & a half minutes. Then alternates with some great drum work by Ron Bushy.  At seven & a half minutes it speeds up even faster with a great guitar instrumental with trippy vocal effects. At ten minutes there is a great 'scat' duet with voice and guitar. There are very quiet parts that gives one time to catch ones breath. At almost eleven minutes it goes back to the original beat with the vocal. What an amazing exercise in music pyrotechnics! 


Lyrics to the songs and links to the songs on YouTune below. 



reel-to-reel tape box back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®



Soldier In Our Town Lyrics

track #7 on the album Metamorphosis

There's a soldier here today
But she don't bear steel in anyway
She's like a bow
Seeking a wooden arrow
Pointing the way to love

We all know how we can hate
Just as strong as we could ever love
We can love, we can love
God bless you, God
For Sending me a woman
Pointing the way to love

We gotta love a woman

There's a statue in the square
But the things they hadn't
It ain't fair, it ain't fair, Lord
The things they hadn't
Cause beneath the stone
The greatest Man is all alone

Without a woman to love
Without a woman to shove
Without a woman to point the way to love

We gotta love a woman

Songwriters: Robert Edmondson / Douglas Ingle
© Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.



reel-to-reel tape box back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®


reel-to-reel tape box back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®



Easy Rider (Let The Wind Pay The Way) Lyrics

track #8 on the album Metamorphosis 

Pegs of people line the street
A ball and chain around their feet
Waitin' for a weekend treat
But Easy Rider's got 'em all beat 'cause

(chorus)
Easy rider, he's a glider
(Easy) Freedom, every day
(Rider) Easy rider, easy glider
Lettin' the wind pay the way
(that's all he ever does)

Freedom!
Freedom!

Puts a rocket in his pocket
At the dawn of day
Needs a goodbye kiss in the mornin', mist
You know the man can't stay.

(chorus)

solo

(who'm I talkin' 'bout)
Easy, easy, easy rider
Easy, easy, easy rider

Goin' easy, where you goin'
Gettin tired of being all alone
Oh, the roads are calling you
Back to where you belong
Oh, ride on!

Talkin' bout Easy........

Songwriters
Robert Edmondson / Ron Bushy / Lee Dorman / Douglas Ingle
© Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group



reel-to-reel tape box spine
photo by Styrous®


Butterfly Bleu Lyrics

track #9 on the album Metamorphosis

I found me a little butterfly
As blue as the sky
With just a touch of gold
I knew I had to hold
My butterfly fly away with me

Every time I reached for her
She managed to slip away
Takin' my breath away from me
How can I make her stay?
My butterfly, fly away with me, yeah

My heart was beatin' faster
She started to come near
Spread her wings around me
And cast out all my fears
My butterfly, fly away with me, yeah

Now the bright light of her eyes show
She never was leavin' me
Got in me by my efforts to reach her
Leadin' me to be free
My butterfly, fly away with me
(Yeah, yeah, oow)

Butterfly, fly away

Songwriters
Douglas Ingle / Lee Dorman / Ron Bushy
© Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.


photo by Styrous®


Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated Metamorphosis three out of five stars. He explained that "the group continued its musical explorations, adding a layered production to its sound." He also stated that "[the] ambition [...] makes for an interesting listen.  



reel-to-reel tape label detail
detail photo by Styrous®


Track listing:

All songs written and composed by Doug Ingle, Ron Bushy, and Lee Dorman, except where noted.

Side one:    

1. - “Free Flight" - 0:40
2. - "New Day" - 3:08
3. - "Shady Lady" (lyrics - Robert Woods Edmonson) - 3:50
4. - "Best Years of Our Life" - 3:55
5. - "Slower Than Guns" (lyrics - Robert Woods Edmonson) - 3:37
6. - "Stone Believer" - 5:20

Side two:

1. - "Soldier in Our Town" (lyrics - Robert Woods Edmonson) - 3:10
2. - "Easy Rider (Let the Wind Pay the Way)" (lyrics - Robert Woods Edmonson) - 3:06
3. - "Butterfly Bleu" - 14:03

Personnel:

Iron Butterfly:

Additional musicians:


Label: ATCO Records ‎– M 339
Format: reel-to-reel tape
Country: US
Released: 1970
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock



Links to Iron Butterfly ~ Metamorphosis songs on YouTube:  






The Iron Butterfly ~ Metamorphosis, reel-to-reel tape, is for sale on eBay   
  
Other reel-to-reel tapes now for sale on eBay  



These guys had a great time making this album!



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March 21, 2015

101 Reel-to-Reel Tapes 102: Iron Butterfly ~ In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

    
Iron Butterfly ~ In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida                   
reel-to-reel tape box cover detail                      
cover photo by Stephen Paley                        
detail photo of cover by Styrous®                                   
          

In addition to my 20,000 Vinyl LP collection I'm selling, I have reel-to-reel, pre-recorded tapes for sale. If interested, contact me by email please, not by a comment. 

I have the Iron Butterfly ~ In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, reel-to-reel tape, for sale on eBay. I have others for sale on eBay now (see links below).    

~ ~ ~

It was some time in 1968 or 69 that I first heard In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by the Iron Butterfly. I can't remember where or with whom but I do remember hearing the opening organ intro for the first time. I was hooked. I vaguely remember that the song seemed to go on and on forever without end; but I do have to admit that I had been smoking a little bit. You can hear it on YouTube while you read the rest of this, if you'd like.



reel-to-reel tape box cover
cover photo by Stephen Paley
photo of cover by Styrous®


Iron Butterfly is the greatest one-hit-wonder of all time. The group's one and only hit, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, has become an iconic behemoth of heavy-metal music; and it was just a fluke that it was recorded. The recording that is heard on the album was meant to be a soundcheck for engineer Don Casale while the band waited for the arrival of producer Jim Hilton. Casale had rolled a recording tape, and when the rehearsal was completed it was agreed that the performance was of sufficient quality that another take was not needed. Hilton later remixed the recording into a single at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles. The single reached number 30 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.     




reel-to-reel tape box cover detail
cover photo by Stephen Paley
detail photo by Styrous®



At slightly over 17 minutes, the song occupies the entire second side of the In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida album. The lyrics are simple, and heard only at the beginning and the end. The track was recorded on May 27, 1968, at Ultrasonic Studios in Hempstead, Long Island, New York.




Iron Butterfly in 1969
trade ad for Iron Butterfly's single In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
from left to right Doug Ingle (organ, vocals), Ron Bushy (drums, percussion), 
Lee Dorman (bass, vocals), Erik Braunn (guitars, vocals)


Even the title of the song is a fluke; In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is what "In the Garden of Eden" sounds like after consuming a gallon of cheap red wine. After hearing then-lead singer Doug Ingle slur the words, Bushy thought it was catchy and wrote it down that way, and rock's first heavy-metal classic was born in 1968. 

The song is considered significant in rock history because, together with music by Blue Cheer, Jimi Hendrix, Steppenwolf and High Tide, it marks the early transition from psychedelic music into heavy metal. In 2009, it was named the 24th greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic rated In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida four-and-a-half out of five stars. He called the title track "the epitome of heavy psychedelic excess". He also stated that the rest of the songs "qualify as good artifacts". Rolling Stone was less enthusiastic, calling Ingle's singing "inflexible and sterile" and his organ "strictly chickenshit". They also called out the length of the title track, which "managed to bore me to death".




reel-to-reel tape box cover
photo of cover by Styrous®


Iron Butterfly, was Formed in San Diego, California. The band's 1968 album In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is among the world's 40 best-selling albums, selling more than 30 million copies. Iron Butterfly is also notable for being the first group to receive an RIAA platinum award.  



reel-to-reel tape box back cover details
photo of cover by Styrous®


Douglas Lloyd "Doug" Ingle (born September 9, 1945 in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.) is a founding member and, formerly, organist, vocalist and primary composer for Iron Butterfly. Ingle's father Lloyd, a church organist, introduced him to music at an early age. Ingle moved from his native Nebraska within three months of his birth to the Rocky Mountains and later the family moved to San Diego, California.

Erik Keith Brann (August 11, 1950 – July 25, 2003), born Rick Davis and also known as Erik Braunn, is featured on the band's greatest hit, the 17-minute In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (1968), recorded when he was 17.  A Boston, Massachusetts native and a violinist, Brann was accepted as a child into the prodigy program at the Boston Symphony Orchestra, but left it to become a rock guitarist, joining Iron Butterfly when he was 16. 


detail photos by Styrous®


Douglas Lee Dorman (September 15, 1942 – December 21, 2012) was the bass guitarist for Iron Butterfly. He also played in the band Captain Beyond. Dorman was from St. Louis, Missouri, and moved to San Diego, California in the 1960s. He began playing bass guitar in his teens. While recording In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, Dorman assisted Erik Brann with the arrangement of Brann's song Termination, and was given a co-writing credit. Dorman died of natural causes in his car in Laguna Niguel, California.  

Ron Bushy (born December 23, 1941) is the drummer for Iron Butterfly. He is the only member of the group to appear on all six of their studio albums. He was born in Washington, D.C. and lives in Los Angeles. He grew up in a military family, living in approximately 34 states during his youth. He first learned to play the drums when he was in the sixth grade. Bushy is a writer and musician, and is highly respected for his lengthy drum solo in In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, with his primal drum patterns, that set the standard for generations of rock drummers. Ron is also highly skilled in the graphic arts and has created most of the logos and artwork as seen on the Iron Butterfly merchandise and advertising.



detail photos by Styrous®



In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida lyrics

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?

Please take my hand!

-Repeat-

~solos~

-Repeat-


detail photo by Styrous®


The band has gone through countless changes in personnel through the years but continues on to this day. Mike Pinera revealed in December, 2014, that he and Ron Bushy had reformed Iron Butterfly, along with Doug Ingle Jr. (the son of Doug Ingle) and an as-yet unnamed bassist, and that the band were currently working on a new album; their first in forty years.   



reel-to-reel tape label detail
detail photo by Styrous®


Track listing:

All songs written and composed by Doug Ingle except where noted.

Side one:

No.     Title                                                          Length    
1.     "Most Anything You Want"                          3:44
2.     "Flowers and Beads"                                     3:09
3.     "My Mirage"                                                 4:55
4.     "Termination" (Erik Brann, Lee Dorman)    2:53
5.     "Are You Happy"                                          4:31

Side two:

No.     Title                                                         Length    
1.     "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"                               17:05

Personnel:

Production:

  • Arranged by Iron Butterfly
  • Produced by Don Casale
  • Recorded & engineered by Jim Hilton
  • Mixed by Bill Cooper






The Iron Butterfly ~ In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, reel-to-reel tape, is for sale on eBay 
  

Other reel-to-reel tapes now for sale on eBay     






Iron Butterfly never had another big hit but the one they had was a doozey!



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September 3, 2013

101 Reel-To-Reel Tapes 3: Uriah Heep ~ Sweet Freedom

album cover detail
 concept by Fin Costello
 photo of album cover detail by Styrous®

In addition to my vinyl collection I'm selling, I have hundreds of reel-to-reel, pre-recorded tapes. This is another entry about one of them (see: The Beatles and Yes links below). It was for sale on eBay, so, what better time to write about it? I have the vinyl LP version as well. Interested? Contact me.

reel-to-reel box front
album cover concept and
photography by Fin Costello
photo of album box by Styrous®


I really loved the Uriah Heep albums; they were among my favorites of the early '70's. Demons and Wizards (1972) was a great album and so was Sweet Freedom (1973).

reel-to-reel box back
back album cover photo by Fin Costello
photo of album box back by Styrous®


reel-to-reel spool
photo by Styrous®


One of the trivia I liked about the abum is that it was recorded in France at the Chateau d'Hérouville which was owned by composer Michel Magne. Is that cool or what?!?

album cover detail
 photo by Fin Costello
photo of album box detail by Styrous®

about the songs I love on the album

I like the way the title song, Sweet Freedom, opens with the quiet synth-organ and hi-hat that slowly builds; they're joined by a drum then a bass guitar for a fast beat intro which suddenly goes into a slow stroll. The female back-up is glorious. The song is an ode to a lost love; as wistful as hard rock can get.

Stealin' starts with a bouncy bass beat; a 1-½ minute, quiet, synth-organ, David Byron singing with a female backup introduces the song that goes into a fast gallop which makes it's a fantastic song that I always loved to dance to! A great definite finale makes it hard rock at it's best!

One Day, with it's drum start and slow female chorus intro, goes into a classic hard-rock love song  that I was never really sure if it was about affirmation or loss.

Pilgrim, which clocks in at 7:10, starts suddenly and an intensely dramatic female chorus intro goes into a fast gallop beat. About a third of the way into the song there is the great hard-rock guitar of Mick Box in an instrumental break.

Circus has a sudden start with guitars, hi-hat and percussion. It is moderatley slow and mellow but syncopated; a conga drum gives it an almost bass-nova feeling. It is the mellowest song on the album. It ends with with the refrain, "Everyone's Insane." Could be.

Seven Stars has a great guitar squeak intro that goes suddenly into a fast gallop beat. A hard rock-style song love. Never could figure out what the alphabet sung at the fade-out is all about, though.

My VERY favorite song of the album, and one of my all-time favorites is, If I Had the Time. It has an organ fade-up, then a drum fade-in to a pleasantly smooth intro. It's a mellow stroll that is dreamy but rocks out from time to time. It has a beautifully quiet and subtle female backup to the fantastic singing of David Byron until near the end when it bursts out into full bloom. Every time I listen to it the uplifting warmth of it has made me feel splendid. I've always loved this song, and the lyrics:

If I had the time,
To re-live my life
I don't think I'd care,
To change a thing
As long as I find,
Just a little peace of mind
I can dream and laugh and I can sing

. . . have always seemed to be written specifically for me; especially so from my present vantage point in life. What an awe-inspiring song!

Sweet Freedom was recorded in June and July of 1973. All songs were written by Ken Hensley except where noted in track listing.

reel lable track listing
photo by Styrous®

Track listing

side 1:
    "Dreamer" (Mick Box, Gary Thain) – 3:41
    "Stealin'" – 4:49
    "One Day" (Hensley, Thain) – 2:47
    "Sweet Freedom" – 6:37

side 2:
    "If I Had the Time" – 5:43
    "Seven Stars" – 3:52
    "Circus" (Box, Lee Kerslake, Thain) – 2:44
    "Pilgrim" (David Byron, Hensley) – 7:10

Personnel

WST 2724-C
1973

Links:


Uriah Heep on YouTube:
Styrous® ~ September 3, 2013


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