Iron Butterfly Songs Ranked
Iron Butterfly is an American rock band best known for the 1968 hit “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”, providing a dramatic sound that led the way towards the development of hard rock and heavy metal music. Formed in San Diego, California, among band members who used to be “arch enemies”, their heyday was the late 1960s, but the band has been reincarnated with various members with varying levels of success, with no new recordings since 1975. The band’s seminal 1968 album In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida was a best-seller. Iron Butterfly was the first group to receive an In-House platinum album award from Atlantic Records. Here are all of Iron Butterfly songs ranked.
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13. Iron Butterfly Theme (Heavy, 1968)
“The nefarious “Iron Butterfly Theme” mixes the stoner rock with sounds of souls that don’t rest in peace, and I don’t see a fucking reason to say this LP is not a masterpiece… if you’re naive enough to create an album entitled “Heavy”, then you deserve, if not the Paradise, at least a sort of indulgent Hell.”
12. Termination (In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, 1968)
“Termination” brings one of the most ridiculous riffs I’ve ever heard and I cannot believe it was not played with a rubber band amplified ad absurdum instead of a guitar.”
11. Easy Rider (Let the Wind Pay the Way) (Metamorphosis, 1970)
“Iron Butterfly’s “Metamorphosis” (1970) showcases an updated sound, thanks to the inclusion of guitarists El Rhino and Mike Pinera (also vocalist), who gave the band a subtler, funkier taste, different from their better known psychedelic rock.”
10. Are You Happy (In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, 1968)
“Are You Happy is another weird mix of heavy-psych sound with cheery-bubblegum touches. However, I have to say this is the best song on the album–the riff actually does catch my ear here, and the track intensifies past its sunshine beginnings into something cool with the jungle drums and distorted guitar break (in fact, the second half seems completely different from the first). Only the vocalist, who continues to suck, mars this for me.”
See more: Iron Butterfly Albums Ranked
9. Flowers and Beads (In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, 1968)
“Flowers And Beads is bubblegum psych fluff, and dull as dishwater. I don’t mind bubblegum so much as long as the tune is good but this just sits there, and the vocal is terrible.”
8. Butterfly Bleu (Metamorphosis, 1970)
“‘Butterfly Bleu’ is their last gasp at thinking perhaps maybe they were still a groundbreaking unit. And there are glimpses of great within, but of course most of it is just noodling around in the name of high art.”
7. You Can’t Win (Heavy, 1968)
“This particular album features some of the most infectious melodies of the trio, with nary a klinker among all 10 of the cuts on hand. Add to the mix liberal doses of fuzz guitar, Voxx organ, and way cool vocal harmonies, and you’ve got a recipe for a well deserved top ten favorite of mine.”
6. Stone Believer (Metamorphosis, 1970)
“The finest Iron Butterfly album. Definitely. Which is not to say this is a classic; it’s not, but it’s as close to a great album as these guys ever came, which is saying something.”
See more: The Michael Schenker Band Albums Ranked
5. So-Lo (Heavy, 1968)
“Try to think of a generic psychedelic album that you’d think would exist in the late 60s, and that’s essentially what you get in this album. Its short, to the point, and full of nothing too unique. Its decent and has some okay riffs but Iron Butterfly were really a one song wonder in every sense of the word. If you like psych you’ll enjoy this and its short enough where it doesn’t get repetitive, but for non-psych fans this essentially bland.”
4. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, 1968)
“In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is best known as an album track from the Iron Butterfly’s self-titled album released during August of 1968. The song took up the whole second side of the album and clocked in at just over 17 minutes. It was a hard rock staple during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.”
3. Lonely Boy (Ball, 1969)
“Sounds a bit as if the album got released when it still was in the work in progress phase. You can find hints of potential great tracks here and there but everything remains in sort of an embryonic and underdeveloped stage. In the end it’s a decent but average album from the era, except for the opening track “In the the time of our lives” which is highly recommended, just an amazing song all around.”
2. In the Time of Our Lives (Ball, 1969)
“In the Time of Our Lives”, A Vietnam song featuring a helicopter and machine gun fire intro similar to that REM hit single recorded 20-years later. What it needed was a tighter arrangement and a better singer then Ingle.”
1. Most Anything You Want (In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, 1968)
“Most Anything You Want already starts off on the wrong foot. This is like bubblegum psych–for a band with such a “heavy” reputation, this track is an easy-breezy, almost MOR version of psych if that’s possible. Now, the intricate baroque-style electric organ solo *does* just save it but it takes a lot of cues from “Light My Fire” to do so, and the similarity only makes it worse since “Light My Fire” is so obviously a much more powerful song and organ/guitar jam. B-/C+.”
