Steppenwolf Albums Ranked
Steppenwolf was a Canadian-American rock band, prominent from 1968 to 1972. The group was formed in late 1967in Los Angeles by lead singer John Kay, keyboardist Goldy McJohn, and drummer Jerry Edmonton, all formerly of the Canadian band The Sparrows. Guitarist Michael Monarch and bass guitarist Rushton Moreve were recruited via notices placed in Los Angeles-area record and musical instrument stores. Steppenwolf sold over 25 million records worldwide, released eight gold albums and 12 Billboard Hot 100 singles, of which six were top 40 hits, including three top 10 successes: “Born to Be Wild”, “Magic Carpet Ride”, and “Rock Me”. Steppenwolf enjoyed worldwide success from 1968 to 1972, but clashing personalities led to the end of the core lineup. Today, John Kay is the only original member, having been the lead singer since 1967. The band was called John Kay & Steppenwolf from 1980 to 2018. Here are all of Steppenwolf albums ranked.
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10. Wolftracks (1982)
“As an avid Steppenwolf fan, this quickly became my favorite album and is perhaps a bit underrated due to lack of air play. They had one single from this LP and that was “Snow Blind Friend.” John Kay praised pot but was against cocaine…”and he’ll always be another one of us.” The song that brings a tear to my eye is “Renegade.” This is where John Kay pours his heart out while he tells us of the terror he experienced as a child going through the famous “hole in the wall” as he escaped to the west from East Berlin.”
9. Skullduggery (1976)
“I always loved this album as I did with The Outlaws, “Lady in waiting”,B.O.C.’s “Agents of Fortune”, Nazareth’s “Hair f the Dog” …and yes one that also was reviewed poorly at the time *James Gangs “Newborn” LP. A shame as the guitar work in that Album also rocked hard. Skullduggery-The great guitar and other work,plus John Kay’s soothing ,Rocker voicing,really good lyric phrasing overall, sounds like Rock and Roll to my ears.”
8. Hour of the Wolf (1975)
“Being a long-time Steppenwolf fan and a musician myself, I purchased this album when it was first released in 1975 and also saw the band play this live on their promo tour for this release. The album delivers some great straight-up, hard-driving rock music and the band played a very tight, excellent live show. The combination of original members Kay and Edmonton, along with seasoned, long-time bassist George Biondo (and excellent bass player), coupled with Bobby Cochran who joined the band for the previous album “Slow Flux”, all combined with newcomer and excellent keyboardist, Andy Chapin to turn in a stellar performance (this was, unfortunately, the only Steppenwolf album featuring Andy on keys).”
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7. Slow Flux (1974)
“If you like classic Steppenwolf, you’ll like Slow Flux. The vocal power of John Kay is undiminished, and forcefully backed up by the tight rhythms of the instrumentation provided by band members and guest musicians. To my ear some of the backing music seems to have Deep Purple and Styx influences. Not a bad thing.”
6. For Ladies Only (1971)
“A melodic LP on the rocks. The infusion of the lighter country/folk sprinkled here and there, alternating lead vocals, trippy flavoring and good use of colorful hammond make this a tasty record. The only reason for the 4.5 star is John Kay should have handled the vocals on Jaded Strumpet. if you’re a fan of Steppenwolf reaching out beyond their stereotypical hard rocking tunes, this may be for you. Black Pit is the personal fave, its a heady instrumental jam.”
5. At Your Birthday Party (1969)
“”AT YOUR BIRTHDAY PARTY” was a transitional album; it was their last top ten albums (US #7), it contained their last top ten single, “Rock Me/Jupiter Child” (US #10), Nick St. Nicholas, another SPARROW alumni took over bass duties and they would soon lose their lead guitarist. “Rock Me” was featured on the soundtrack to the cult sex farce CANDY along with “Magic Carpet Ride”. The album is also known for its die-cut gatefold jacket, lovingly reproduced here. “
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4. Monster (1969)
“Where did this come from? After the terrible At Your Birthday Party, Steppenwolf came back with possibly their best album. A blistering attack on abuses by our government and our involvement in Vietnam. My brother and I wore this album out back in the 70s. The title track still holds up today. A true classic by a band at the top of their game!”
3. Steppenwolf 7 (1970)
“The album did not meet my expectations it exceeded them. I had that album placed in my heart as a very good album. Hearing it at age 54 instead of age 13 I found that this really was a great album and I had really forgotten it’s qualities. I will have to say I listen to some of the old music today and it just does not come up to the standards that I remembered in the early to late 60’s and 70’s, Steppenwolf 7 is one of those true exceptions. I think young rockers could love this album with a different breed of songs as compared to a lot of todays yelling that is prevalent in some new rock bands.”
2. The Second (1968)
“”The Second” is the final work by the original band as formed, not taking the earlier incarnation, Sparrow, into account, and it seems to pack that punch. The personnel is as follows: John Kay on most lead vocals, guitar and harmonica, Jerry Edmonton – drums, percussion, and vocals, Rushton Moreve (who left the band after this record’s release) – bass, Michael Monarch – lead guitar, and Goldie McJohn – organ and piano.”
1. Steppenwolf (1968)
“this was a true forerunner of metal and the songs here are kickbutt of heavy metal , particularily in the attitude department. BUt the songs are good too, the whole cd is filled with excellent songs like ‘sookie sookie’ and other hard rockers. This one could have come out five years later and been a hit. But it came out in 68, the same year as led zep and Iron butterfly were out. I have all of this bands cd’s from 68-75 and they never failed to deliver some incredible hard rock efforts. “
