Iron Butterfly - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (1968)

No doubt about it, "In-a-Gadda-da-Vida" - the 1968 album and song by Iron Butterfly - is a relic from a different age.

I bought the record to reward myself for passing my driver's license test after I turned sixteen the following year.

Every classic rock fan has an opinion about this 17:05 track that took up all of side two on the original 33 1/3 rpm record from which it came. It's a song that people either love or hate. There appears to be no middle ground. While it's really a very simple composition built around a very famous riff it represents all of the excesses of the psychedelic era: extended guitar jams featuring both fuzz and wah-wah pedals, lots of electric organ, and long drum solos.

The lengthy work's name is based on the phrase "In the Garden of Eden." Supposedly, singer/organist/composer Doug Ingle was so drunk in the studio that when he recited the lyrics of the epic-length piece to bandmate Ron Bushy the drummer wrote the slurred words down exactly as they sounded to him - and voilà - we have an unusual song title and the album's name.

Iron Butterfly was always a revolving door of personnel changes. On this release the San Diego quartet featured band leader Ingle and seventeen-year-old electric guitarist, Erik Brann. The rhythm section of Lee Dorman on bass and Bushy rounded out the best-known version of the band. Sadly, this classic "In-a-Gadda-da-Vida" lineup have all passed on to Rock 'n Roll Heaven.

Iron Butterfly wasn't a one-hit LP wonder - their follow up, Ball, also went into the top ten - but "In-a-Gadda-da-Vida" was so astonishingly successful compared to everything else they ever released that it's the only song anyone ever associates with them. Multiple credible sources claim the album sold over thirty million copies.

Aside from the riff, the highlight is the drum solo located smack dab in the middle of the track. I'm not the only wannabee drummer who attempted to play along with Bushy on any table, countertop, or hard surface we could find. His simple but fast paced playing on the floor tom-toms made his work as accessible as any drum solo ever put on tape. At under three minutes Bushy's moment in the sun doesn't overstay its welcome.

Dorman's heavy bass foundation supported the riff throughout the song while Brann showed some surprisingly accomplished fret work for a very young man. Ingle's singing was nothing out of the ordinary, but the church organ sounds he produced coming out of the drum solo provided a very pleasing respite from the loud and heavy rock on the rest of the record.

Flipping the LP over to side one revealed more pop-oriented songs than one would expect, especially after listening to the mostly overblown affair on the other side. These five tunes sound dated today primarily due to Ingle's organ work that often took the lead over Brann's guitar. His lyric writing on "Most Anything That You Want," "My Mirage," "Flowers and Beads," and "Are You Happy?" pose no threat to the reputations of Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, John Prine and other exceptional composers known for their wordplay.

Iron Butterfly had their fleeting, fifteen minutes of fame based on one truly spaced out, hippie anthem. Fond memories of my youth will make me love the song forever regardless of its quality.

Comments

  1. Casey Chambers11:47 AM, June 11, 2026

    You know what? I played and actively listened to this iconic piece again this morning. And I was all in! What the band may lack in substance, they make up for in spades in conviction. Real conviction. I still love it. And when it gets time to do an annual purge...you know, I don't get rid of it.

    ReplyDelete

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