Iron Butterfly this weekend – recorded at the Konserthuset in Göteborg, Sweden on January 24, 1971.
A band almost synonymous with the later 60s and with a song a de facto anthem for psychedelia by way of In A Gadda Da Vida, Iron Butterfly were an essential soundtrack to many a get-together or drugged-out gathering between 1968 and 1971.
Although Iron Butterfly went through many alliterations since that initial session in 1967 where In A Gadda Da Vida was hatched, that one song came to be the lasting legacy of the band, even today. Originally intended to be called “In A Garden Of Eden”, but when asked by the engineer what the song was called, a very stoned Doug Ingle mumbled “In A Gadda Da Vida” and the session notes became history.
By the time of this concert, January 1971 only Doug Ingle, the founding member was still in the group while the rest routinely came and went and went on to form other bands.
As the 70s wore on, Psychedelia’s place was becoming less and less secure in the genres history. Iron Butterfly came to become a parody of sorts, the quintessential stoner band with endless riffs and rambling solos.
When Doug Ingle died in 2024 at the age of 78, Iron Butterfly ceased to exist, but In A Gadda Da Vida still survives and still gets played from time to time as tribute to a time that exemplifies the remark “if you remember the 60s, you weren’t there”. Somehow, the song stays familiar.
This recording, comes by way of Sveriges Radio, the Swedish broadcasting service – who did a wonderful job of capturing the essence of those times and gives you some idea of the sound and the setting experienced by an entire generation of people, high on the floor on their bedrooms all buzzing in unison with Iron Butterfly on the stereo.
You should probably close your eyes while listening to this one – headphones would help too – so would a spliff, just sayin’.
