The View from Here: Music. Faith. Politics. Life.: Iron Butterfly!

In the Fall of 1970, when I was a junior in high school in the small eastern NC town of Kinston, I saw Iron Butterfly perform at the gym at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC. I still remember the announcement as they took the stage “Ladies and Gentlemen…from Los Angeles, California… Iron Butterfly!” It was as though gods had come to earth.

I was on the front row and these guys rocked! The original guitarist, Erik Brann, was no longer part of the band but he was replaced by two others, Pinera and Rhino (Mike Pinera and Larry Reinhardt). Original organist and vocalist Doug Ingle was on board, as were bassist Lee Dorman and drummer Ron Bushy. It was a great evening of great music. And I couldn’t wait to buy the album when it was released.

The album that the tour was supporting is called “Metamorphosis”. It is a good one. “The album spawned the single 'Easy Rider (Let the Wind Pay the Way),' which reached number 66 on the Billboard chart, making it the band's biggest hit aside from ‘In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida’. The album is noted for having one of the earliest uses of the Talk box on a rock album.” [1]

The other night, at about 2:00 a.m. I woke up and couldn’t go to sleep. So, I grabbed my ipod and decided to listen to some music. Thanks to a program that my son gave me several years ago, I have been able to digitize many of my vinyl albums and load them on my ipod. And…there was “Metamorphosis”! I’ve always loved it, but listening to it on high quality headphones in the silence of the night, has made me an even bigger fan. The vocals as well as the interplay of instruments is amazing. The lyrics are also very good and hold up after all these years. The songs themselves are well written.

I am just amazed that there are so many talented musicians in this world. The more I try to learn about guitar the more I am amazed by those who have mastered the instrument. And listening to this Iron Butterfly album only reminded me of the gifts and talents and of the music that is being put out there. I am grateful that I was able to hear this concert and listen to this album. It truly is worth listening to, after all these years. Here is a link so you can listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBaA6i8nULg

(Above is the back cover of the album. Below is the front cover.)