PREAMBLE

Welcome to my series in which I explore the history of hard rock, heavy rock, and heavy metal—including metal’s many subgenres. In it, you will find, and hopefully discover, key artists and records that will allow you to better understand and appreciate this fascinating facet of potent and often rebellious rock. The selections will be presented in chronological order based on their original release date. I will not go into great detail about the recordings’ sound quality; suffice to say that these types of rock releases are at times edgy and aggressive, which is apropos considering the nature of the beast. So don’t expect perfectly polished Steely Dan, Supertramp or Eagles demo-worthy sonics. Sound quality did not factor into my choices for inclusion in this series, which means it will run the gamut from very bad (often due to over-compression or bad EQ choices) to quite impressive, exciting, and engaging.

The way to Eden…

1968 ignited into a tumultuous year worldwide, being significantly traumatic and turbulent in the United States with wars, riots, and assassinations that filled fields, streets, and TV screens across the globe. In January of that year, California delivered another heavy hitter to make this list, this time stemming from San Diego rather than San Francisco—Iron Butterfly. The band released its debut album entitled Heavy—the first time that term entered the lexicon. The quintet, newly turned quartet, hit the nail on the head in June with the release of its second LP In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, particularly with its title track.

4- Iron Butterfly – In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. ATCO Records – SD 33-250 (1968, June), Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab ‎– MFSL 1-368, (2020, Jan.), 33 1/3 rpm, 180 gram. Genre: acid rock, psychedelic rock, heavy rock, proto-heavy metal, occult rock.

The album sold 8 million copies in its first year, and has gone on to sell 30 million copies since its release. Lasting just past the 17-minute mark, “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”, whose title was purportedly how an inebriated Doug Ingle, the bands lead singer, introduced his new song, “In the Garden of Eden”, to his band mate Ron Bushy, dominates the album’s entire second side, a practice that would become a trend in 1970s prog and space rock, and Eurodisco. “IAGDV” distinguishes itself with a brief Vox Continental organ intro played by Ingle. This establishes the song’s psychedelic credentials, and gives it an occult ambiance, which would be resurrected in black and doom metal subgenres in the years to come. The song’s hypnotic modal minor-key main riff seems heavily inspired by Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love”. Bushy’s famous two-and-a-half-minute drum break was one of the first solos recorded on a rock record. The remaining five tracks, on side A, rarely get airplay but are nonetheless worth exploring; still, “IAGDV”‘s overshadowing popularity over the other tracks established the band’s status as a one-hit wonder. Don Casale engineered the album at Ultra-Sonic Studios in Hempstead, New York and Gold Star Studios in Hollywood, California. The 2020 MoFi reissue, remastered by Krieg Wunderlich, improves considerably over the original pressing’s more limited range, making it the better alternative. For further details, go to: https://pmamagazine.org/mofis-in-a-gadda-da-vida-and-truth-reviewed-pt-1/.

You can’t handle the truth…

Originally part of the Yardbirds, British guitarist Jeff Beck recruited vocalist Rod Stewart, bassist Ron Wood, and drummer Micky Waller to work on what would become his debut album.

5- Jeff Beck – Truth. Columbia – SCX 6293 (UK) (1968, July), 33 1/3 rpm, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab ‎– MFSL 1-368, (2021, July), (2×45 rpm), 180 gram. Genre: blues rock, heavy rock, psychedelic rock.

Released in July 1968—a month after Iron Butterfly’s In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida—Truth would not attain the same level of sales success as the former, but the LP proved as pivotal, if not more so, in the development of heavy rock, fostering elements later found in hard rock in the 1970s. As well, because of Beck’s foresight, the album had a lasting influence on many of the great guitarists who followed suit.Truth was a groundbreaker. If you weren’t familiar with the album, you could be forgiven for assuming, upon hearing it, that it was a lost Led Zeppelin album, but Truth was released nearly six months before Zep’s debut. The common thread underlining all of these early English groups and records was, of course, the blues—more specifically, electric blues or Chicago blues. Brought to American cities by older black artists, the genre was re-appropriated mostly by young white British musicians—Jimi Hendrix being the exception—who used their instruments to magnify the density and distortion in the genre’s sound to create an aggressively harder style. The album comprises ten tracks with a mixture of originals by Beck and Stewart, blues covers, and traditionals. Rod’s raspy voice fits like a glove with Beck’s twisting, fuzz-fueled guitar. The album was engineered by Ken Scott at Abbey Road, Olympic, and De Lane Lea Studios, in London. The incredible-sounding 2021 MoFi double-45 rpm reissue remastered by Krieg Wunderlich is the one to get. For a more in-depth account, please go to: https://pmamagazine.org/mofis-in-a-gadda-da-vida-and-truth-reviewed-pt-2-2/.

You say you want a Revolution…

Why is a Beatles album featured in this series? Because it turns out that even the Fab Four—known for exploring many music genres throughout their career—contributed to the history of heavy rock.

6- The Beatles – The Beatles. Apple Records – PCS 7067/8 (UK) (1968, Nov.), (2×33 1/3 rpm). Genre: rock & roll, psychedelic rock, pop, ska, experimental pop, folk, folk rock, music hall, baroque pop, country, country rock, ragtime, hard rock, blues rock, heavy rock, proto-heavy metal, proto-punk, soul, avant-garde, sound collage.

Often accused by critics of composing syrupy or sentimental ballads, McCartney wanted to record a song that would put these pundits in their place. He had come upon an interview wherein guitarist Pete Townshend of The Who was bragging about their new single “I Can See for Miles” being the loudest, rawest piece they had ever done. Inspired to one-up the song in the ” loudest, rawest” department, McCartney and Harrison dialed up their guitar amps, aiming for the dirtiest distortion-filled sound they could create. The result? “Helter Skelter”. The song, originally recorded in July 1968 in a longer, slower style, took several takes the following September, before settling on the final faster version we all know that was featured on side 3 of the band’s self-titled album, a.k.a. The White Album. And true to form, the song was one of the most aggressive, raucous, heaviest rock songs to emerge, certainly then and, it might be argued, still to this day. Some have speculated that Yoko Ono, who was a constant source of tension between band members during the studio sessions, might have, by her presence, contributed to this heavier, more raucous sound. American criminal cult leader Charles Manson’s appropriation of “Helter Skelter” to help try to instigate a race war between blacks and whites in the States furthered the song’s historic notoriety. The remaining songs from this eponymous double-LP flies in different directions, touching on multiple music genres. “Helter Skelter” constitutes the only heavy rock track on it. Contrary to Sgt. Pepper and previous albums where we sensed a true collective creative effort born of camaraderie, The White Album sounds more like four individuals doing their own thing, evidence that the long and winding road was coming to an end. The album was produced by George Martin and Chris Thomas, while engineers Ken Scott, Geoff Emerick, and Barry Sheffield collaborated together at EMI Recording Studios (now named Abbey Road) and Trident Studios in London. This was the first Beatles album to utilize the then (relatively) newfound technology called 8-track tape recorders. Until then, the band’s albums were recorded using 4-track machines, which added complexity to recording and mixing procedures.

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Reference List (Singles, albums, and labels):

4. Iron Butterfly – In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.                                                             
ATCO Records – SD 33-250 (1968, June), Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab ‎– MFSL 1-368, (2020, Jan.), 33 1/3 rpm, 180 gram. Genre: acid rock, psychedelic rock, heavy rock, proto-heavy metal, occult rock.

5. Jeff Beck – Truth.                                                                                                                                                      
Columbia – SCX 6293 (UK) (1968, July), 33 1/3 rpm, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab ‎– MFSL 1-368, (2021, July), (2×45 rpm), 180 gram. Genre: blues rock, heavy rock, psychedelic rock.

6. The Beatles – The Beatles (a.k.a. The White Album).
Apple Records – PCS 7067/8 (UK) (1968, Nov.), (2×33 1/3 rpm). Genre: rock & roll, psychedelic rock, pop, ska, experimental pop, folk, folk rock, music hall, baroque pop, country, country rock, ragtime, hard rock, blues rock, heavy rock, proto-heavy metal, proto-punk, soul, avant-garde, sound collage.