In-a-Gadda-Da-Fillmore: Rare Iron Butterfly 1968 Gig Coming From Handmade

Rhino Handmade’s bringing on the heavy-duty rock for its newest title, giving you four great, unreleased early shows from Iron Butterfly in a new two-disc set.

When the San Diego quartet took New York’s Fillmore East in the spring of 1968, they had one album, Heavy, under their belts but a myriad of lineup changes that would put veteran bands to shame. At the time, the band was singer/organist Doug Ingle, drummer Ron Bushy and new guitarist and bassist Erik Braunn (all of 17 at the time) and Lee Dorman – both of whom replaced the recently-departed members Danny Weis, Jerry Penrod and second vocalist/percussionist Darryl DeLoach, who had left after recording sessions for Heavy.

The shift in personnel wasn’t the only sign of things to come, though. While the sets draw heavily from Heavy‘s track lineup, including “Possession,” “Unconscious Power” and the double set closers “So-Lo” and “Iron Butterfly Theme,” the sets include songs that would be committed to tape by the new lineup for their next, smash hit of an album, including the album’s eventual title track, the hard-driving jam “In-a-Gadda-de-Vida,” not yet the Top 40 single that would drive sales of the forthcoming record to over 4 million domestically but not nearly lacking in intensity.

Featuring the first and second sets of both nights at The Fillmore East from the original 1/4″ four-track tapes, a psychedelic black and white cover (iron-on transfers of which will be available with the first 1,000 orders) and new liner notes from Rolling Stone veteran David Fricke, this is the set to get if you’re a fan of classic psychedelia. You can buy the set here and hit the jump to check out the track list.

Iron Butterfly, Filmore East 1968 (Rhino Handmade, 2011)

Disc 1: Friday, April 26, 1968

1. Fields of Sun
2. You Can’t Win
3. Unconscious Power
4. Are You Happy
5. So-Lo
6. Iron Butterfly Theme
7. Stamped Ideas
8. In-a-Gadda-de-Vida
9.  So-Lo
10. Iron Butterfly Theme

Disc 1, Tracks 1-6 from first set; Disc 1, Tracks 7-10 from second set.

Disc 2: Saturday, April 27, 1968

1. Are You Happy
2. Unconscious Power
3. My Mirage
4. So-Lo
5. Iron Butterfly Theme
6. Possession
7. My Mirage
8. Are You Happy
9. Her Favorite Style
10. In-a-Gadda-de-Vida
11. So-Lo
12. Iron Butterfly Theme

Disc 2, Tracks 1-5 from first set; Disc 2, Tracks 6-12 from second set.

All tracks previously unreleased.