663 Steppenwolf - Steppenwolf (1968)

Studio Album - Rock

About the Act:

Steppenwolf were an American Rock band, formed in 1967 from the flames of a dying Canadian band. They were pretty big between 1968 and 1972, when they broke up, for the first time. They have been more on than off since, though the last of their 10 studio albums was released in 1976.

About the Album:

This was their first album, and pretty successful. 

My History with this Album:

According to my records, I have a digital copy of this album that predates me starting this set of reviews. I don't remember listening to it, but I must have done at least once, at some point. No memory.

Review:

It's a good album. 7.8/10

I've done this before, I'm sure, trying to sucker you in with a brief review and pretend that that was all I intended to write. You know me better by now, or if not you are new to these reviews. If you are new to these reviews, hello, nice to have you here. Enough of that, back to the album.

It's American Blues/Rock/Psychedelic from the late 70s. You've probably heard Born To Be Wild, it's that sound. That's them, and that track is on this album. It reminds me of Janis Joplin and her band Big Brother and the Holding Company, and to some extent Jimi Hendrix. Not knowing for sure, as I was listening I predicted 1968 San Francisco. I was wrong, It's 1968 LA and Canada. Pretty close. Sure, I've reviewed one of their albums before, but I had forgotten their origins.

So, Born To Be Wild is a classic Dad Car Compilation Rock track. It seems to appear on The Greatest Rock Album In The World and other such modestly-titled albums. There's a drummer, a bassist, a guitarist, and a rock organist, and a vocalist. I could spend ages talking about each one, but I won't. Apart from maybe the bassist - who is good. I liked the bass, it's kind of free and melodic. In general the playing has a lot of obvious freedom/improvisation to it, not that the music is complex, but what they play goes mostly beyond simple. It works together, but nobody is in the background, as it were. One interesting thing which is somewhat a sign of the times, is that the instrument sounds are pretty static through the album, even their positioning in the stereo image is static, as if they set up the studio and didn't change it between tracks. This doesn't mean all the tracks sound the same, because there are musical differences, and there are exceptions too.

Let's pick out some notable tracks. Born to be Wild of course. There's a version of Hootchie Cootchie Man, made famous by Muddy Waters and recorded by every male blues rock band ever it seems. It's familiar territory. There's a more Rock n Roll song called Berry Rides Again, which mimics Chuck Berry's guitar style, and name-checks as many Chuck Berry hits as possible while maintaining an almost coherent narrative. There's The Pusher, about how evil drug pushers are, despite the admission to being habitual drug takers. It's a matter of degree, apparently. There's The Ostrich which is a halfway decent environmental song, still relevant today. And there's some other tracks about other things.

I enjoyed the music, with enough variety to be interesting, but a nice, coherent sound overall. There's a lot of the Blues to their rock, and pentatonic chord sequences, with the occasional hint of psychedelia, but not too serious, really. The vocal delivery is pretty good too, a good voice for this stuff, not on a par with Janis, but a good rock voice.

It's a slice of those times. It wears flared corduroy trousers, and smells of Patchouli oil. It has long hair and calls you "Man", and possibly has a droopy moustache and platform boots. And it's a pretty good listen.

7.8/10

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/6GLHwIp1K3u1zdLOdPRG0W

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJiBoXYJ0Jzmw8Ny_NNAEgDY61ThD8JVh

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steppenwolf_(Steppenwolf_album)