LIVING COLOUR

VIVID          1988          (Epic)
- Standouts: 'Cult of Personality', 'I Want to Know', 'Middle Man', 'Desperate People', 'Open Letter (To a Landlord)', 'Funny Vibe'
I'm not sure if funk metal is really a genre or if it was just a movement that took place around the late 80's and early to mid 90's. It's not exactly a sound you hear everyday with new bands. Faith No More kinda ditched the vibes after The Real Thing, Suicidal Tendencies went through a funk metal phase in the 90's, but never returned to it by the new millennium. That doesn't make it an inferior type of music, although it does make a lot of albums that used this kind of style sound quite dated, by default. Living Colour released this debut album, titled Vivid, in 1988, and it reached no. 6 in the US album charts and they even won a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1990 with 'Cult of Personality'. Even though they followed this record up with 2 other well-received studio albums in the 90's, they didn't sell as well as Vivid, and they never really became as big as you'd assume they could have been, given the fact they won a Grammy award for a song of their first album. Shame really, because Vivid is pretty damn good stuff overall. Living Colour were certainly unique, and in a way, they still are. I know the whole 'funk metal' thing was prevalent during the late 80's, but even so, I haven't really heard anyone else that sounds like Living Colour - probably because they aren't especially funk 'metal' - more like funk rock despite the fact they're usually labelled as metal. They definitely had a lot going for them. For a start, they were an entirely African-American band - not unusual in general, but certainly rare for a band in this style. Secondly, Vernon Reid is a kickass guitar player, and severely underrated in his field. Third, vocalist Corey Glover had a role in Platoon, one of my favourite films! He was the dude in the foxhole with Charlie Sheen during the final battle! Fourth, they wore horrific, vibrant clothing of the period - think Will Smith in the earlier seasons of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Fifth, they're still awesome live - I know 'cos I got to seem 'em at Riot Fest 2015, in Chicago. Sixth, they're American yet they actually spell 'colour' CORRECTLY, i.e. by actually spelling it with the 'u'!

'Cult of Personality' is an absolute classic. The riffs kick-ass, the political lyrics are powerful, the hooks are memorable - it's just an awesome song. No wonder CM Punk used it as his entrance theme. It was also included in the GTA: San Andreas soundtrack, on Radio X. Absolute classic, and probably the best funk metal song of all time if you ask me. Calling this whole album 'funk metal' is a bit of a stretch however. Tracks like 'I Want to Know', 'Open Letter (To a Landlord)' and 'Funny Vibe' are excellent, but they're more like hard rock songs with funk playing techniques, from the bass-lines to Reid's staccato, palm-muted chords and leads. 'I Want to Know' even sounds a little poppy, but it sure is catchy. 'Broken Hearts' is maybe the least funk-driven track on here, and is pretty much a pop rock ballad. The album does still have it's heavier moments though. 'Middle Man' is extremely infectious funk metal, and 'Desperate People' - an anti-drug anthem - has some killer riffage going for it. 

I must stress that the 'funk metal' label confuses me when discussing Vivid. Only 'Cult of Personality', 'Middle Man', 'Desperate People' and 'Which Way to America' really come anywhere near metal. That doesn't mean the whole album is weaker because of this, but it's definitely misrepresentation if somebody groups it with, say, the funkier Suicidal Tendencies records. While the good tracks on here are really, bloody good, Vivid hasn't aged all that well. Like I said at the beginning of this review, in a way, it sounds dated by default. Songs like 'Glamour Boys' and 'What's Your Favourite Color?' ('colour' spelt INCORRECTLY this time for some reason) really do sound like products of the 80's both musically and thanks to the extremely reverby production job; whether or not that's a good thing is up to you. Overall this is an enjoyable album from an extremely talented band that still kill it live to this day. However, 'Cult of Personality' is the best track on here, and it pretty much overshadows everything else - it isn't really a good summation of what this record actually sounds like as a whole - thus, I do find the album to be a bit overrated even if the majority of it is still very good.
Adam's rating: 8/10

NEIL YOUNG

Reviewed:
- Harvest (1972)

- Freedom (1989)
- Ragged Glory (1990)

- Weld (1991, live album)

- Sleeps with Angels (1994)

- Mirror Ball (1995)


HARVEST          1972          (Reprise)

- Standouts: 'Out on the Weekend', 'Harvest', 'A Man Needs a Maid', 'Are You Ready for the Country?', 'Old Man', 'There's a World', 'Alabama'

I've always been aware of who Neil Young is, but it really wasn't until the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown that I really bothered to actively seek out his albums and actually listen to his stuff properly. Of course, he has a lot of stuff, and he's sank his teeth into several different genres over his expansive career - from folk rock and country to hard rock and even grunge. I guess we can agree that the earlier portion of his career was mostly folk/country rock-driven songs and records. I mean, he was in Buffalo Springfield before he went solo after all. 72's Harvest is very much a largely acoustic set of folk/country driven singer-songwriter tracks, and a very good one at that. I will say that I did already know 'Old Man' and 'Heart of Gold' before I added Harvest to my beloved collection, and what a timeless classics they are. 'Old Man' is a very personal song for Neil, as it's about an elderly caretaker for the Broken Arrow Ranch in Northern California, which Young had purchased in 1970. The majority of this record is full of extremely heartfelt songs and at times, rather beautiful melodies (see 'A Man Needs a Maid'). But there's also some really good hooks in most of the tracks - 'Old Man' goes without saying, but the bare-bones 'Heart of Gold' and the catchy country/blues rock of 'Are You Ready for the Country?' are extremely memorable too. 'There's a World' even features strings and kinda sounds like the start of an epic prog rock song. It isn't an epic prog rock song of course, just a very pretty and over-dramatic, 3 minute folk song. I always thought Neil had an almost mediocre voice in terms of his actual singing range, but he sang with such passion that it doesn't matter. This is certainly true when you hear, well, almost any of the tracks on Harvest. It's all about having heart and soul in your performances.

I'm still new to Neil Young. I've listened to many of his albums on Spotify now and bought a handful of CD's/vinyl too, but like I said, I've really only began properly listening to him recently. Harvest is an album that I find hard to fault in terms of what it actually is, and what it's trying to be. I don't think there's any major flaws to be found, yet it I wouldn't say it's one of my favourite's of the one's I've actually heard so far in his discography. Albums like Freedom and Ragged Glory for example, really struck me hard, and clicked with me instantly, whilst this didn't quite have the same effect. That said, I'm still giving Harvest a 9 because it really excels at what it sets out to achieve.

Adam's rating: 9/10

FREEDOM          1989          (Reprise)
Standouts: Basically everything; I mean, 'Someday' and 'Too Far Gone' have their issues, sure, but they're still good.
I'll admit it took me a while to discover Neil Young. I knew who he was ever since I was a kid (my dad and my uncle always liked him after all), and I knew a handful of his songs, but I didn't actively seek out any of his records until quite recently, probably because I assumed that most of the stuff he recorded sounded like the folk rock of a song like 'Heart of Gold', and folky stuff never hit the spot for me until I entered adulthood. But anyway, I eventually ended up with Freedom, 'cos I've liked 'Rockin' in the Free World' for as long as I can remember. This album was something of a comeback for Neil; most of his 80's works weren't particularly well received, but this album revitalised his career and actually made him relevant again - and for good reason. He gained a lot of new and younger rock fans around this time thanks to tours with Sonic Youth and Social Distortion, and it's no secret that Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder credit Young as a major influence. In short, Neil's a musical legend.

But anyway, the album begins with 'Rockin' in the Free World', and ends with 'Rockin' in the Free World'! The live acoustic version starts the album, and it's a powerful singer-songwriter, folky, heartland number. The concluding version of the song is an electric, hard rocking rendition. I love both versions, but I guess I'm a little biased towards the hard rock version; I think Neil gets his point across a little better on it, but either way, they're both iconic in their own right. 'Crime in the City (Sixty to Zero Pt. 1)' is a very lengthy acoustic number complete with 5 verses about the decay of an American city. I'll be honest - this track blew me away. It's one of the first songs in ages that really feels genuine - sure, the lyrics aren't structured in a conventional, flowing way, but Neil sings them with genuine heart and soul. It really gives me the feels, and that's saying something - if you can achieve that through your music, then you truly are an artist. I actually think 'Crime in the City' is one of the most underrated songs of all time. This masterpiece is followed up by 'Don't Cry', which is very much a plugged-in affair driven by a killer bass-line. It's on this song that Neil goes all-out on guitar towards the end of the song with an extremely distorted and heavy, almost-improv garage rock guitar part that is pure grunge. I don't want to call it a guitar solo, because it isn't melodic at all, but damn does it hit you hard. And he uses this same technique on other tracks on the album too.

'Hangin' On a Limb' is really quite a pretty song, with Linda Ronstadt providing backing vocals for the folky acoustic playing. True, Neil's never had a great singing voice per say (especially when compared to Ronstadt), but he performs with so much charisma and heart that it doesn't matter. There's another longer track with 'Eldorado', which has a kind of a fitting Mexican-tinge to it in terms of percussion. Eventually it builds up to another one of those hard-hitting, distorted guitar parts, and again, it works perfectly. 'The Ways of Love' again features Linda Ronstadt backing up Neil's vocals, and the track is still folky, but a bit more 'folk rock' this time 'round. The ballad 'Someday' gives me Bruce Springsteen vibes, mostly because of the piano lines and the sax solo reminiscent of Clarence Clemons. I like this track but I don't think Neil quite has the pipes for it to be honest. It's still a decent track, but only just. 'On Broadway' however, is awesome. Neil plugs his guitar back in, and the track has that sloppy, heavy grunge about it once again. 'Wrecking Ball' is another ballad, driven by pianos. This one is probably a little stronger than 'Someday' mainly because it fits Neil's vocal style a bit better, and the fact he doesn't sound like he's trying to steal Bruce's E-Street Band. 'No More' is built around a memorable and catchy hook/melody, and is typical Neil Young. Lyrically it's about drug addiction, which makes sense. The final track (well, apart from 'Rockin' in the Free World') is 'Too Far Gone' - which is fine and perfectly listenable - it even has a slight country edge to it - but it's kinda short compared to the rest of the album.

The last thing worth mentioning is the production. I don't know what the general consensus is regarding this record's overall sound, but to me it's absolutely spot-on. I have the album on vinyl, and I'm listening to it right now on Spotify and it sounds fucking amazing. You can hear every instrument clearly. The acoustic 'Rockin' in the Free World' is live of course, but the whole album sounds like it's being performed live to me, and it really just makes the whole listening experience that much more 'real'. There's something about the fact Neil does sometimes sing out of key that really has a huge impact on me.

Freedom had the potential to be an almost perfect record. Almost. 'Someday' and 'Too Far Gone' are good tracks, but they are noticeably weaker than the rest of the songs. However, this is one of only a handful of albums that actually feel some kind of strong connection to when I listen to it. I realise this probably sounds corny as fuck, but seriously, this is rock in it's purest form.
Adam's rating: 9.4/10

RAGGED GLORY          1990          (Warner Bros.)
- Standouts: Everything.
Neil Young teams up with the Crazy Horse band once again, ditches any of his acoustic traits and the result is Ragged Glory, a record which is very much raw and dirty garage rock from start to finish - garage rock done properly. Many of the tracks here are long; 'Love to Burn' and 'Love and Only Love' are both over 10 minutes long, 'Over and Over' lasts almost 8 and a half minutes while opener 'Country Home' is just over 7 minutes. A lot of the tracks on this album will take multiple listens to digest properly - there isn't a huge amount to differentiate them musically. 'Farmer John' (originally a Don and Dewey song from the late 50's) is sleazy as hell, and 'White Line' sort of has this country rhythm going for it, but for the most part it really sounds as if a lot of these tracks were written quickly and in a way that so that the band would have an excuse to just jam through them. This probably sounds like a negative on the surface of things, but it's really not. It totally gives the album a 'live' and direct feel - almost as if you're listening to a concert. The songs are mostly lengthy as I said, but that's the whole point - this is a band jamming through good, simple, mostly in-your-face, rough rock tunes. The music is dirty, distorted, Neil sings out of tune at times, the riffs are massive and overall the record is just awesome. The style of the album makes it hard to pinpoint standouts, but if I had too, I'd say 'Farmer John' is one of my favourites because it's actually sort of catchy despite how slow and sleazy it is. 'Love to Burn' rules too and has a really grungy feel to it. I love the main vocal hook in 'Country Home' as well, and 'Fuckin' Up' has the best hook of them all - "why do I keep FUCKIN' up?!" - but really I enjoy this album from start to finish. I get lost in it, because it really does feel like you're there with the band. It doesn't feel rehearsed, and that's part of what gives it it's strengths if ya know what I mean. I'm not surprised Neil played such a big role in influencing the 90's grunge scene.

Ragged Glory is generally considered one of Neil's better albums in his discography, and I totally agree with this, HOWEVER, that doesn't mean everyone will enjoy it. A lot of his material is very acoustic and singer-songwriterish - this is not. It's not an album I can listen to all the time. It's just Neil and a band rockin' out. For that reason, I don't think the album's for everybody. In terms of what it actually sets out to do however, it is one of the best albums in it's style for sure.
Adam's rating: 9.3/10

WELD          1991         (Warner Bros.)

Wow. Just wow. Neil in the early 90's was a rock n' roll monster. I understand why the really old-school fans would consider albums such as After the Gold Rush and Harvest Moon etc. to be his finest works, but for me, 90's Neil reigns supreme. Weld is two discs of sloppy, live, raw, feedback-drenched Young-Crazy Horse brilliance; pure electric fuckin' rock n' roll! Awesome guitar tones throughout! It's easy to see why he made such an impact on the grunge scene with records like this one. 'Crime in the City' from Freedom is one of my favourites - Weld's version (much like the whole album) is very much a plugged-in affair and it transforms an excellent singer-songwriter acoustic number into a loud and loose, rockin' political statement! The stretched-out, sloppy, distorted Bob Dylan cover of 'Blowin' in the Wind' sounds out of place on paper, but it gets the crowd singing along and fits into the set just fine. Of course, the massively influential 'Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)' from Rust Never Sleeps is also a highlight. A 'lotta Ragged Glory tracks on here too, which is understandable given that they'd just made that record at the time. Good thing, because songs like 'Fuckin' Up' and 'Love to Burn' are staples of Neil's career in the 90's, and totally appropriate for the grungy state of rock music was in at the time. Predictably, 'Rockin' in the Free World' - which has been lengthened to more than eight minutes here - is another one of my favourite tracks this live album has to offer.

Not much else to say really. Giving Weld a 10/10 seems a little too kind, but it's really not that far off being perfect as a live album either. You could even argue that some versions of the Ragged Glory tracks here are the definitive ones, depending on just how raw you like things of course. You know, if somebody came up to me and asked me for some pure, bare-bones, real ROCK recommendations, I'd probably tell them to check this out, along with albums like the Stooges' Raw Power, MC5's Kick Out the Jams and Montrose's debut...

Adam's rating: 9.7/10

SLEEPS WITH ANGELS          1994          (Reprise)

- Standouts: 'My Heart', 'Driveby', 'Sleeps with Angels', 'Change Your Mind', 'Blue Eden', 'Safeway Cart', 'Trans Am', 'Piece of Crap'

Another album with Crazy Horse, and another that's generally considered one of Neil's best with said band. Unlike Ragged Glory, Sleeps with Angels is a bit more diverse and not entirely garage rock-focussed. Neil has always been full of surprises after all. 'My Heart' is a brief, pretty little opener driven by pianos. 'Prime of Life' is a droning rock song with a touch of flute to accompany the band (the only Neil Young song to feature any flute playing, apparently). 'Driveby' is a very slow and kind of sombre track. Nice background music though. In fact, the generally darker nature and tone of this record makes sense. Kurt Cobain had killed himself not long prior to the release of this album, and he'd even quoted Neil Young's 'My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)' ("It's better to burn out than to fade away") in his suicide note. The act directly affected Neil, and he wrote the resulting title track from this album, 'Sleeps with Angels', in response. The title track itself is an appropriately grungy, feedback-drenched number. Come to think of it, Kurt's death may explain the mood for this entire record.

To me, 'Western Hero' sounds like a typical, solid, folky Neil number. Could have fit on many of his albums quite easily if I say so myself. 'Change Your Mind' is a bloody long, fourteen minute-plus, brooding epic. Probably my favourite of all these tracks, actually. I also like the plodding, almost bluesy and droning jams of 'Blue Eden'. 'Safeway Cart' is extremely moody and foreboding, with Neil's vocals only being marginally louder than a whispering tone. Things don't get much more upbeat with 'Trans Am' either, another sombre number. Things do pick up on the stupidly-titled 'Piece of Crap' though, which is an up-tempo, sleazy rocker that has more in common with the songs from Ragged Glory! Love it! The album's finishing piece, 'A Dream That Can Last' is a ballady kind of closer - I quite like it, but it isn't a standout for me either.

I must admit, as much as I like this album - and I really do - it isn't one I pull out all that often. I've seen some people stick this right at the top of the Young/Crazy Horse output, but I still like Ragged Glory best in that category. Every track on Sleeps with Angels is very good, but I just don't ever listen to any of them individually. I suppose that's due to the darker tone of the album, but either way, it's difficult to really pick faults with any of them. It's the kind of record that I have to be sat at home, and listen to in full to properly enjoy. Not that that's a bad thing though - if you've got things to be doing at home, this is a perfect album to play in the background. 

Adam's rating: 8.8/10

MIRROR BALL          1995           (Epic)

- Standouts: 'Song X', 'Act of Love', 'I'm the Ocean', 'Big Green Country', 'Downtown', 'Peace and Love', 'Throw Your Hatred Down', 'Scenery'

Even though Mirror Ball actually consists of Neil playing and performing songs with Pearl Jam as his backing band (don't expect much singing from Eddie Vedder, except on 'Peace and Love' and some backing vocals here and there), musically it sounds extremely similar to Ragged Glory with Crazy Horse. And this is a good thing, a) because Neil's made many great albums with Crazy Horse, and Ragged Glory in particular is incredible anyway, b) because it really showcases Neil's songwriting trademark when he goes down the harder, garage rock/grungy kinda sound and c) because I'm not really much of a Pearl Jam fan anyway - I have Vs. and Ten in my collection, and while I do like Vs., neither of these records really made me want to go out and buy more of Pearl Jam's stuff. Mirror Ball, to me sounds like Pearl Jam were following orders from Neil for the most part.

The overall performances are a little tighter than the deliberate sloppiness of some of the Crazy Horse material, but as I said, you'd have to be some kind of super fan to figure out that this album was recorded with Pearl Jam if someone just played it to you with zero context. And the songs are bloody good! 'Song X' kinda took a few listens for me to really enjoy, but I do love it now. It sort of has a traditional, almost nautical kind of vibe in the vocal melodies that you have to hear for yourself to see what I mean. 'Act of Love' is very 90's alternative rock/grunge, but this is good again, because Neil is really suited to that style. I think the lengthy 'I'm the Ocean', with it's repetitive song structure is extremely powerful stuff. It's the kind of song that is deserving of a repetitive structure because it's just so damn infectious. 'Downtown' is quite upbeat, and lyrically it's pretty stupid, but it definitely has a very improvised, live kind of feel to it, and this is something Neil is very good at pulling off. It's fun!

'Throw Your Hatred Down' is faster too, and is really great. It takes the Ragged Glory formula, improves on the musicianship and adds a touch of alternative rock to the mix, and the result is one of the best tracks on the album. The album ends on a short and brief ballad, 'Fallen Angel', but this is really just a little outro to the long and drawn-out 'Scenery', which again has a very personal and 'live' feel to it. Like they just came up with it on the spot, in the recording studio. Really I think every track on here is at solid at the very least. Most are great to downright excellent - especially 'I'm the Ocean' and 'Scenery'.

Another great album then. Even if you aren't into Pearl Jam, the way these songs are performed makes it feel like another album with Crazy Horse. While I still think Ragged Glory is a stronger album, the slightly more 'cleaned up' sound on Mirror Ball may actually appeal to some listeners even more. Either way, I highly recommend it.

Adam's rating: 9/10

STURGILL SIMPSON

Reviewed:
- A Sailors Guide to Earth (2016)
- Sound & Fury (2019)


A SAILOR'S GUIDE TO EARTH          2016         (Atlantic)
- Standouts: 'Breakers Roar', 'Keep It Between the Lines', 'Sea Stories', 'In Bloom', 'Brace for Impact (Live a Little), 'Call to Arms'
This album won the Grammy for Best Country Album in 2017 - we all know that Grammy awards mean jackshit in reality, but I was listening to a lot of Hank 3 and Johnny Cash last year and decided to check out some recent, recommended country artists. Obviously Sturgill Simpson came up a lot and A Sailor's Guide to Earth was the album that seemed to get the most light. When I listened to it for the first time I was surprised the album was even nominated for that award - not because of the quality of the music - but because it isn't really a fully-blown country album in my mind. Well, actually, I'm NOT surprised it won the Grammy's country award because this is the same organisation that thinks Jethro Tull are a heavy metal band. Nonetheless, A Sailor's Guide to Earth wasn't really what I was expecting.

Sturgill's 2 albums prior to this one are a lot more country in the traditional sense, though I didn't know that at the time seeing as I heard them afterwards, but A Sailor's Guide to Earth uses country as a foundation, and mixes genres such as rock and soul into the formula. Tracks like 'Welcome to Earth (Pollywog)' and 'Keep It Between the Lines' have a definite soul, even Motown-influenced sound, taking full advantage of saxophones and trombones. 'Brace for Impact (Live a Little)' is pretty much a straight-up rock song, and a very solid one. The upbeat 'Call to Arms' is more country-rock than anything else, but it also has a kind of bluesy, rockabilly touch as well. I dunno, but 'Breakers Roar' actually sounds quite folky to me as well. There are a couple more outlaw country-esque numbers on here, sure; one of the highlights is the cover of Nirvana's 'In Bloom' - which has been unplugged for the most part and starts off very moody before escalating to use of brass instruments. 'Sea Stories' and 'Oh Sarah' fit more comfortably in the realm of country too. Simpson's voice is very country too, on all the tracks here.

This isn't an especially long album, lasting around 39 minutes in total, but every song is solid, my favourites being 'Keep It Between the Lines', 'Sea Stories', the Nirvana cover, 'Brace for Impact (Live a Little)' and 'Call to Arms'. It's just a very well written, performed and produced record that mixes country, rock and soul together quite seamlessly. It doesn't sound like Sturgill was necessarily trying to be country on here, even if that's where his roots lie. The music is varied enough for fans of other genres to be able to enjoy it. It's the kind of album I'll listen to when cleaning my house.
Adam's rating: 8.3/10


SOUND & FURY          2019          (Elektra)
- Standouts: 'Sing Along', 'Make Art Not Friends', 'Best Clockmaker on Mars', 'Last Man Standing', 'Fastest Horse in Town'
I bought a new turntable in February this year. I had a very old one for a long time, but it's been in storage for years and the stylus is broken. This year I finally decided "I'm going to start collecting vinyl LP's, instead of just buying the odd one here and there on occasion" and I felt like buying something relatively new. Sturgill Simpson's Sound & Fury just stood out for me, not only because I bought A Sailor's Guide to Earth last year and was impressed with it overall, but also because the artwork is kickass, and album covers are a big part of the pleasure of owning vinyl records for me. 

Having listened to this thing a handful of times at this point, it's clear that Sturgill's not afraid to experiment. Any of his country music heritage has been almost completely abandoned here and what we have is a fully-blown rock album with some retro, boogie and synth influences thrown in for good measure. The tracks don't fade out, they simply cut out and shift into the next regardless of how they sound. 'Remember to Breathe' for example, has a very stretched-out, 'big' sounding scope but is immediately followed up by the boogie rock of 'Sing Along'. 'All Said and Done' is a mellow, spacey psychedelic jam that then cuts into 'Last Man Standing', which is an uptempo hard rock n' roll song that almost reminds me of Status Quo! As you can tell, the album is full of surprises and held my interest from start to finish. The best song on here is probably 'Make Art Not Friends', which is an extremely powerful ballad that actually uses 80's style synths to it's strengths. There's some other really cool psychedelic rock moments on here too, with 'Best Clockmaker on Mars' and the distorted 'Fastest Horse in Town'. Simpson himself has adjust his voice a little more to suit the music on the record, although I can still hear a slight country twang in his voice, but this isn't a bad thing.

I enjoyed Sound & Fury the first time I heard it, although it isn't directly comparable to his previous albums. I'd say A Sailor's Guide to Earth is probably a better-crafted record on the whole. I do think some of the tracks here go a little overboard with the synths at times, but for the most part they work and give the album more identity. I wouldn't complain if Simpson himself went down another entirely new stylistic path for his next LP - I reckon he could pull of a hard rock album quite well if 'Last Man Standing' is anything to go by. Oh, there was also Netflix anime created to go with the music to this album, but I haven't watched it as I'm really not a fan of anime in any way, shape or form. Just thought it was worth mentioning.
Adam's rating: 8/10

STEPPENWOLF

PAGE UPDATED IN 2025

Reviewed:
- Steppenwolf (1968)
- The Second (1968)
- At Your Birthday Party (1969)

- Early Steppenwolf (1969, live album)

- Monster (1969)

- Steppenwolf Live (1970, live album)

- Steppenwolf 7 (1970)

- For Ladies Only (1971)

- Slow Flux (1974)

- Hour of the Wolf (1975)

- Skullduggery (1976)

- John Kay & Steppenwolf: Rise & Shine (1990)
- John Kay & Steppenwolf: Live in London (2006, live album)


STEPPENWOLF         1968          (MCA Records)
- Standouts: 'Sookie, Sookie', 'Everybody's Next One', 'Hoochie Coochie Man', 'Born to Be Wild', 'Desperation', 'The Pusher', 'The Ostrich', 'A Girl I Knew'
I guess 9 out of 10 people were introduced to Steppenwolf through 'Born to Be Wild', which is a pretty iconic and important song in rock history - and the film Easy Rider brought it to an even wider audience. I heard it way back in my early high school years when I was really discovering rock music. The cool kids were listening to Franz Ferdinand and Kasabian, who were new bands and topping the charts back then (heh, remember when rock bands used to top the charts...what the hell happened?), but I wasn't a cool kid. 'Ace of Spades', 'Number of the Beast', 'Back in Black', 'Paranoid', 'Panama' etc., were my jams as a 13 year old kid at that time, and 'Born to Be Wild' of course. The track was recorded in 1968, and still kicks ass to this day. Some cite it as one of the first heavy metal songs ever, and for '68 it is bloody heavy in all fairness. It's the ultimate biker anthem, and it has that supercharged heavy blues sound in it's riffs. Hell, it even has the lyric "heavy metal thunder" in there - the first known recorded use of the term 'heavy metal', even if John Kay is actually singing about bikes and not music.

Ironically, as much as I loved that track all those years ago, I didn't actually buy the album - the band's debut - until I was a fully-grown man. If you've heard 'Born to Be Wild' and you haven't heard anything else by Steppenwolf, it may surprise you to find out that the rest of the album doesn't really sound much like 'Born to Be Wild'. What you have is a dirty, bluesy acid rock album that isn't quite as driving or hard-hitting as the aforementioned song. This didn't come as a surprise to me because I already knew other Steppenwolf songs like 'Magic Carpet Ride' and 'The Pusher' prior, but if I'd heard this album as a 13 year old, fuckin' A it would've surprised me. And I probably wouldn't have liked it as much either.

That said, this is still a damn good psychedelic rock album. The thing that separates it from the seriously LSD-influenced psychedelia of bands like The Doors, Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead is that it is slightly harder-edged, and John Kay definitely had quite a harsh, raspy voice. The guitars are heavily distorted (for a 60's album at least), and the riffs are prominent on harder rocking tracks like 'Everybody's Next One', 'Berry Rides Again', 'Sookie Sookie' and 'The Ostrich'. Some of this album is just pure sleaze too, though. The drug-fuelled 'The Pusher' is one of the sleaziest songs I've ever heard. 'Your Wall's Too High' and 'Hoochie Coochie Man' (actually a Willy Dixon cover) follow in similar fashion. Really about 50% of the album is hard rocking psychedelia and 40% is just sleazy acid rock. The remaining 10 or so percent is 'Desperation' and 'A Girl I Knew' - a couple of tracks that are kind of sleazy acid... ballads? Great stuff, either way.

I guess I really just wanted to emphasise that 'Born to Be Wild' doesn't really represent Steppenwolf as a band or the Steppenwolf album. If you're purely a metalhead and don't listen to much else, you probably won't enjoy this record because even if it is kinda heavy for the 60's, only 'Born to Be Wild' can be labelled proto-metal. That said, I think the album as a whole is still awesome. None of these tracks are sketchy - basically everything on here is a classic, particularly 'The Pusher', 'Sookie Sookie', 'Desperation' and 'Born to Be Wild'. All brilliant tracks.

Adam's rating: 8.8/10

THE SECOND          1968          (MCA Records)
- Standouts: 'Faster Than the Speed of Life', 'Tighten Up Your Wig', 'None of Your Doing', 'Spiritual Fantasy', 'Don't Step on the Grass, Sam', 'Magic Carpet Ride', '28'
Following on just months after the self-titled debut, Steppenwolf return with their second album, erm, The Second!! I first started this page in 2020 and at that time I actually gave this one a higher score than the debut. Hearing it again for the first time in a while (it's now 2025 as I type this), I'm not so sure I can agree with my old review. I listened to both albums back-to-back just the other day and I was definitely jammin' harder to the first record. In fact, I was gonna update my original review of the debut, but I actually still agree with my 8.8 rating and think the review itself manages to hold up to my current standard of quality (well, only just). Same can't be said for my old review of The Second.

If you can't already tell, I don't think this is a 9/10 album anymore. But hey, I still reckon it's pretty darn great! And it's certainly a respectable follow-up to that first record. It's also responsible for spawning one of the band's biggest hits, 'Magic Carpet Ride'. This is almost a perfect song in my books. The hooks are tremendous, from the simple 3-chord guitar riff, John Kay's vocal arrangements and the typically-'60s backing organ tones. It's just a fantastically-written rock tune. What stops it being perfect for me is the lengthy acid rock jam in the middle of the song. It must take up roughly 50% of the song's playtime! There is a single version of the song which lasts just under 3 minutes, and cuts a lot of the psychedelic jam down, and as a result is better for it structurally. The problem with this version however, is the fact John recorded his vocals differently on it - and they just don't sound right to me!! So really, what I'd like is the music to the single version of 'Magic Carpet Ride' with the vocals of the album version!! Whatever, it's a fantastic song either way - just not absolutely perfect!

It kicks off with the Jerry Edmonton-fronted uptempo rocker 'Faster Than the Speed of Life'. Primitive by today's standard, sure, but heavy for 1968! Edmonton is underrated as a vocalist too; John Kay sings the majority of Steppenwolf material, but Jerry's higher vocal octave is a nice contrast to John's gravelly pipes. 'Tighten Up Your Wig' is a stupidly entertaining blues ditty while 'None of Your Doing' is something of a rock ballad. It has organ-driven softer passages as well as a big, powerful chorus. A fine track indeed. Meanwhile, 'Spiritual Fantasy' is a strings-based baroque pop ballad with a touch of the bands trademark '60s psychedelia... sort of reminds me of Between the Buttons-era Rolling Stones? Is that a realistic comparison?! Either way, I like it!

My second favourite track behind 'Magic Carpet Ride' would have to be 'Don't Step on the Grass, Sam'. It almost feels like a sequel to 'The Pusher' with it's incredibly sleazy acid rock vibe, and I'd honestly say I like it as much too. The lyrics are nonsensical to me and the song is total stoner worship, but is only better for it!! To counter this number is the more focused and catchy pop rocker '28', again fronted by Edmonton. 'Disappointment Number (Unknown)' returns to a sleazy blues sound.

The album dips a little in quality with the last 4 tracks - 'Lost and Found by Trial and Error', 'Hodge, Podge, Strained Through a Leslie' (whatever the fuck that means) and 'Resurrection' are effectively 1 lengthy song split into 3 separate parts. While the whole package certainly isn't terrible, the song's groove simply isn't enjoyable enough to warrant lasting this long. I really dig John's vocals, but the instrumental section ('Hodge, Podge...') is completely unnecessary in my books. Ahh well. The final track, 'Reflections' is a 43 second throwaway outro. I have nothing else to say about it!

An 8.5 is definitely a more realistic score for this album. Most of the songs are of the same quality as the debut and follow a similar formula, but the last 8 or so minutes brings things down a notch. Otherwise this is another great album that serves a fine companion to it's predecessor.

Adam's rating: 8.5/10

Original review:

How do you follow-up a solid debut album? You write more songs in similar fashion and simply call  it 'The Second'! Actually, I'd say this album improves on the debut, even if the improvements are only subtle. The band still takes advantage of that heavy, sleazy psychedelic rock sound they cemented on the debut, but the hooks in this follow-up are just better overall; the album is just more memorable. While none of the tracks here are as powerful as 'Born to Be Wild' the album in it's entirety is superior, in my opinion. You've got the rockers on here like 'Faster Than the Speed of Life' and '28'. You've got the warmer, balladish numbers like 'None Of Your Doing' and 'Spiritual Fantasy', the sleazy, heavy jams of 'Don't Step On the Grass, Sam' and 'Disappointment Number (Unknown)'. There's a bit of blues on here too - 'Tighten Up Your Wig' and 'Lost and Found By Trial and Error' sort of give me a John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers kind of vibe. And then you've got the hit, 'Magic Carpet Ride' - which, while not quite the powerhouse 'Born to Be Wild' was, is still one of their best and coolest songs, period. It's catchy as hell! I love the psychedelic jam in the middle, I just don't like how the songs goes back into the main hook for the last 20 seconds and fades out - it just seems so sudden and deserves to go on longer!

The album loses steam a little towards the end, but this whole record is strong from start to finish. I like it more than the debut - I think 'Magic Carpet Ride' has the potential to be a perfect song with some structural changes and 'Don't Step On the Grass, Sam' is one of my favourite sleazy acid rock songs ever. The Second is an underrated work for sure, a hell of a 60's rock LP.
Adam's rating: 9/10


AT YOUR BIRTHDAY PARTY           1969          (ABC Dunhill)
- Standouts: 'Don't Cry', 'Chicken Wolf', 'Lovely Meter', 'Jupiter Child', 'Rock Me'

If the band weren't taking copious amounts of class A drugs at this point, then I question what the hell was going through their heads when they recorded this third album! Don't get me wrong, when were they ever not an acid rock band? They always were! But like I said in my old review below, At Your Birthday Party can be a pretty weird album when it wants to be. Even the hard rocking opener 'Don't Cry' has this bizarre spoken word part in it! Still a cool song though. The mish-mash of blues and funk on 'Chicken Wolf' is insanely catchy, and a definite highlight for me. Again, kinda weird, but in a good way! Acoustic ballad 'Lovely Meter' has that psychedelic poppy, baroque feel about it - much like 'Spiritual Fantasy' from the last album. It's really good, again! And choosing Jerry Edmonton's to front it was definitely the right choice. His smoother vocals are definitely more suited to this sort of thing over John's smoker's voice!

'Round and Down' is a very unorthodox tune - it seems to blend honky tonk country with acid rock, and vocally even has a comedic touch about it. It's fun! Probably even more fun when on drugs! 'It's Never Too Late' is far more conventional by comparison. A decent rock ballad - not one of their best, but definitely solid. I also think 'Jupiter Child' is prime Steppenwolf. It's one of the rockiest cuts on the album and sounds like classic 'Wolf if you ask me. Weaker than 'Jupiter Child' is 'She'll Be Better', but I still like this one overall. It's a bit of a plodding ballad overall, but nice enough if I'm in the right mood. Better than that is tip-top rocker, erm, 'Rock Me'! Well, it certainly rocks me! The riff and structure reminds me a little of 'Magic Carpet Ride', sure, but that's such a good song anyway that any comparisons to it can only be a good thing - especially coming from the same band! Probably the best track on the album. As for 'God Fearing Man', it's kind of a smooth rock number. Good, but not great. Take it for what it is.

There's some iffy moments to be found here and there, sadly. 'Sleeping Dreaming' is a completely pointless piece of 1 minute nonsense. It serves no meaningful purpose on this album, other than to provide some sort of outro to side 1 (if you own the vinyl LP of the album anyway). 'Cat Killer' is a pointlessly short ragtime-style instrumental. The actual playing on it is good, just unfitting on this album. As for 'Mango Juice' however, this one's also an instrumental, only it's straight-up bad unlike 'Cat Killer'. Just a bunch of random percussion and notes that leads into the album's closer, 'Happy Birthday'. And to be honest, this is a disappointing way to end the record. I like John's vocals, but the strange gospel backing vox don't mesh well with the Steppenwolf sound to my ears. Meh.

A good album all in all. Slightly better than I thought it was when I reviewed it back in 2020, because I think there's a small handful of genuine classics here (i.e. 'Jupiter Child', 'Rock Me' and possibly 'Lovely Meter'). There's also a decent number of legitimately good tracks too, but undeniable filler like 'Mango Juice' and 'Sleeping Dreaming' don't do it any favours, and overall the album just isn't as consistent as either of the first 2. I still like the album enough to easily recommend it, but calling it essential is a stretch. I have this one on CD and vinyl. My CD copy comes bundled with their 1970 album, Steppenwolf 7.

Adam's rating: 7.4/10

Original review:
Things have gotten a little weirder at this point. They were always kinda psychedelic, but they knew how to rock hard too as well as write good hooks. At Your Birthday Party has more experimentation going on this time, and it shows from the get-go with 'Don't Cry' - a song that sort of feels like a slightly more twisted and drugged-up version of 'Faster Than the Speed of Life' from The Second. I'll bet LSD played no part in the writing of this track! The main blues structure of 'Chicken Wolf' is catchy but to say this track wasn't influenced by drugs is certainly a lie. The acoustic-driven 'Lovely Meter' manages to be both sweet and trippy at the same time. 'Round and Down' almost has an country quality to it, albeit a psychedelic country vibe. 'It's Never Too Late' is the first track on here that isn't particularly trippy and is more-or-less a straight-up rock ballad. The same can be said for the hard rockin' goodness of 'Jupiter's Child' and 'Rock Me'. I think 'She'll Be Better' is quite a nice and laid back ballad too. 'God Fearing Man' is a solid blues track. I can't say I'm much of a fan of the album's conclusion, 'Happy Birthday'; it's a ballad that John Kay apparently must've felt female gospel backing vocals were necessary - they really don't work well together with his harsher rock voice. The music's not bad, and John himself sounds fine, but those gospel vox just don't work. There's also a stupid instrumental called 'Mango Juice' to sit through before 'Happy Birthday'.

This is not a consistent record. Most of the songs are solid, some as good as any of the tracks from the first couple of albums, but the flow is all over the place. It's quite clear that the band were taking a lot more drugs at this point, if that doesn't explain the fact At Your Birthday Party doesn't know what kind of record it wants to be, then I don't know what could have been going through the band members' heads. That said, I really don't think the album is 'bad'. Weird for sure, and it's certainly not as good as the first 2, but the only track that is genuinely lacklustre is 'Mango Juice'. I give it a 7/10 - it's worth checking out if you liked the previous efforts.
Adam's rating: 7.2/10


EARLY STEPPENWOLF          1969          (ABC Dunhill)

Despite what the title suggests, this CD is actually a live album of surprisingly well-recorded songs from 1967 when the band went by the name 'The Sparrow', before they changed it to Steppenwolf. They were effectively a straight-up rough blues band at that point. Of course, blues has always played a big part in Steppenwolf's music, but they also embraced hard rock, psychedelia and other styles too later on down the line. For what it's worth however, I actually like this disc a fair bit. 2 of these songs are covers - 'Howlin for My Darlin'' and 'I'm Going Upstairs' are songs originally by Willie Dixon/Howlin' Wolf and John Lee Hooker. Basically every white guy blues-based band was covering songs by Dixon, Wolf, Muddy Waters etc., but for good reason. The originals, 'Power Play' and 'Corrina, Corrina' blend nicely with the covers. That's how bluesy they are! In addition to those tracks, there's also early versions of 'Tighten Up Your Wig' and 'The Pusher'. These would obviously appear on the first 2 Steppenwolf albums, and while 'Tighten Up Your Wig' remains fairly similar here overall (if played at a faster tempo with more blues focus), 'The Pusher' has been stretched out to over 21 minutes long! It takes an age to get going however, and feels massively improvised. Still kinda cool though!

Not essential listening by any means, but fans will definitely get a kick out of this. As I said, most of this disc is just straight-up blues - not one of my favourite genres by any means, but at the same time a style that's rarely ever nasty to my ears. It's good! It also came bundled with my copy of 1971's For Ladies Only. A few of my Steppenwolf discs are presented this way (At Your Birthday Party and Steppenwolf 7, Early Steppenwolf and For Ladies Only, Skullduggery and Reborn to Be Wild). I tend to avoid these kind of 2-in-1 album packages as I like having all the individual jewel cases, but since Steppenwolf aren't one of my absolute favourite bands and it ended up being far cheaper to get hold of their full discography this way, I can live with it.

Adam's rating: 7/10

MONSTER          1969          (MCA Records)

- Standouts: 'Monster/Suicide/America', 'Powerplay', 'Move Over', 'What Would You Do (If I Did That to You)', 'From Here to There Eventually'

This album was panned by critics back in the day (according to Wikipedia at least), but I'm not entirely sure why. Sounds like Steppenwolf to me, plain and simple. It kicks off with a lengthy 9 minute song, which has been split into 3 parts - 'Monster/Suicide/America'. Unlike the whole 'Lost and Found'/'Hodge, Podge'/'Resurrection' malarkey from The Second album, they handle it far better this time. Putting 'Monster', 'Suicide' and 'America' into 1 track was a better idea for starters. It helps that each segment of this track is really cool too of course. I particularly like the 'Suicide' bit; it's very riffy and certainly worthy of the proto-metal label. Heavy for 1969 indeed! But really the whole thing is enjoyable from start to finish, and the whole song flows together very organically. It's like they threw in all their signature moves into one song. Prime Steppenwolf for sure... it's tracks like this that made me a fan of this band in the first place.

That opening epic-length number is undoubtedly the star of Monster then, so what about the rest of the songs then? Well, 'Draft Resistor' is a blues-tinged psychedelic cut that is typical of this band. But it's a good'un! Nothing too special, but decent at least. 'Powerplay' is still kinda bluesy in structure too, but has a bit more melody overall and makes me feel good... the kind of song I can just stick on in the background at a social gathering or when I'm cleaning the house etc.. Good stuff! 'Move Over' has a cool groove and again, is the kind of rock I can just chill out to. On the other hand, 'Fag' is an incredibly sloppy and druggy instrumental, so if techy bands like Dream Theater are your jams then you probably aren't gonna dig this (or Steppenwolf in general for that matter)! Not a groundbreaking instrumental by any stretch of the imagination, but it does slot in between the rest of the songs rather nicely. The last couple of songs are also kinda nice as well. 'What Would You Do (If I Did That to You)' is one of the more energetic and catchy numbers here, with vocals from Jerry Edmonton as well as some nice usage of female backing vocals. Melodic album closer 'From Here to There Eventually' also makes use of female backing vox and yeah... I like it!

This one's a few notches stronger than At Your Birthday Party in my opinion. The songs feel slightly more refined here and a bit less weird and experimental than what was on the predecessor. It's also a shorter record than any of the first 3 at just over half an hour, as opposed to the usual 40 minute length (give or take), but I like pretty much every track here so I'm cool with it. If anything, it just makes the album more streamlined.

My main criticism with this album is the fact that the only real absolute classic track here is the lengthy opener. The rest of the album is simply just good to very good, but not great. But hey, consistency is a good thing and despite Monster lyrically being the most political Steppenwolf album (supposedly), the music itself gives me positive vibes and never leaves me feeling cold by the end of it's playtime. No, it makes me feel happy and for that reason alone it deserves a respectable rating! It's maybe the most generic Steppenwolf album of the '60s, but in this case that's no bad thing! If you didn't enjoy any of the previous albums, you're not gonna enjoy this one either. But if '60s stoner music does tick your boxes, then check this one out!

Adam's rating: 7.8/10

STEPPENWOLF LIVE          1970          (MCA Records)

A live album (if you hadn't already guessed from the title) of songs which, according to Wikipedia were recorded live in Santa Monica in 1970. The booklet of my CD copy simply states "Recorded live at various concerts during 1970", so it's difficult to pinpoint exactly where each and every song here was recorded! And then there's the fact 'Corina, Corina', 'Twisted' and 'Hey Lawdy Mama' were really recorded in the studio but made to sound as if they were placed in concert, to fit in with the rest of the tracks! All that matters though, is the quality of the music - and they certainly deliver the goods here. This is a highly enjoyable platter and a nice way to summarise the band's earlier, prime years.

All the major hits - 'Born to Be Wild', 'The Pusher' and 'Magic Carpet Ride' are all here as you'd expect (in fact, they're all played one after the other at the very end of the album) , and all of them sound awesome live. Especially 'The Pusher' - I mean, I can only imagine how much drug usage was going around at a Steppenwolf gig in 1970, and this is like the anthem to accommodate it! The added studio songs are nice too - 'Twisted' is a bouncy yet sleazy blues number that is Steppenwolf in every sense of the word. It reminds me a bit of their rendition of 'Forty Days and Forty Nights' from the following Steppenwolf 7 album, but I'm getting ahead of myself. 'Corina, Corina' is a bit more mellow but a nice way to keep the music varied and fresh (and it was also a song written during their days as The Sparrow). And then 'Hey, Lawdy Mama' is another tip-top rocker very much in the same vein as any of the rockers you'd find on any of their first 4 studio albums! So it's very good then. Other highlights for me are the first 4 tracks -'Sookie, Sookie', 'Don't Step on the Grass, Sam', 'Tighten Up Your Wig' and the lengthy 'Monster'... along with the obvious hits at the end of the album, the studio versions of these 4 tracks are equally fantastic songs that are among my all-time favourite Steppenwolf cuts. So hearing them in live perspective is always gonna be a plus for me. Generally speaking, the songs are played relatively similar to their studio counterparts, but with enough energy to differentiate them too. In studio or live, this is just a great set of songs. 

I can't put this alongside my absolute favourite live albums of all time. It's certainly not Made in Japan, Strangers in the Night, Live After Death or Unleashed in the East - that just wouldn't be a fair comparison. But Steppenwolf Live is easily strong enough to qualify as a classic live rock album from the '70s in my world. If you're only looking to pick up Steppenwolf's essentials, then this is certainly among them. I have it on CD, but vinyl copies seem to sell cheaper.

Adam's rating: 8.4/10

STEPPENWOLF 7          1970          (ABC Dunhill)

- Standouts: 'Ball Crusher', 'Forty Days and Forty Nights', 'Fat Jack', 'Renegade', 'Foggy Mental Breakdown', 'Snowblind Friend', 'Who Needs Ya'

This album is dubbed 'Steppenwolf 7' because it's Steppenwolf's fifth album. Well, alright, including the two live releases they had out at the time, it's technically their seventh record, but I tend to stick live albums in their own category within a discography. I can only assume most other people do the same thing. Yeah, let's just assume that. Anyway, from what I can tell, this album was the start of a decline for Steppenwolf in terms of sales. It didn't perform as well in the charts as previous records, and I guess that's down to the whole nature of acid rock being in decline. Steppenwolf 7 was released in November of 1970, and we already had three Led Zeppelin albums at this point, as well as Black Sabbath's self-titled debut and Paranoid, plus Deep Purple's In Rock. 

The nature of rock was getting harder and slightly less blues-based at this point, but thankfully I still like 7 for what it is. A lot, actually. As far as Steppenwolf albums go, it does pretty much what you'd want it to do. Well, it does for me at least. It kicks off with 'Ball Crusher', which is a heavy, almost funky kind of rocker that is both catchy and kinda groovy too. It's pretty awesome actually, and with a title like 'Ball Crusher', how can it not be good?! 'Forty Days and Forty Nights' is a sleazy twelve-bar blues rock piece that is unmistakeably Steppenwolf in, well, sleazy twelve-bar blues rock mode I guess! Erm, it's actually a Muddy Waters song originally, but we'll gloss over that! Great stuff either way. I also like 'Fat Jack' a lot; this track is a much more conventional blues rocker with less of the druggy-tinged vibes of the previous two songs. This band were always good at both - they could bring you heavy psychedelic jams (e.g. 'The Pusher'), but they could also rock you in the more straightforward sense (e.g. 'Born to Be Wild').

'Renegade' is another solid cut. This track has some nice acoustic work, as well as it's fair share of cool plugged-in lead guitar work. The band go off in a jam during the middle of the song, while the vocal parts continue the trend of the catchy psychedelic rock they do so well. And ya know what? 'Foggy Mental Breakdown' is also a very strong number. A bluesier tune with less of the psychedelic touches, and it's catchy, full of decent guitar work and vocal arrangements, and even a nice harmonica solo that gives me Bob Dylan/Neil Young vibes. There's even a tuneful ballad to be had in 'Snowblind Friend', which is then followed up with 'Who Needs Ya', which is an enjoyable, straightforward hard rock romp that keeps the pacing of the album interesting. Sadly, the album takes a slight downturn with 'Earschplittenloudenboomer' (jeez, typing that out wasn't fun), which is kind of a pointless instrumental that features horns... not terrible, just silly and a bit out-of-place next to the rest of the songs. Thankfully, the album's closer 'Hippo Stomp' is a decent enough, easy-listening blues rock cut. Maybe not quite as strong as the other tracks - save for that weird instrumental that is - but it does the job.

From my own experiences, most people only seem to talk about the band's '60s output and forget about Steppenwolf's '70s output and beyond. Shame really, because Steppenwolf 7 is a highly underrated gem from 1970, and in my opinion a stronger effort than either At Your Birthday Party or Monster. It's not gonna completely blow you away any time soon, but it does almost everything I want a Steppenwolf album to do - and it does it very well, largely. The production is also noticeably better than what you heard with any of their '60s records, and in general I just think this disc is well worth your time if you liked other stuff such as the debut and The Second. Thumbs-up.

Adam's rating: 8.3/10

FOR LADIES ONLY          1971          (ABC Dunhill)

- Standouts: 'For Ladies Only', 'Shackles and Chains', 'The Night Time's For You', 'Jaded Strumpet', 'Sparkle Eyes', 'Ride With Me'

Supposedly a concept album about feminism, yet the inner gatefold photo features the band on the Hollywood Walk of Fame stood in front of a giant knob-shaped car. Not entirely sure what message they were trying to convey here! Naturally, some critics accused them of sexism with For Ladies Only, although from what I can gather a lot of the songs are actually pro-feminist?! Maybe they were trolling everyone. Can we just talk about the music now?! 

Well, the opening title track is a 9 minute proggy number, similar to 'Monster/Suicide/America' from the Monster album. It's one of those songs that, despite it's long length, seems to fly by for me. It's really good! The chorus hook is very sing-songy and the entire song just flows along naturally. Definitely classic Steppenwolf in every sense of the word. 'I'm Asking' is a solid pop rocker with lots of sheen, 'Shackles and Chains' is a nice and bluesy, sleazy bar kinda tune and 'Tenderness' is a decent enough ballad with some pretty melodies. 'The Night Time's For You' is a hard rockin' slice of the 'Wolf while 'Jaded Strumpet' is as equally muscular, but with a hint of funk-like groove. That's 6 good-to-great tracks in a row.

The album doesn't dip by the time 'Sparkle Eyes' comes 'round either. This is another enjoyable poppy rock ditty. 'Ride With Me' was released as a single, and despite the guitar chord sequence sounding dangerously similar to 'The Pusher', this one is still a standout for me. It's just Steppenwolf sounding like Steppenwolf, doing what Steppenwolf does!! Maybe the only obvious oddity on this record is the almost jazz-inspired instrumental 'Black Pit'. It's a bit of strange addition to the tracklisting, but given some of the weird shit we heard on At Your Birthday Party, maybe it's not so weird after all. 'In Hopes of a Garden' is far too short, but a pleasant enough chilled-out cut while it lasts.

I'll stick this one on par with Steppenwolf 7. It's another really strong record overall, but I can't decide which one I like more. I think the songs are maybe a little more varied musically here, and the band switch up vocalists more regularly throughout too. Either way, this was the last great Steppenwolf album in my honest opinion. There's more to come (including some good ones), but I think For Ladies Only is the last one I really label as a classic. Like it's predecessor, I think it's fair to say this album's underrated as well.

Adam's rating: 8.3/10

SLOW FLUX          1974          (Columbia)

- Standouts: 'Gang War Blues', 'Children of Night', 'Jeraboah', 'Morning Blue', 'Fishin' in the Dark'

After a brief breakup in 1972 and an equally brief John Kay solo career, Steppenwolf reunited in 1974 and put out this record, Slow Flux. Interestingly OG rock n' roll artist Eddie Cochran's nephew, Bobby Cochran was in the band for their '70s reunion era as a guitarist.

Anyhow, this album starts off really well - 'Gang War Blues' is top-quality Steppenwolf, a rough n' raw blues rocker with Kay sounding like he's just eaten a pack of dry Jacob's crackers, like he should. 'Children of Night' too, is cool as hell. It takes a stab at Richard Nixon lyrically while musically it's full of nice bluesy guitar chops as well as melody. Very good! 'Justice Don't Be Slow' admittedly isn't as strong as the first couple of tracks, but I still enjoy it's mellower tempo and atmosphere, and it even has a slight hint of psychedelia about it. So it does hearken back to the '60s in some ways for sure. 'Get Into the Wind' is a more energetic boogie rocker, and again, I like it. I don't have much to say about it, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it! Same can be said for the thumpin' mid-tempo jams of 'Jeraboah'. It's just good '70s hard rock, and the lengthy outro is cool too.

The added horns on 'Straight Shootin' Woman' rub me the wrong way ever-so-slightly, but I do enjoy the foot-tappin' rhythm as well as the guitar playing on this song, so I'll still say it's a decent track. Just not necessarily a standout for me. 'Morning Blue' even has a hint of country about it, and it's a nice and floaty kind of ballad overall. It might even be one of my favourites from this disc. Meanwhile, 'A Fool's Fantasy' has an almost disco-like aura going for it (!!)... I think it's a combination of the bassline and the keyboards that brings me to this conclusion. But I like the vocal hooks and the guitar solo is smokin', so I can dig it! The sleazy blues number 'Fishin' in the Dark' is a strong conclusion to what is another underrated record.

I don't really have a long list of points to rant about here, but I will say that 'Smokey Factory Blues' is a filler track that I almost immediately forget how it goes once it's over. It sounds like Steppenwolf, yes,  but it has no real standout qualities. And sadly, like a lot of their albums, there's no absolute anthems to be found here. 'Magic Carpet Ride' and 'Born to Be Wild' are songs that I will always rock out to and never tire of (yep, even 'Born to Be Wild'... some songs are overplayed and so is this one, yet I still haven't tired of it all these years later!!), but Slow Flux doesn't have any tracks like this. It has plenty of songs I really like, but none that I love. So giving this an 8/10 would just be too generous, frankly. But of course, consistency like this also has it's positives - the album is good from start to finish, and even if 'Smokey Factory Blues' is forgettable, it's certainly not horrible. 

Spoiler alert - out of the 3 reunion albums they made in the '70s, this one's the best in my humble opinion. Maybe it's a little unambitious and generic musically, but it sounds the way I'd want a Steppenwolf album to sound - yes, it's not as trippy hippie-sounding as some of the '60s works, but it still retains all the key ingredients I like about this band in the first place. I won't say it's one of their best records in general, but if I had to pick a 'wild card' album in their discography (i.e. an album well worth checking out that isn't one of their obvious classics), then Slow Flux is probably it. Hmm... maybe not actually. Steppenwolf 7 is the better choice in that regard! Whatever! Slow Flux is certainly a good'un whichever way you look at it!

One thing that's just occurred to me is the fact I've barely - if at all - talked about production on any of these CDs. Erm, I guess Steppenwolf's discography is difficult to pick holes in this sense! Slow Flux is no different. It sounds like a '70s rock album sonically, and I love that organic sound of the decade.

Adam's rating: 7.6/10

HOUR OF THE WOLF          1975          (Columbia)

- Standouts: 'Two for the Love of One', 'Just for Tonight', 'Someone Told a Lie'

Hour of the Wolf was the second album the band would release after reuniting in 1974. Although I do like a lot of the material they put out in the '70s, I'm a little on the fence with this album's opening track, 'Caroline (Are You Ready for the Outlaw World?)'. The guitars sound like Steppenwolf, sure, but the horn sections are questionable. I'm reminded more of Springsteen than Steppenwolf at times! Catchy and upbeat and not really a bad tune either, just not what I was expecting on first listen. I could throw the ol' "It's a bad Steppenwolf song, but a good song in general" label on it, but I think I'm guilty of doing this too often. If it's a good song in general, then surely it's still a good Steppenwolf song, right?! It doesn't have to sound like all their other stuff to be good! Before I start a long and boring ramble about this subject, the next track, 'Annie, Annie Over' is kind of a sleazy jazz cut. I like the keyboards on it, but again, it's not atypical of Steppenwolf. But I still sorta like it all the same! It's listenable, just not representative of what this band are generally known for doing. 'Two for the Love of One' however, certainly is much more in tune with the classic Steppenwolf sound. A dirty bar rocker, no more, no less. Not very psychedelic, but the '60s were well and truly over at this point anyway.

'Just for Tonight' is a strong ballad. It appears to have female backing vocals on it, which work really well for some of the vocal passages. Despite sounding like Steppenwolf, there's a definite country rock vibe to this one, but it only works in the song's favour. You're getting another fun rocker in 'Hard Rock Road' (if the title didn't give this away) - the added horns are a bit of a turn off if I'm in the wrong mood, but this track is decent enough for the most part. 'Someone Told a Lie' too, is upbeat if a bit more muscular - so I like it. The acoustic-led ballad 'Another's Lifetime' is pleasant enough, but could've maybe served better as a John Kay solo number. Decent, but not especially memorable. The last track, 'Mr. Penny Pincher' has all these '70s keyboard synths on it, which I'm generally okay with because at least this tune still has some power behind it. I guess I'd call it a ballad, but it's certainly a rock ballad because it's far more vast and dramatic in sound compared to the acoustic ballad 'Another's Lifetime'.

This album very nearly qualifies as genuinely 'good' in my books, but some of the little touches of experimentation throughout the songs make it just a 'pretty good' CD instead. While the experimentation in question is okay overall, it's not always what I really want out of a Steppenwolf record. It sits within the 6/10 realm for me... no flat-out 'bad' tracks to speak of, everything is listenable and I do somewhat like it for the most part - but no classics to found here, and certainly not a go-to Steppenwolf album either. One for fans and completists like myself. 

Adam's rating: 6.3/10

SKULLDUGGERY         1976          (Arcadia)

- Standouts: 'Skullduggery', '(I'm a) Road Runner', 'Rock n' Roll Song'

1976's Skullduggery was the final Steppenwolf studio album they put out - well, under the name Steppenwolf anyway. Later albums would be released under the 'John Kay & Steppenwolf' moniker, and to be honest, by the time Skullduggery dropped in 1976 the band had already suffered multiple breakups and reunions. The album never charted and they never even toured to promote it either. Despite the obvious issues and declining success the band enduring around this time, amazingly all this crap didn't seem to directly affect the quality of the music on this CD. I wasn't expecting much from this one considering it was released during their wilderness years, but I think it's actually rather good overall! The songs have plenty of energy going for them, and the music is surprisingly tight for the most part. Not really psychedelic by this point (the '60s had long since passed), but the tracks definitely sound like the product of Steppenwolf alright. Both the opening title track and '(I'm a) Road Runner' are fun, upbeat rockers while 'Rock n' Roll Song' is a strong '70s rock ballad. It doesn't exactly rock or roll like the title suggests, but it's a nice enough ballad for sure! The tracks 'Train of Thought', 'Life Is a Gamble' and 'Sleep' too, are easy listening classic rock cuts I can just put on in the background and chillout to. They don't blow me away or anything like that, they're just decently-penned and performed numbers that I don't ever feel the urge to skip, so I must like 'em!

The worst song here in my opinion, is probably 'Pass It On'. It's not really a bad tune under it's own steam, but it has an oddly soulful feel about it that clashes with the rest of the album. Decent enough by itself, but definitely a bit of an oddball generally speaking. I could say the same for 'Lip Service', which is a strangely funk-based instrumental, but I actually kinda like that one. And like a lot of their post-'60s releases, the songs in general, while certainly good, don't qualify as classics. The production and musicianship (particularly the keyboard/organ playing from Wayne Cook) is solid from start to finish, and I never get tired of John Kay's gravelly vocals. Like I said, there's nothing on here I feel like skipping, but equally there aren't any real 'bangers to speak of either. 

I ain't got much else to say about this disc. It's Steppenwolf in the mid-'70s, so even though it's not quite the same beast as their earliest works, it clings on to most of their key ingredients whilst moving on with the times. Really, it's exactly how I expected it to sound. Another good, if inessential album. Stronger than Hour of the Wolf, because the music is a bit more Steppenwolf-y overall. 

My CD copy also comes with the compilation Reborn to Be Wild, which was released in 1976. I was originally going to include this as a seperate review but all it is, is a 10-track collection of songs from Slow Flux, Hour of the Wolf and Skullduggery. That's literally all I can say about it!!

Adam's rating: 7/10

JOHN KAY & STEPPENWOLF - RISE & SHINE          1990          (IRS)

- Standouts: 'Let's Do It All', 'Time Out', 'Rise and Shine', 'The Daily Blues'

I'm not exactly going out of my way to pick up all the post-Steppenwolf breakup releases, i.e. when John Kay rebranded them in 1980 as 'John Kay & Steppenwolf'. I've got all the major Steppenwolf releases in my collection, but I think these spinoff ones are something I'm gonna accumulate over time. 1990's Rise & Shine was the final album John Kay would release under this moniker, and I managed to bag my copy in an eBay auction for just £2.99 - I'll take that!

Musically this album has something of an AOR sheen about it. The songs are much more focused and structured than any of the drug-fuelled acid blues of early Steppenwolf, and the old-school organ has been replaced with a shiny new keyboard sound. In some ways, this album's aged worse than some of their older records - but the good news is I like listening to a bit of AOR/melodic rock from time to time, and I quite enjoyed this CD. The first handful of tracks, 'Let's Do It All', 'Time Out', 'Do or Die' and the title track are mostly fun little tunes. The guitars are still full of blues rock-like bite and chops as you'd expect from Steppenwolf, but the poppy keyboards give the songs that typical '80s arena rock texture you get from other bands such as FM, Night Ranger and whoever else. Like I said, it's a very distinctive sound that hasn't aged all that well, but if this kind of thing is your jams then you're probably gonna dig this one.

'The Wall' celebrates the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and I guess is a personal statement from John himself, originally being born in Germany. It's not really a ballad like I assumed it would be, just a lengthier AOR number inline with everything else on this album. 'The Daily Blues' and 'Keep Rockin'' are incredibly upbeat pop rockers while 'Rock n' Roll War' is a 7 minute slice of melodic rock with some tuneful guitar soloing. I don't really have a lot to say about any of these songs to be honest, but they're consistent throughout. Same can be said for the last 2 tracks, 'Sign On the Line' and 'We Like It, We Love It'. The latter is kinda cheesy lyrically, but not necessarily in a bad way.

Go into this disc expecting vintage Steppenwolf and you're gonna be disappointed. But I can get behind it - I treat Steppenwolf and John Kay & Steppenwolf as 2 different entities. I get that John was always the leading figure of both bands, but I can understand why he was trying to stay relevant by making an album like this one in 1990. And as I said, I think it's a decent effort for what it sets out to do. The songs can be a bit samey overall, but they're solid from start to finish. It's just a good record overall. Not great by any stretch of the imagination, but worth checking out if you like that '80s/early '90s arena rock sound mixed with John's trademark gravelly vocals. I think when a classic rock band does this sort of thing, I'm more accepting of it than when a metal band attempts the same route. Steppenwolf always had a poppy rock number or 2 on pretty all their albums prior... but when a heavy metal band like Saxon went down the same rabbit hole with 1988's Destiny, it just leaves a sourer taste in my mouth!

Adam's rating: 7/10

JOHN KAY & STEPPENWOLF - LIVE IN LONDON          2006         (Rainman)
This CD popped up on eBay when I was trying to find a vinyl copy of Steppenwolf's The Second - it was only £3.99 with free postage, so I gave it a shot. At first I was a bit confused by the album cover - it reads 'John Kay & Steppenwolf', instead of just 'Steppenwolf', but after a bit of research I found out that the band had split up after 1976's Skullduggery and were having legal disputes over the name until about 1980. From 1976-1980, there was a supposedly 'unprofessional' revival act dubbed 'New Steppenwolf' that featured former members Goldy McJohn and Nick St.Nicholas. John Kay was not part of this particular band and eventually ended up suing them. In 1980 Kay formed an official Steppenwolf lineup and went under the name 'John Kay & Steppenwolf' right up until 2018.

The CD was recorded in 1980 at the Lyceum Ballroom in London, and while you do get performances of Steppenwolf classics like 'Born to Be Wild', 'Magic Carpet Ride', 'The Pusher' and 'Sookie Sookie', a lot of the setlist here consists of the new songs Kay wrote around this period. Which is fair enough really, since the band performing was brand new at the time, even if they were technically the 'official' incarnation of Steppenwolf. Some of the songs would eventually end up on the Wolftracks album in 1982. Tracks like 'Give Me the News' and 'Ain't Nothing Like It Used to Be' kind of sound like classic Steppenwolf with some funk thrown in, and it sounds a little odd at first when thrown in among the oldies, but they're still good songs. In terms of the actual performance, it's solid and entertaining for the most part. Kay still has that raspy, rough charm, and the band play turbo-charged versions of 'Born to Be Wild' and 'Magic Carpet Ride'. The mixing and production is very good for a live album, the bass sounding very good in particular. It's a fun live album overall, although I suppose I could've done with a few more 60's numbers in the setlist. Still, I'm glad I picked this one up.

Edit: I picked this disc up and reviewed it way before I got hold of Rise & Shine, reviewed above. So if you're wondering why I gave an explanation here about the differences between Steppenwolf and John Kay & Steppenwolf, that's why.
Adam's rating: 7.5/10