STEPPENWOLF
''STEPPENWOLF''
JANUARY 29 1968
46:51
********************
1 Sookie Sookie 03:14 (Don Covay, Steve Cropper)
2 Everybody's Next One 02:57 (Gabriel Mekler, John Kay)
3 Berry Rides Again 02:49 (John Kay)
4 Hoochie Coochie Man 05:12 (Willie Dixon)
5 Born To Be Wild 03:29 (Mars Bonfire)
6 Your Wall's Too High 05:44 (John Kay)
7 Desperation 05:45 (John Kay)
8 The Pusher 05:49 (Hoyt Axton)
9 A Girl I Knew 02:38 (John Kay, Morgan A. Cavett)
10 Take What You Need 03:27
11 The Ostrich 05:42 (John Kay)
********************
Rushton Moreve - Bass Guitar
Jerry Edmonton - Drums, Percussion
Michael Monarch - Guitar
John Kay - Guitar, Harmonica, Lead Vocals
Goldy McJohn - Organ, Piano, Electric Piano
********************
ABOUT THE ALBUM/OFFICIAL
"Steppenwolf" was first recorded at United/Western Studio's in Los Angeles. We didn't care for the results at all. Through my friend Morgan Cavett, we discovered The American Recording Studio, with engineers Richard Podolor and Bill Cooper. Everything fit together. They, along with Gabriel Mekler our producer made for some very exciting recording sessions. We were knocked out by what we heard. It was everything we hoped for. We recorded onto an eight track machine through a tube board using a live echo chamber that Richie and Bill had built, which was one of the best live chambers in Los Angeles at that time. We recorded seven songs the first day and four more the next. The majority of the vocals were recorded on the third day and the album was mixed on day four. The entire album cost around $9,000.00 to make. We thought it sounded pretty damn good and in my opinion it still holds up to this day. Someone once said, "You have your entire life to get ready for the first album, and no time for the next one". That was certainly true in our case.
********************
ABOUT THE ALBUM/WIKIPEDIA
Steppenwolf is the first studio album by American rock band Steppenwolf, released in January 1968 on ABC Dunhill Records.
The album was a successful debut for the band, featuring the songs "Born to Be Wild", as well as "The Pusher", both of which were used in the 1969 film Easy Rider. "Berry Rides Again" is a tribute to guitarist Chuck Berry. The spelling of track #4 on the vinyl is "Hootchie Kootchie Man". The album credits say it was recorded at American Recording Company in Studio City, California; however, the actual name of the studio was American Recorders.
Early editions of the "Silver Background" version credit "Mars Bondfire" with writing "Born to be Wild" on both the LP label and the back of the LP cover.
The background color of the original ABC LP cover was silver or "foil", in contrast to later (MCA Records) LP issues and the modern CD sleeve in which it is replaced by white. It is the only album by the band to have been released in both stereo and mono configurations. Although the latter is simply a 'fold down' of the stereo mix it is sought after as a collector's item.
********************
REVIEW/AMG
Bruce Eder
Steppenwolf entered the studio for their recording debut with a lot of confidence -- based on a heavy rehearsal schedule before they ever got signed -- and it shows on this album, a surprisingly strong debut album from a tight hard rock outfit who was obviously searching for a hook to hang their sound on. The playing is about as loud and powerful as anything being put out by a major record label in 1968, though John Kay's songwriting needed some development before their in-house repertory would catch up with their sound and musicianship. On this album, the best material came from outside the ranks of the active bandmembers: "Born to Be Wild" by ex-member Mars Bonfire, which became not only a chart-topping high-energy anthem for the counterculture (a status solidified by its use in Dennis Hopper's movie Easy Rider the following year), but coined the phrase heavy metal, thus giving a genre-specific name to the brand of music that the band played (and which was already manifesting itself in the work of bands like Vanilla Fudge and the just-emerging Led Zeppelin); the Don Covay soul cover "Sookie, Sookie," which, as a single by the new group, actually got played on some soul stations until they found out that Steppenwolf was white; two superb homages to Chess Records, in the guise of "Berry Rides Again," written (though "adapted" might be a better word) by Kay based on the work of Chuck Berry, and the Willie Dixon cover "Hoochie Coochie Man"; and Hoyt Axton's "The Pusher," an anti-drug song turned into a pounding six-minute tour de force by the band. The rest, apart from the surprisingly lyrical rock ballad "A Girl I Knew," is by-the-numbers hard rock that lacked much except a framework for their playing; only "The Ostrich" ever comes fully to life among the other originals, but the songs would catch up with the musicianship the next time out.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Cub Koda
Led by John Kay (born Joachim Krauledat, April 12, 1944), Steppenwolf's blazing biker anthem "Born to Be Wild" roared out of speakers everywhere in the fiery summer of 1968, John Kay's threatening rasp sounding a mesmerizing call to arms to the counterculture movement rapidly sprouting up nationwide. German immigrant Kay got his professional start in a bluesy Toronto band called Sparrow, recording for Columbia in 1966. After Sparrow disbanded, Kay relocated to the West Coast and formed Steppenwolf, named after the Herman Hesse novel. "Born to Be Wild," their third single on ABC-Dunhill, was immortalized on the soundtrack of Dennis Hopper's underground film classic Easy Rider. The song's reference to "heavy metal thunder" finally gave an assignable name to an emerging genre. Steppenwolf's second monster hit that year, the psychedelic "Magic Carpet Ride," and the follow-ups "Rock Me," "Move Over," and "Hey Lawdy Mama" further established the band's credibility on the hard rock circuit. By the early '70s, Steppenwolf ran out of steam and disbanded. Kay continued to record solo, as other members put together ersatz versions of the band for touring purposes. During the mid-'80s Kay re-formed his own version of Steppenwolf, grinding out his hits (and some new songs) at oldies shows. Nevertheless, they'll be remembered for generations to come for creating one of the ultimate gas'n'go rock anthems of all time.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/WIKIPEDIA
********************
WEBSITE
********************
TO THE TOP
********************
''STEPPENWOLF''
JANUARY 29 1968
46:51
********************
1 Sookie Sookie 03:14 (Don Covay, Steve Cropper)
2 Everybody's Next One 02:57 (Gabriel Mekler, John Kay)
3 Berry Rides Again 02:49 (John Kay)
4 Hoochie Coochie Man 05:12 (Willie Dixon)
5 Born To Be Wild 03:29 (Mars Bonfire)
6 Your Wall's Too High 05:44 (John Kay)
7 Desperation 05:45 (John Kay)
8 The Pusher 05:49 (Hoyt Axton)
9 A Girl I Knew 02:38 (John Kay, Morgan A. Cavett)
10 Take What You Need 03:27
11 The Ostrich 05:42 (John Kay)
********************
Rushton Moreve - Bass Guitar
Jerry Edmonton - Drums, Percussion
Michael Monarch - Guitar
John Kay - Guitar, Harmonica, Lead Vocals
Goldy McJohn - Organ, Piano, Electric Piano
********************
ABOUT THE ALBUM/OFFICIAL
"Steppenwolf" was first recorded at United/Western Studio's in Los Angeles. We didn't care for the results at all. Through my friend Morgan Cavett, we discovered The American Recording Studio, with engineers Richard Podolor and Bill Cooper. Everything fit together. They, along with Gabriel Mekler our producer made for some very exciting recording sessions. We were knocked out by what we heard. It was everything we hoped for. We recorded onto an eight track machine through a tube board using a live echo chamber that Richie and Bill had built, which was one of the best live chambers in Los Angeles at that time. We recorded seven songs the first day and four more the next. The majority of the vocals were recorded on the third day and the album was mixed on day four. The entire album cost around $9,000.00 to make. We thought it sounded pretty damn good and in my opinion it still holds up to this day. Someone once said, "You have your entire life to get ready for the first album, and no time for the next one". That was certainly true in our case.
********************
ABOUT THE ALBUM/WIKIPEDIA
Steppenwolf is the first studio album by American rock band Steppenwolf, released in January 1968 on ABC Dunhill Records.
The album was a successful debut for the band, featuring the songs "Born to Be Wild", as well as "The Pusher", both of which were used in the 1969 film Easy Rider. "Berry Rides Again" is a tribute to guitarist Chuck Berry. The spelling of track #4 on the vinyl is "Hootchie Kootchie Man". The album credits say it was recorded at American Recording Company in Studio City, California; however, the actual name of the studio was American Recorders.
Early editions of the "Silver Background" version credit "Mars Bondfire" with writing "Born to be Wild" on both the LP label and the back of the LP cover.
The background color of the original ABC LP cover was silver or "foil", in contrast to later (MCA Records) LP issues and the modern CD sleeve in which it is replaced by white. It is the only album by the band to have been released in both stereo and mono configurations. Although the latter is simply a 'fold down' of the stereo mix it is sought after as a collector's item.
********************
REVIEW/AMG
Bruce Eder
Steppenwolf entered the studio for their recording debut with a lot of confidence -- based on a heavy rehearsal schedule before they ever got signed -- and it shows on this album, a surprisingly strong debut album from a tight hard rock outfit who was obviously searching for a hook to hang their sound on. The playing is about as loud and powerful as anything being put out by a major record label in 1968, though John Kay's songwriting needed some development before their in-house repertory would catch up with their sound and musicianship. On this album, the best material came from outside the ranks of the active bandmembers: "Born to Be Wild" by ex-member Mars Bonfire, which became not only a chart-topping high-energy anthem for the counterculture (a status solidified by its use in Dennis Hopper's movie Easy Rider the following year), but coined the phrase heavy metal, thus giving a genre-specific name to the brand of music that the band played (and which was already manifesting itself in the work of bands like Vanilla Fudge and the just-emerging Led Zeppelin); the Don Covay soul cover "Sookie, Sookie," which, as a single by the new group, actually got played on some soul stations until they found out that Steppenwolf was white; two superb homages to Chess Records, in the guise of "Berry Rides Again," written (though "adapted" might be a better word) by Kay based on the work of Chuck Berry, and the Willie Dixon cover "Hoochie Coochie Man"; and Hoyt Axton's "The Pusher," an anti-drug song turned into a pounding six-minute tour de force by the band. The rest, apart from the surprisingly lyrical rock ballad "A Girl I Knew," is by-the-numbers hard rock that lacked much except a framework for their playing; only "The Ostrich" ever comes fully to life among the other originals, but the songs would catch up with the musicianship the next time out.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Cub Koda
Led by John Kay (born Joachim Krauledat, April 12, 1944), Steppenwolf's blazing biker anthem "Born to Be Wild" roared out of speakers everywhere in the fiery summer of 1968, John Kay's threatening rasp sounding a mesmerizing call to arms to the counterculture movement rapidly sprouting up nationwide. German immigrant Kay got his professional start in a bluesy Toronto band called Sparrow, recording for Columbia in 1966. After Sparrow disbanded, Kay relocated to the West Coast and formed Steppenwolf, named after the Herman Hesse novel. "Born to Be Wild," their third single on ABC-Dunhill, was immortalized on the soundtrack of Dennis Hopper's underground film classic Easy Rider. The song's reference to "heavy metal thunder" finally gave an assignable name to an emerging genre. Steppenwolf's second monster hit that year, the psychedelic "Magic Carpet Ride," and the follow-ups "Rock Me," "Move Over," and "Hey Lawdy Mama" further established the band's credibility on the hard rock circuit. By the early '70s, Steppenwolf ran out of steam and disbanded. Kay continued to record solo, as other members put together ersatz versions of the band for touring purposes. During the mid-'80s Kay re-formed his own version of Steppenwolf, grinding out his hits (and some new songs) at oldies shows. Nevertheless, they'll be remembered for generations to come for creating one of the ultimate gas'n'go rock anthems of all time.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/WIKIPEDIA
********************
WEBSITE
********************
TO THE TOP
********************
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