STEPPENWOLF
''THE SECOND''
OCTOBER 1968
48:15
********************
1 Faster Than The Speed Of Life 03:14 (Mars Bonfire)
2 Tighten Up Your Wig 03:07 (John Kay)
3 None Of Your Doing 02:52 (John Kay, Gabriel Mekler)
4 Spiritual Fantasy 03:40 (John Kay)
5 Don't Step On The Grass, Sam 05:41 (John Kay)
6 28 03:11 (Gabriel Mekler)
7 Magic Carpet Ride 04:29 (John Kay, Rushton Moreve)
8 Disappointment Number (Unknown) 13:25 (John Kay)
8.2 Lost And Found By Trial And Error (John Kay)
8.3 Hodge, Podge, Strained Through A Leslie (John Kay)
8.4 Resurrection (John Kay)
8.5 Reflections (John Kay, Gabriel Mekler)
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John Kay - lead vocals, guitar, harmonica
Michael Monarch - lead guitar
Goldy McJohn - organ, piano
Rushton Moreve - bass guitar
Jerry Edmonton - drums, vocals
********************
ABOUT THE ALBUM/OFFICIAL
1968—The follow-up to their enormously successful first release. This classic contains, among other highlights, the full-length version of “Magic Carpet Ride,” everybody's favorite, “Don't Step On The Grass Sam,” and John Kay's original blues suite. Other songs: Faster Than The Speed Of Life, Tighten Up Your Wig, None Of Your Doing, Spiritual Fantasy, 28, Disappointment Number (Unknown), Lost and Found By Trial And Error, Hodge Podge Strained Through A Leslie, Resurrection, Reflections.
----------
"The Second" was a record full of experimentation. It was started a few short months after the first album was released. At that time we were contractually obligated to record two albums a year. That pressure, along with our greatly increased touring schedule, TV show appearances, etc, quickly had us behind schedule. We had a number of songs that had not made their way on the first album, plus some new tunes I had written or co-written with Gabriel Mekler. Mars Bonfire, who had contributed “Born To Be Wild” to the first album brought us “Faster Than The Speed of Life”, which Jerry Edmonton (our drummer) sang. Since Mars was at the studio to show us his new song, he wound up playing rhythm guitar on “Magic Carpet Ride”. Among the things that stand out the most about these sessions were that “Don’t Step On The Grass Sam”, was a whole lot of fun to record and of course “Magic Carpet Ride” with all it’s experimentation in the instrumental section of the tune. Other favorites of mine are “None of Your Doing” and the blues suite on side two, “Disappointment Number Unknown” which comprised most of side two of the original vinyl release. Recording of this project took longer than the first album. One reason was American Recordings improved it's recording capabilities by upgrading from an 8 to a 16 track system, which meant we could add additional instruments, sound effects, etc. All in all, it took about 6 weeks to record, which by today’s standards, is still pretty good time.
********************
ABOUT THE ALBUM/WIKIPEDIA
The Second is the second studio album by Canadian-American rock band Steppenwolf, released in 1968 on ABC Dunhill Records. The album contains one of Steppenwolf's most famous songs, "Magic Carpet Ride". The background of the original ABC LP cover was a shiny "foil", in contrast to later (MCA Records) LP issues and the modern CD sleeve.
Featuring a style incorporating psychedelic music as well as aggressive hard rock, the release has received critical acclaim both when it came out as well as in later years. For example, Allmusic critic Bruce Eder stated that, though "highly derivative" of their first album, The Second had "very hard and edgy" tracks with the band "in excellent form".
********************
REVIEW/AMG
Bruce Eder
The group's second album was virtually a re-creation of its predecessor, only slightly more sophisticated in its range of songs and the manner of playing them, and the in-house writing had improved, though the latter also became highly derivative. Steppenwolf the Second embraces everything from hard rock to psychedelia to blues, and the band is in excellent form, playing very hard and edgy, except on the deliberately lyrical, reflective "Spiritual Fantasy," a rare acoustic number for the group. Much more to the point of the group was the single "Magic Carpet Ride," the ultimate psychedelic pop dance number of the decade, and the marijuana anthem "Don't Step on the Grass, Sam," the pounding "28," and the album-opener "Faster Than the Speed of Life." Side two of the original LP was a great achievement in its own right, opening with "Magic Carpet Ride," which leads into a nonstop extended array of hard-rocking numbers, mostly in a blues idiom: "Disappointment Number (Unknown)," "Lost and Found by Trial and Error," "Hodge Podge, Strained Through a Leslie," and "Resurrection." The playing was as good as the first album, and though there's nothing quite comparable to "Born to Be Wild" here in terms of cultural impact, the level of the surrounding numbers is higher.
********************
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
********************
''THE SECOND''
OCTOBER 1968
48:15
********************
1 Faster Than The Speed Of Life 03:14 (Mars Bonfire)
2 Tighten Up Your Wig 03:07 (John Kay)
3 None Of Your Doing 02:52 (John Kay, Gabriel Mekler)
4 Spiritual Fantasy 03:40 (John Kay)
5 Don't Step On The Grass, Sam 05:41 (John Kay)
6 28 03:11 (Gabriel Mekler)
7 Magic Carpet Ride 04:29 (John Kay, Rushton Moreve)
8 Disappointment Number (Unknown) 13:25 (John Kay)
8.2 Lost And Found By Trial And Error (John Kay)
8.3 Hodge, Podge, Strained Through A Leslie (John Kay)
8.4 Resurrection (John Kay)
8.5 Reflections (John Kay, Gabriel Mekler)
********************
John Kay - lead vocals, guitar, harmonica
Michael Monarch - lead guitar
Goldy McJohn - organ, piano
Rushton Moreve - bass guitar
Jerry Edmonton - drums, vocals
********************
ABOUT THE ALBUM/OFFICIAL
1968—The follow-up to their enormously successful first release. This classic contains, among other highlights, the full-length version of “Magic Carpet Ride,” everybody's favorite, “Don't Step On The Grass Sam,” and John Kay's original blues suite. Other songs: Faster Than The Speed Of Life, Tighten Up Your Wig, None Of Your Doing, Spiritual Fantasy, 28, Disappointment Number (Unknown), Lost and Found By Trial And Error, Hodge Podge Strained Through A Leslie, Resurrection, Reflections.
----------
"The Second" was a record full of experimentation. It was started a few short months after the first album was released. At that time we were contractually obligated to record two albums a year. That pressure, along with our greatly increased touring schedule, TV show appearances, etc, quickly had us behind schedule. We had a number of songs that had not made their way on the first album, plus some new tunes I had written or co-written with Gabriel Mekler. Mars Bonfire, who had contributed “Born To Be Wild” to the first album brought us “Faster Than The Speed of Life”, which Jerry Edmonton (our drummer) sang. Since Mars was at the studio to show us his new song, he wound up playing rhythm guitar on “Magic Carpet Ride”. Among the things that stand out the most about these sessions were that “Don’t Step On The Grass Sam”, was a whole lot of fun to record and of course “Magic Carpet Ride” with all it’s experimentation in the instrumental section of the tune. Other favorites of mine are “None of Your Doing” and the blues suite on side two, “Disappointment Number Unknown” which comprised most of side two of the original vinyl release. Recording of this project took longer than the first album. One reason was American Recordings improved it's recording capabilities by upgrading from an 8 to a 16 track system, which meant we could add additional instruments, sound effects, etc. All in all, it took about 6 weeks to record, which by today’s standards, is still pretty good time.
********************
ABOUT THE ALBUM/WIKIPEDIA
The Second is the second studio album by Canadian-American rock band Steppenwolf, released in 1968 on ABC Dunhill Records. The album contains one of Steppenwolf's most famous songs, "Magic Carpet Ride". The background of the original ABC LP cover was a shiny "foil", in contrast to later (MCA Records) LP issues and the modern CD sleeve.
Featuring a style incorporating psychedelic music as well as aggressive hard rock, the release has received critical acclaim both when it came out as well as in later years. For example, Allmusic critic Bruce Eder stated that, though "highly derivative" of their first album, The Second had "very hard and edgy" tracks with the band "in excellent form".
********************
REVIEW/AMG
Bruce Eder
The group's second album was virtually a re-creation of its predecessor, only slightly more sophisticated in its range of songs and the manner of playing them, and the in-house writing had improved, though the latter also became highly derivative. Steppenwolf the Second embraces everything from hard rock to psychedelia to blues, and the band is in excellent form, playing very hard and edgy, except on the deliberately lyrical, reflective "Spiritual Fantasy," a rare acoustic number for the group. Much more to the point of the group was the single "Magic Carpet Ride," the ultimate psychedelic pop dance number of the decade, and the marijuana anthem "Don't Step on the Grass, Sam," the pounding "28," and the album-opener "Faster Than the Speed of Life." Side two of the original LP was a great achievement in its own right, opening with "Magic Carpet Ride," which leads into a nonstop extended array of hard-rocking numbers, mostly in a blues idiom: "Disappointment Number (Unknown)," "Lost and Found by Trial and Error," "Hodge Podge, Strained Through a Leslie," and "Resurrection." The playing was as good as the first album, and though there's nothing quite comparable to "Born to Be Wild" here in terms of cultural impact, the level of the surrounding numbers is higher.
********************
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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