Iron Butterfly: Ron Bushy, Erik Brann, Doug Ingle, Lee Dorman. Recorded in 1969. Originally released on Atco (33280). Recording information: Gold Star Studios, Hollywood, California; The Hit Factory, New York. Photographer: Joel Brodsky. Following the huge success of their second record, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, Iron Butterfly scored a second straight Top Five album with Ball. While it didn't have any acid rock freak-out to compare with the epic "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," Ball was a more ambitious album, as the group experimented with shorter, more melodic songs. Like any Iron Butterfly album, the quality of the material is wildly inconsistent, yet cut for cut, Ball is a more consistent album than their two previous records, as the group trimmed away some of the acid rock excesses of their earlier records while retaining their brutally loud trademark heavy guitars. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

• Format: CD
• Released: 06/02/2015