Steppenwolf Album: “At Your Birthday Party”

It's good. In '76 when I was at Cornell, we were doing a deal and I put this record (which was old then) on to help test the stuff. Everyone asked, "What is this GREAT album?". We had a GREAT time, in the spirit of 1969 to boot.

So, if you want to get wasted a la 1969, try it with this album. You won't regret it. It invokes the feeling.

Favorite cuts: Don't Cry, It's Never Too Late; Rock Me; Happy Birthday. Kay's voice is at its prime.

Those of us who had a copy of "Steppenwolf: 16 Greatest Hits" in high school (and who didn't?) will be familiar with the stand-out tracks on "At Your Birthday Party": "Rock Me" and "It's Never Too Late". However, the real highlights on this album are the unexpected diamonds in the rough that showcase Steppenwolf's suprisingly diverse pallette. One track, "Cat Killer," is a short, adrenaline-laced boogie-woogie piano workout; and another, "Mango Juice," is a spacey, mellow jam that makes one think that John Kay might have been listening to a lot of Pink Floyd at the time of this recording. The album concludes with a simple-yet-beautiful tune entitled "Happy Birthday". While some may regard these tracks as filler, I regard them as the "diamonds in the rough" that give the album its spark. The rest is fairly standard stuff that does not necessarily display much creativity on the band's part--but if you're in the mood for some straight-forward rock, then tracks like "Don't Cry" and "Jupiter's Child" will probably do just fine.

Steppenwolf's third album was kind of a disappointment after their strong first two efforts. I bought this many, many years ago when it was originally released on vinyl, and though there are a few tracks (Rock Me), there's just a lack of cohesion to this album. It just feels like Steppenwolf grabbed outtakes or songs rejected from their first two LPs and released this to meet some contractual obligation.

It's not a BAD album, it's just, well, unfocused and meandering. I admit to owning it, as I own just about everything by Steppenwolf (except of John Kay's later one-off projects). If you're a die-hard fan, buy it. If not, pick up I and II, then skip to Monster. Live is a real weird collection, as a studio cut is dropped right in the middle, and that has always bugged me. If you can find it, Steppenwolf Live (or Live at the Matrix, an early jam that was rushed to market after they'd broken through and become stars) is fun to listen to, if only for the long jam into The Pusher.

At Your Birthday Party just reeks of "rush to market," and the best I can do is give it three stars, and that's being generous...

The art work reproduction lacks band photos from original LP but considering it's low price and good sound it is a deal.

The music is total Steppenwolf at it's mid-later stage.

A little more experimental in the studio, maintaining their great bouncy grooves, their rock and roll, with funky Goldy McJohn keyboard touch adding to their guitar based sound with John Kay upfront..some sweet ballads here but the band rocks on in their signature sound of heavy metal thunder.

Their hit Rock Me is here in all it's glory,making the CD a great purchase.

this is a great cd and with the big hits such as...it's never too late ....jupiter child and rock me along with the great but unheard songs such as...dont cry...chicken wolf and happy birthday (not that one! )this cd has always been my favorite and i like all of steppenwolfs original albums but this one stands out from the rest for me!