Disco de Steppenwolf: “Steppenwolf the Second”

I'm a 13 year old floridian who's in to rock. I never thought I'd like my parent s generation of music. I was wrong. Steppenwolf has everything. A hard sound to a punk sound to a pop sound everything! guitar solos! BuyBuyBuyBuyBuyBuyBuy!

If I could have only one original Steppenwolf album to remember them by, it would be this second effort by them. Far from being a sophomore slump, this was a peerless demonstration of just how talented a group they really were. There is a reason that the sixties rock group Steppenwolf still sells so strongly some thirty years after their arrival on the sixties rock scenes with a quick succession of powerful heavy rock hits like "Magic Carpet Ride" and "Born To Be Wild". I've always admired lead vocalist John Kay's singing style, songwriting and lyrical talents, and his outspoken personal warnings against the dangers of drug excess with songs like "The Pusher" and "Snowblind Friend". He was anti-drug when it was anything but fashionable to so cautious and careful. And Kay also knew his way around a melody, and whether he was making insightful social commentary in a number of songs like "Monster" and "Draft Resister" or just plain old wailing in terrific, edgy songs like "Never Too Late (To Start All Over Again)" or "Twenty Eight", he used the combination of his lovely lyrics, driving melodies, and wild rock improvisation to create a whole rafter of memorable, insightful and very appealing rock songs. Most of them are here, and those that aren't you can find in their other albums. Steppenwolf quickly earned the undying support and admiration of their original fans, and are finding new listeners through terrific compilation albums like this must-own collection of their hits. Enjoy

This is a cool album. I have the original vinyl, (worn so thin that it's almost see-thru in places), and the CD. I have to say that it sounds better if you hit the pause button after 'Don't Step on the Grass Sam', (where side 1 finished) and walk away for a minute or so before listening to the second half. Side 1 was (is) a straightfoward collection of catchy, well written pop/rock songs, that still sound fresh and interesting 33 years later. Side 2 however, only contained 2 pop songs (including the hit Magic Carpet Ride), and an ambitiously lengthy blues suite, containing everything from straight solo acoustic blues, to some of the funkiest B-3 organ ever comitted to tape. Listening to the whole CD in one go can result in information overload, but as a record of 2 halves, it works perfectly.

Forget Born To Be Wild and Magic Carpet Ride. Cue this up at #8 and you will find 20 minutes of the best blues/rock ever performed. Steve Miller's Children of the Future a close second.

There is little better than this.

j

This album displayed the diversity and ambition of a very distinctive band definitely of their time. I was captivated by the medley on the second side that I seem to recall John Kay saying in an interview at the time was intended to trace the history of rock and roll up to that point, starting with the blues origins, accelerating with Leslie speaker aural tricks and funky Beatles 'Taxman' style guitar. In fact, when I heard Abbey Road the next year I was struck by the fact that the album was structured almost exactly like this one - first side being standalone songs, then two standalone songs at the beginning of Side 2 followed by a suite that follows on to the ending. I don't know if any of the Beatles had heard this album when they assembled their masterpiece but I think it's at least an interesting coincidence that the albums are so similar in that way. I still think the Beatles left Steppenwolf and just about everyone else at the time in the dust but nevertheless I give Steppenwolf credit for their ambition. Before this album I had only heard a few tracks such as their hits, "Born to be Wild" and "Magic Carpet Ride". Those were tremendous songs but when I heard this album I concluded that they were more than a band that just churned out hit singles.