Ball

After the mega-success of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida and its side-long title-track hit, Iron Butterfly were determined to not repeat the formula with another extended jam. Instead, singer/organist Doug Ingle often worked with the other members of the group to write songs both true to the band's "heavy" reputation and melodic enough for radio. Here, the opening track—“In the Time of Our Lives,” written with drummer Ron Bushy—captures the group’s gothic mystery, complete with backing vocals that resemble a tribal song and a lead vocal technique similar to that of Jethro Tull’s singer Ian Anderson. The entire band worked out the mildly funky “Soul Experience,” while Ingle tried his hand at being a soul singer for the organ-heavy “Lonely Boy.” Songs such as “In the Crowds,” “Her Favorite Style,” “Filled with Fear," and guitarist Erik Brann’s “Belda-Beast” offer up a sound similar to that of The Doors. Yet The Doors’ far greater amount of hit singles and Iron Butterfly’s lack of a charismatic frontman ensured that only one band with this guitar-organ approach would flourish in the ensuing decades. Ball was Iron Butterfly’s highest-charting album, hitting No. 3.