Iron Butterfly made its New York City debut at the Fillmore East in the spring of 1968, recording all four shows from April 26 and 27. The tapes reveal the Los Angeles quartet – singer/organist Doug Ingle, bassist Lee Dorman, guitarist Erik Brann (just 17 at the time) and drummer Ron Bushy – on the verge of its defining success, mixing tracks from its first album HEAVY, with songs that would appear two months later on the band’s multi-platinum magnum opus, IN-A-GADDA-DA-VIDA. Rhino Handmade unearths Iron Butterfly’s ascension to the pantheon of heavy rock with FILLMORE EAST 1968, a double disc set of previously unreleased performances.

Meticulously restored from the original 1/2″ four-track recorder tapes run at 15 ips, the well-defined sound, according to veteran music journalist and liner note author David Fricke, “is the sound of hard-rock immortality in the making.” For the performances, Iron Butterfly drew material primarily from the just-released HEAVY, playing the tough yet nimble “Unconscious Power” in the early show both nights, and closing all four sets with the potent one-two punch of “So-Lo” and “Iron Butterfly Theme.” They also used the Fillmore concerts to showcase three songs from what would become Iron Butterfly‘s second album, including “Are You Happy,” “My Mirage” and its title track, “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida,” which the group deployed to great effect in the second set both nights.As Fricke writes: “… these recordings, from that spring weekend in 1968, catch Iron Butterfly – and “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” – at a transformative point and ferocious pitch: a great acid-garage band with sharp pop instincts, hardened and tightened by long service on the Sunset Strip, about to establish a lasting definition of heavy rock.”Due mid-October, the double CD is now available for pre-order exclusively at Rhino.com. The first 1,000 pre-orders placed before 11:59 p.m. PST on
10/17/11 will receive a free Iron-on Butterfly transfer.