Iron Butterfly
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
The platinum debut Rolling Stone called dull commercial music
Released in the US on 14 June 1968, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida became Iron Butterfly's commercial breakthrough and the first album in American history to be certified platinum. A contemporary hostile review, alongside chart results with their dates.
The verdict at the time
Pomeroy attacked the record as 'dull commercial music', calling Ingle's singing 'the most inflexible and sterile I've heard from a major group' and his organ playing 'strictly chicken shit'. He wrote that the 17-minute title track 'managed to bore me to death' with its 'very repetitious' structure and 'superfluity' including a drum solo that 'contributes very little'.
Chart peaks
European positions are listed by country. Later chart entries are labelled separately.
Sources & context
One critic's opinion, summarised from Jim Pomeroy's original Rolling Stone review of 23 November 1968. The album is now recognised as a foundational proto-metal and acid-rock landmark: it was the first LP to achieve platinum certification in the US (now 4× platinum), spent over two years on the Billboard 200, and its side-long title track remains one of the most iconic compositions in heavy psychedelic rock, cited by AllMusic, Louder Sound and countless heavy bands as a seminal influence.
