Slow Flux/Hour Of The Wolf/Skullduggery

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A trio of albums from the reborn Steppenwolf – all presented here in a single set! First up is Slow Flox – a set that has the group really coming back into the fray, after John Kay had left for a bit and recorded as a solo act! All the raw power of the group is still very much at play here – plenty of searing guitars, at that level that made Steppenwolf such a key precursor to the hard rock sound of the 70s – maybe answered to by the group themselves here, who felt a need to reform and show the younger acts how things were done! But there's also some fuller production at times too – touches of soul inspiration that hit a few of the songs, but without ever knocking the guitars out too much – on titles that include "Get Into The Wind", "Children Of The Night", "Smokey Factory Blues", "Morning Blue", "A Fool's Fantasy", and "Gang War Blues". Hour Of The Wolf is a record that seems to have Steppenwolf adapting nicely for the 70s – not in any sort of too-commercial way, but with a vibe that brings in all these nice shifts to their sound! The guitar and bass are still plenty high in the mix, but the vocals of John Kay are varied a bit more from track to track, as is the use of organ – which sometimes steps out as a great force in the sound, even at a time when so many other groups had switched to more modern styles of keyboards. Titles include "Caroline", "Just For Tonight", "Two For The Love Of One", "Someone Told A Lie", "Mr Penny Pincher", "Another's Lifetime", and "Annie Annie Over". Skullduggery is a set with a skull on the cover and some massive drums at the start – both of which are key signals to the world that Steppenwolf are still alive and well! Despite their lack of chart success at this point, the group are still super-sharp – burning on all the best elements that made their classics so great – burning organ, bubbling basslines, searing guitar, and those vocals from John Kay that really send things over the top – schooled on soul in the 60s, but turned much more towards a hard rock standard here – on titles that include "Rock N Roll Song", "Life Is A Gamble", "Skullduggery", "Lip Service", "Pass It On", and "Train Of Thought".  © 1996-2024, Dusty Groove, Inc.