As a kid, I wanted to hear only two Iron Butterfly albums: "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" and "Live" (and that's only because THAT track was on it, too.)

For a long time, I didn't even care they had other records. People I used to hang around with at a local music store talked only about "Da Vida" and all I wanted was to hear it.

It's different now. Ever since I heard it for the first time years ago, "Heavy" won a far bigger place in my heart than "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".

Both are great albums, of course. So are Iron Butterfly's other three records.

But "Heavy" has a very special place in my listening life. And it certainly doesn't deserve to live in the shadow of that other one.

Unfortunately, the reason I started thinking about "Heavy" again recently wasn't the memory of conversations I overheard at the small music store I frequented as a kid or something equally positive. No.

It's because someone beat me to a good (and well-priced) LP copy at the store I go to now.

(I'll give you a moment to recover.)

But hey, at least it got me to put my beaten CD copy on again, and I instantly remembered how much I love "Heavy."

And true, it is a little naïve in places. So-Lo really sounds like a small, silly song (in a good way.) Get Out of My Life, Woman is perhaps trying too hard to be a song they weren't ready to write yet. And that riff in You Can't Win could do with a touch more work, and so on.

But that is part of its charm. 

"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is the monumental album (because of that track, of course) and treated with cult-like status.

"Heavy", on the other hand, showcases the band still full of first-album excitement, naivety, and discovery.

Now, I don't want to ruffle any feathers here but I’m not convinced that Iron Butterfly's second album is actually the greater compositional achievement anyway. 

After all, that track everyone's talking about is largely just a riff, and a long drum solo...

But "Heavy" bursts with ideas.

Possession has a dark atmosphere, quite uncommon for the 1968 psychedelia. 

Unconscious Power starts with an amazing riff (I think they tried to use a similar approach on "Da Vida's" Termination but it just doesn't click as well) and an absolutely stunning vocal hook.

Iron Butterfly Theme has an incredible groove (and that distorted guitar! It is still 1968, remember.)

In fact, each track on "Heavy" reveals something new and interesting to me.

"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" has good songs, too. But I find them lacking the enthusiasm of "Heavy".

Who knows, perhaps that's why the band returned to that darker and heavier sound on the next album, "Ball."

And maybe that enthusiasm and a touch of naivette is why I keep going back to "Heavy".

"Heavy" feels like a more real record to me. 

It doesn't contain any famous riffs. It lacks polish, too. It certainly feels less finished in places.

But it shows a band discovering what it can become and clearly having a great time doing it.