Ball is the third studio album by the rock band Iron Butterfly

Iron Butterfly

Iron Butterfly is a US psychedelic rock band best known for the 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".Their heyday was the late 1960s, but the band has been reincarnated with various members. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is the 31st best-selling album in the world, selling more than 25 million copies.-History:The...

, released in February 1969. After the enormous success of "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", Iron Butterfly modified its acid-rock sound somewhat and experimented with more melodic compositions. The band's trademark heavy guitars, however, are still evident on such tracks as "In the Time of Our Lives" and "It Must Be Love". The album reached #3 in the charts, making Ball more immediately successful than In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. Ball was certified Gold in March 1969. It also spawned two minor hit singles: "Soul Experience", an uncharacteristically uplifting song for the group, went to #75 on the Billboard charts, and despite its nightmarish musical tones and morbid lyrics, "In the Time of Our Lives" managed to reach #96. In 1999, Collector's Choice Music released Ball with two bonus tracks, "I Can't Help But Deceive You Little Girl" and "To Be Alone", which previously were available only on a 7" single.

Reception

Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated Ball three out of five stars. He explained that the quality "is wildly inconsistent", but that it "was a more ambitious album" than In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. He concluded by calling it "a more consistent album than their two previous records".

Side one

1. "In the Time of Our Lives" (Doug Ingle, Ron Bushy) – 4:46
2. "Soul Experience" (Ingle, Bushy, Erik Brann, Lee Dorman) – 2:50
3. "Lonely Boy" (Ingle) – 5:05
4. "Real Fright" (Ingle, Bushy, Brann) – 2:40
5. "In the Crowds" (Ingle, Dorman) – 2:12

Side two

1. "It Must Be Love" (Ingle) – 4:23
2. "Her Favorite Style" (Ingle) – 3:11
3. "Filled With Fear" (Ingle) – 3:23
4. "Belda-Beast" (Brann) – 5:46

1999 CD reissue bonus tracks

10. "I Can't Help But Deceive You Little Girl" (Ingle) – 3:34
11. "To Be Alone" (Ingle, Robert Woods Edmondson) – 3:05

Singles

US and overseas singles

• "In the Time of Our Lives" b/w "It Must Be Love" (#96 on the Billboard Hot 100
  Billboard Hot 100
  The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
  
  )
• "Soul Experience" b/w "In the Crowds" (#75 on the Billboard Hot 100)

UK-only singles

• "Belda-Beast" (4:59 edit) b/w "Lonely Boy"

Post-album singles

• "I Can't Help But Deceive You Little Girl" b/w "To Be Alone"

Personnel

• Doug Ingle
  Doug Ingle
  Doug Ingle is a founding member and former organist, vocalist and primary composer for the band Iron Butterfly. He also had a short stint with the pop group Stark Naked and the Car Thieves in the early 1970s after he left Iron Butterfly.- Biography :Ingle's father Lloyd, a church organist,...
  
   – organs/lead vocals (except on "Belda-Beast")
• Erik Brann – guitars/backing vocals/lead vocal on "Belda-Beast"
• Lee Dorman
  Lee Dorman
  Lee Dorman is an American bass guitarist best known as a member of the rock band Iron Butterfly. He also played in the band Captain Beyond. Dorman is from St. Louis, Missouri, and moved to San Diego, California in the 1960s. He began playing bass guitar in his teens...
  
   – bass/backing vocals
• Ron Bushy
  Ron Bushy
  Ron Bushy is the drummer of the rock band Iron Butterfly.He was born in Washington, D.C. on December 23, 1945. He grew up in a military family, living in approximately 34 states during his youth...
  
  – drums/miscellaneous percussion