Esoteric will release a STEPPENWOLF box set, “The Epic Years 1974-1976”, on January 27, 2023.
STEPPENWOLF was formed in 1967 in Los Angeles by John Kay (vocals, guitar, harmonica),Goldy McJohn (organ, piano) and Jerry Edmonton (drums) who were previously members of the Canadian band THE SPARROWS. They were joined by Michael Monarch (lead guitar) and Rushton Moreve (bass). The band signed to Dunhill / ABC Records and were propelled to success in 1968 with their classic single “Born To Be Wild”, which became even wider known when the track was featured to great effect in the classic 1969 counterculture film “Easy Rider”.
Over the next four years, the band released eight albums and enjoyed huge success. In February 1972, STEPPENWOLF disbanded, with John Kay recording a solo album, but by ’74 they had emerged once again and over the next three years they would record three further albums for Epic.
Following on from “Magic Carpet Ride”, Esoteric‘s acclaimed boxed set of the first era of STEPPENWOLF‘s career, “The Epic Years 1974-1976” gathers together all of these albums, along with two rare bonus tracks. The set also includes an illustrated booklet with a new essay by STEPPENWOLF aficionado Jim Christopulos.
Track listing:
Disc One – Slow Flux
01. Gang War Blues
02. Children Of Night
03. Justice Don’t Be Slow
04. Get Into The Wind
05. Jeraboah
06. Straight Shootin’ Woman
07. Smokey Factory Blues
08. Morning Blue
09. A Fool’s Fantasy
10. Fishin’ In The Dark
Disc Two – Hour Of The Wolf
01. Caroline (Are You Ready For The Outlaw World)
02. Annie, Annie Over
03. Two For The Love Of One
04. Just For Tonight
05. Hard Rock Road
06. Someone Told A Lie
07. Another’s Lifetime
08. Mr. Penny Pincher
Bonus tracks
09. Angeldrawers (B-side of single)
10. Caroline (Are You Ready For The Outlaw World) (Mono promotional single mix)
Disc Three – Skullduggery
01. Skullduggery
02. (I’m A) Road Runner
03. Rock N’ Roll Song
04. Train Of Thought
05. Life Is A Gamble
06. Pass It On
07. Sleep
08. Lip Service
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