Born to Be Wild: A Retrospective by Steppenwolf (CD, Nov-1991, 2 Discs, MCA (USA))

Album Features
UPC:	008811038922
Artist:	Steppenwolf
Format:	CD
Release Year:	1991
Record Label:	MCA (USA)
Genre:	Hard Rock, Rock & Pop
Number Of Discs:	2

Track Listing
DISC 1:
1. Twisted
2. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
3. Sookie, Sookie
4. Everybody's Next One
5. Born to Be Wild
6. Your Wall's Too High
7. Desperation
8. Pusher, The
9. Ostrich, The
10. Don't Step on the Grass, Sam
11. Magic Carpet Ride
12. Rock Me
13. Jupiter's Child
14. It's Never Too Late
15. Monster/Suicide/America: Monster / Suicide / America
16. More Over
17. Hey Lawdy Mama

DISC 2:
1. Snowblind Friend
2. Who Needs Ya?
3. Screaming Night Hog
4. For Ladies Only
5. Tenderness
6. Ride with Me
7. I'm Movin' On
8. My Sportin' Life
9. Children of the Night
10. Straight Shootin' Woman
11. Caroline (Are You Ready for the Outlaw World)
12. Live Your Life
13. Ain't Nothing Like It Used to Be
14. Born to Be Wild
15. Rock & Roll Rebels
16. Give Me News I Can Use
17. Wall, The

Details
Contributing Artists:	Lowell George
Producer:	Steppenwolf, John Kay, Richard Polodor, Andy McKaie, Morgan Cavett, Gabriel Mekler, Michael Wilk, Rocket Ritchotte
Distributor:	Universal Distribution
Recording Type:	Mixed
Recording Mode:	Stereo
SPAR Code:	AAD

Album Notes
Personnel: John Kay (vocals, guitar, slide guitar, dobro, harmonica); George Biondo (vocals, background vocals); Richard Podolor (guitar, sitar); Larry Byrom, Rocket Ritchotte, Michael Monarch, Bobby Cochran (guitar, background vocals); Kent Henry , Michael Palmer, Mars Bonfire (guitar); Lowell George (slide guitar); Tom Scott (saxophone); Don Ellis, Gil Rathel, John Rosenberg, Sam Falzone (horns); Larry Knechtel (piano, organ); Gabriel Mekler (piano); Michael Wilk (organ, keyboards, programming); Goldy McJohn (organ, keyboards, background vocals); Andrew Chapin (keyboards, background vocals); Hugh O'Sullivan (keyboards); Russ Kunkel (drums, congas); Jerry Edmonton (drums, background vocals); Whitey Glan, Ron Hurst, Steven Palmer (drums); Clydie King, Nick St. Nicholas, Sherlie Mathews, Rushton Moreve, Venetta Fields, Gloria Jones (background vocals).Liner Note Author: Todd Everett.Recording information: American Recording Company, Studio City, CA; Amigo Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Columbia Studios, Studio A, New York, NY; Farm Aid; Heritage Studios, Los Angeles, CA; John Kay Studios, Los Angeles, CA.Born to Be Wild: A Retrospective was the first attempt at a serious historical overview of Steppenwolf and founder/leader John Kay's career, and considering that the makers limited themselves to two CDs, they did an amazingly good job. A lot of listeners -- even those who were around during the band's heyday -- who think of Steppenwolf as nothing but successful purveyors of hard rock on the pop charts, may be surprised by what is here. Disc one reaches back to a pair of excellent tracks from the summer 1966 Columbia Records sessions by the Sparrow, the earlier band (featuring John Kay as lead singer) out of which Steppenwolf was formed. The array of Steppenwolf songs includes all of the expected hits and a lot more, which may be more than most casual fans will want. The latter will probably opt for the group's 20th Century Masters single CD, but this set is not to be passed over lightly -- as is quickly revealed on the first disc, Steppenwolf was one of the more prodigiously talented hard rock acts of the late '60s, easily able to go head-to-head with Iron Butterfly, Vanilla Fudge, or any other of the top American acts of the era, and come out on top; they knew enough blues (and folk) licks, were good (and bold) enough with their instruments, and had a sufficiently charismatic lead singer in John Kay to generate six strong studio albums in five years -- including three very consistent, challenging, and inventive LPs in 1968 and 1969 -- and a string of hit singles, This set doesn't give enough exposure to the group's somewhat underrated second album, but otherwise it's a very good cross-section of some of their most popular work interspersed with their more ambitious album cuts, their entire output represented except for the two live albums, Early Steppenwolf and Steppenwolf Live. This set was also the first updated digital transfer of the band's classic recordings, and what's here does sound richer and louder than the existing individual CDs from MCA (which, in fairness, were unusually good for mid- to late-'80s releases). The collection includes highlights of John Kay's early-'70s solo sides and the mid-'70s incarnation of the group on Columbia Records, up through the version of the group organized by Kay in the late '80s. There are a few flaws in the package, to be sure, mostly in the annotation -- Todd Everett's essay gets very sketchy about the music (especially their albums) after the first LP, and tend to focus more on personnel changes than on what they were actually releasing (which was still charting), and that's frustrating for anyone genuinely interested in the history of the music. But this is as good a survey of Steppenwolf and John Kay as we're likely to see, and the listening is a pleasure and a serious enlightenment for the uninitiated, and one that even casual fans should take seriously. ~ Bruce Eder

Editorial Reviews
...goes a long way to show how Steppenwolf is much more than `Born To Be Wild'...
Audio Magazine (19920901)