Steppenwolf 7

Steppenwolf 7
Studio album by
Steppenwolf
ReleasedNovember 1970
Genre
Length39:57
LabelDunhill
ProducerRichard Podolor
Steppenwolf chronology
Steppenwolf Live
(1970) 		Steppenwolf 7
(1970) 		For Ladies Only
(1971)
Singles from Steppenwolf 7
  1. "Who Needs Ya"
    Released: 7 October 1970 [1]
  2. "Snow Blind Friend"
    Released: January 1971 [2]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Christgau's Record GuideC−[4]

Steppenwolf 7 is the fifth studio album by Canadian-American rock band Steppenwolf. The album was released in November 1970, by Dunhill Records. It is the first Steppenwolf album with new bass player George Biondo. The album’s numerical title reflects the fact that it was the band’s seventh album release for ABC/Dunhill records (including the four preceding studio LP’s, as well as two live albums). While the album featured Steppenwolf's trademark rock and roll sounds, none of the songs were able to make the top 40. The album featured a cover of Hoyt Axton's "Snowblind Friend", their second cover of one of his antidrug songs (the first being "The Pusher"). Along with "Who Needs Ya", it was one of two singles from the album which made the charts, but fell short of the top 40.[5] The album track "Renegade" is autobiographical for lead vocalist John Kay, recounting his flight with his mother from the Soviet occupation zone to the West in 1948. The intro to "Earschplittenloudenboomer" is spoken by Kay partially in German.

Critical reception

Robert Christgau stated: "Laying back hasn't been good for them, and neither has getting heavy. Their way lies somewhere in between--which come to think of it is also how it is for the rest of us."[6]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Ball Crusher"John Kay, Jerry Edmonton, Goldy McJohn4:50
2."Forty Days and Forty Nights"Bernie Roth3:02
3."Fat Jack"George Biondo, Edmonton, Larry Byrom4:50
4."Renegade"Biondo, McJohn, Kay6:07
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Foggy Mental Breakdown"Byrom, Kay3:52
2."Snowblind Friend"Hoyt Axton3:52
3."Who Needs Ya'"Byrom, Kay2:59
4."Earschplittenloudenboomer"Byrom5:00
5."Hippo Stomp"Byrom, Kay5:43

Personnel

Steppenwolf

Technical

Charts

Chart (1970–1971) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] 26
US Billboard 200[8] 19

Singles[5]

Year Single Chart Position
1970 "Who Needs Ya" Billboard Hot 100 54
1971 "Snowblind Friend" Billboard Hot 100 60

References

  1. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Steppenwolf - Who Needs Ya". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  2. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Steppenwolf - Snow Blind Friend". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  3. ^ "Steppenwolf 7 - Steppenwolf | Album". AllMusic. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  4. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Steppenwolf USA chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  6. ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: Steppenwolf". Robertchristgau.com. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  7. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 293. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. ^ "Billboard 200-Steppenwolf". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 18, 2017. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.