Quite possibly, no album in the Steppenwolf discography – or, at least, from their classic period – is as divisive as Monster, their 1969 effort (and fourth studio release, fifth overall). John Kay and crew had always danced precariously on the knife edge of social commentary in their earlier albums with songs like “Don’t Step On The Grass, Sam” and their cover of Hoyt Axton’s “The Pusher”, but on this pseudo-concept album, Steppenwolf came out swinging against the then-raging Vietnam War.
Some people despise this album. Some people consider it a masterpiece. Me? I don’t think I’d go as far as to call it a masterpiece… but I would say it’s incredibly underappreciated, and was a major leap forward from their previous studio effort At Your Birthday Party.
The one-two punch of the title track and “Draft Resister” leave no doubt as to where Kay and crew stood in terms of their view of the armed conflict in eastern Asia. Musically, these songs show just how far Steppenwolf had come in such a short period of time; they have a complex beauty to them, even in the simplicity of certain passages. While these tracks barely dented the top 40 of the charts, they prove that they are songs that must be reckoned with in the Steppenwolf catalog.
One other notable track – possibly from the number of compilations released after the band’s initial breakup in 1972 – is “From Here To There Eventually,” another song that challenges the listener to hear Kay and crew as more than just the band that released “Born To Be Wild”. With an almost gospel-like tone in the final quarter of the song, along with sound effects one can only determine are supposed to represent the slaughter occurring in Vietnam – Kent State would occur not terribly long after this album was released – it’s another punch to the listener’s gut, and one that sticks with you.
It’s not that the remainder of Monster is bad or forgettable; I personally didn’t quite get where songs like “Power Play” or “What Would You Do (If I Did That To You)” fit into the idea of this being a concept album. On their own, they’re not bad – not quite as strong as tracks like “Draft Resister,” but good in their own ways.
Where I think people lost the plot with Monster was they expected Steppenwolf to just keep on cranking out good-time biker anthems for their entire career. Had they understood Kay’s personal background, they might have appreciated why he and the band took such a strong stand against the Vietnam War with this release, and – just perhaps – it could have been seen in a different light.
I’ll admit that Monster is not one of my go-to Steppenwolf albums, but – like I experienced – this one is primed for rediscovery by a whole new audience, one that could possibly approach it with fresh ears and less of a bias. It’ll cost you about 35 minutes of your life… but you’ll quickly discover it was worth the investment of time and money.
