Moby Grape
1967
Tracks
1. Hey Grandma
2. Mr Blues
3. Fall On You
4. 8.05
5. Come In The Morning
6. Omaha
7. Naked If I Want To
8. Someday
9. Ain't No Use
10. Sitting By The Window
11. Changes
12. Lazy Me
13. Indifference
Amanda: We are in an endless rut of psychadelic rock albums. We were also in a rut with pop music (Beatles, Beach Boys, Byrds, etc.) but that was a lot more enjoyable. We are in the late sixties, so you cannot really expect anything better. Still, I am getting a little sick of this genre. Gone are the days that certain bands brought something new to the table. Now it is just getting repetitve and boring (much like this post).
Moby Grape was a total flop in the sixties but it is now critically acclaimed. I just thought it sounded like everything else we have been listening to lately. Certainly not bad, just not very interesting or innovative. I did enjoy "Changes." This iTunes situation is getting ridiculous.
RATING:
Brie: Amanda, how can you get sick of sixties music?!?
Moby Grape is considered one of the best pieces of psychedelic rock ever recorded. It's up there with the Grateful Dead. However, I found the whole album disappointingly short. That is, too short to consider Moby Grape a jam band. I mean, look at the Grateful Dead: their songs are like seven minutes minimum. Moby Grape was fun and all, I have just heard way better psychedelic music. The first three songs were kind of 'blah' and the pace is slowed down with the acoustic "8.05", which was very sweet. "Omaha" was a real trip, and "Someday' had amazing harmonies and a great solo.
Apparently, on the cover of the album, Don Stevenson originally was giving the camera the one finger salute. Probably because their record label, Columbia, released five of their songs as singles, which ruined their chances of debuting the album in a high chart position. Columbia, however, airbrushed the finger out of the picture. Also, three of the members of Moby Grape were arrested for marijuana possession.
RATING:
I'd hoped for something edgier, but the songwriting and musicianship eventually impressed me. "Someday" and "Sitting By The Window" are sweet tunes, and "Indifference" is a good rocker. "Someday" sounds like inspiration for Badfinger's "Day After Day".
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