Moby Grape: Jam 1968 + Wow 1968

One of the best '60s San Francisco bands, Moby Grape, were also one of the most versatile. Although

they are most often identified with the psychedelic scene, their specialty was combining all sorts of roots music, folk, blues, country, and classic rock & roll, with some Summer of Love vibes and multi-layered, triple-guitar arrangements. All of those elements only truly coalesced for their 1967 debut LP. Although subsequent albums had more good moments than many listeners are aware of, a combination of personal problems and bad management effectively killed off the group by the end of the '60s.
                                                                

Moby Grape was an American rock band founded in 1966, known for having all five members

contribute to singing and songwriting, which collectively merged elements of folk music, blues, country, and jazz with rock and psychedelic music. They were one of the few groups of which all members were lead vocalists. The group's first incarnation ended in 1969, but they have reformed many times afterwards and continue to perform occasionally.
                                                

Wow/Grape Jam is the second album by the rock band Moby Grape. It was first released in April 1968.

It is different from most double album releases in that it was released as two different albums in separate covers, but packaged together and sold for only one dollar more than price of a single LP. This was Moby Grape's highest charting release in the U.S., peaking at #20 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
                                                                               

Wow had a color gatefold sleeve, while Grape Jam had a color non-gatefold sleeve. Early copies of Wow omit the band's name from the record label, for unknown reasons.
                                                      

Original US copies of the 2 album package had a large blue sticker on the front of shrink wrap which

identified the albums and showed the songs of Wow in the correct order. The song titles for Grape Jam were only shown on the back of that album and were not visible on the outside of the sealed package. The back cover of Wow also showed the song titles in an incorrect order, and again, this was not visible on the sealed package. Each album was later released as an individual CD with bonus tracks.
                                                       

MOBY GRAPE - GRAPE JAM 1968

                                                           

Moby Grape's two greatest strengths were that the five members of the band were all top-notch musicians and great songwriters. Grape Jam amply demonstrates the former virtue, while the latter barely figures into the formula at all. As the title suggests, Grape Jam consists of five semi-improvised

selections in which the players stretch out at length, primarily on slow, blues influenced numbers, with plenty of ace guitar work from Peter Lewis, Jerry Miller, and Skip Spence, while Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield sit in on keyboards for a few numbers. While there's some potent soloing here, and the rhythm section of Bob Mosley and Don Stevenson show they can adapt to whatever the band throws their way, the tunefulness and tight performances that made Moby Grape one of the finest debut albums of all time is missing in action.
                                                   

As good as the chops on display here may be, great soloing doesn't mean all that much without the context of a good song, and that becomes painfully obvious on "Boysenberry Jam" and "Black Currant Jam." Grape Jam was originally released as a companion piece with Moby Grape's overcooked but compelling second album, Wow (folks who bought Wow could get Grape Jam at a discount), and as a bonus item it's not without interest, but all by itself this meanders far too much for its own good. Grape Jam is akin to hearing a handful of talented musicians goofing off, and while the talent is obvious, so is the aimlessness of the music.
by Mark Deming

Moby Grape – Grape Jam
Label: Sundazed Music – SC 11192
Format:    CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Carded Sleeve
Country: US
Released: 2007
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock

TRACKS

                                                     

01. Never   6:12
Bass Guitar [Bass], Vocals – Bob Mosley
Drums – Don Stevenson
Guitar – Skip Spence, Jerry Miller
Written-By – B. Mosley
02. Boysenberry Jam   6:00
Bass Guitar [Bass] – Bob Mosley
Drums – Don Stevenson
Guitar – Jerry Miller
Piano – Skip Spence
Written-By – S. Spence, B. Mosley, D. Stevenson, J. Miller, P. Lewis
03. Black Currant Jam   7:07
Bass Guitar [Bass] – Bob Mosley
Drums – Don Stevenson
Guitar – Jerry Miller
Piano – Al Kooper
Written-By – S. Spence, B. Mosley, D. Stevenson, J. Miller, P. Lewis
04. Marmalade   14:02
Bass Guitar [Bass] – Bob Mosley
Drums – Don Stevenson
Guitar – Jerry Miller
Piano – Mike Bloomfield
Written-By – B. Mosley, D. Stevenson, J. Miller, M. Bloomfield
05. The Lake   3:58
Lyrics By – Michael Hayworth
Written-By – S. Spence, B. Mosley, D. Stevenson, J. Miller, P. Lewis

SPONTANEOUS STUDIO RECORDINGS, 1968
    
06. Grape Jam #2   9:18
Bass Guitar [Bass] – Bob Mosley
Drums – Don Stevenson
Guitar – Jerry Miller
Piano – Skip Spence
Written-By – S. Spence, B. Mosley, D. Stevenson, J. Miller, P. Lewis
07. Grape Jam #9   9:10
Bass Guitar [Bass] – Bob Mosley
Drums – Don Stevenson
Guitar – Jerry Miller
Piano – Joey Scott
Written-By – B. Mosley, D. Stevenson, J. Miller, J. Scott
08. Bags' O Groove   13:21
Alto Saxophone [Alto Sax] – Fred Lipsius
Bass Guitar [Bass] – Bob Mosley
Drums – David Rubinson
Guitar – Jerry Miller
Piano – Al Kooper
Trumpet – Jerry Weiss, Randy Brecker
Written-By – M. Jackson   

MP3 @ 320 Size: 161 MB
Flac  Size: 347 MB

MOBY GRAPE - WOW 1968

                                                       

Between the time that Moby Grape released their brilliant self-titled debut and when their second album Wow appeared in 1968, a little thing called Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band happened, and for the next few years it was no longer enough for a band with some claim to importance to just play rock

& roll, even if they approached it with the freshness and imagination Moby Grape displayed on their first LP. Bowing to the pervading influences of the day, Wow is a far more ambitious album than Moby Grape, trading in the latter's energetic simplicity for an expansive production complete with strings, horns, and lots of willful eccentricity, best typified by the helium-treated vocals on the hillbilly pastiche "Funky Tunk" and "Just Like Gene Autry: A Foxtrot," a woozy '60s dance band number complete with introduction from Arthur Godfrey (the band went so far as to master the tune at 78 rpm on the original vinyl edition).
                                                      

While at first glance Wow pales in comparison to the instant classic Moby Grape, repeated listening reveals this album has plenty of strengths despite the excess gingerbread; the horn-driven boogie of "Can't Be So Bad" swings hard, "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" is a tough and funky blues number, "He," "Rose Colored Eyes," and "Bitter Wind" are lovely folk-rock tunes with shimmering

harmonies (even if the latter is marred by a pretentious noise collage at the close), and "Motorcycle Irene" is a witty tribute to a hard-livin' biker mama. Wow lacks the rev-it-up spirit of Moby Grape's masterpiece, but Peter Lewis, Jerry Miller, and Skip Spence's guitar work is just as impressive and richly layered, and the group's harmonies and songwriting chops are still in solid shape. While the unobtrusive production on Moby Grape showcased the group's many virtues, those attributes are visible on Wow despite the layers of studio excess, which sapped the momentum and charm of this band without snuffing them out altogether.
by Mark Deming
                                                       

Moby Grape – Wow
Label: Sundazed Music – SC 11191
Format:    CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Stereo
Country: US
Released: Nov 6, 2007
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock

TRACKS

                                         

01. The Place And The Time  (Written-By – D. Stevenson, J. Miller)   2:07
02. Murder In My Heart For The Judge  (Written-By – D. Stevenson, J. Miller)   2:58
03. Bitter Wind  (Written-By – B. Mosley)  3:09
04. Can't Be So Bad  (Written-By – D. Stevenson, J. Miller)  3:41
05. Just Like Gene Autry: A Foxtrot  (Written-By – S. Spence)   3:05
06. He  (Written-By – P. Lewis)   3:36
07. Motorcycle Irene  (Written-By – S. Spence)   2:23
08. Three-Four  (Written-By – B. Mosley)   5:01
09. Funky-Tunk  (Written-By – S. Spence, J. Miller)   2:11
10. Rose Colored Eyes  (Written-By – B. Mosley)   4:00
11. Miller's Blues  (Written-By – B. Mosley, J. Miller)   5:22
12. Naked, If I Want To  (Written-By – J. Miller)   0:52

Extra Tracks: Studio Recordings, 1967 - 1968 

   
13. The Place And The Time (Demo Rec.)  (Written-By – D. Stevenson, J. Miller)   2:27
14. Stop (Demo Rec.)  (Written-By – P. Lewis)   2:24
15. Loosely Remembered  (Written-By – B. Mosley)   3:27
16. Miller's Blues (Alternative)  (Written-By – B. Mosley, J. Miller)   5:23
17. What's To Choose  (Written-By – P. Lewis)  2:03
18. Seeing  (Written-By – S. Spence)   5:11

MP3 @ 320 Size: 138 MB
Flac  Size: 319 MB

Wooden Shjips: Wooden Shjips 2007 + Dos 2009 + West 2011

 

Wooden Shjips (pronounced "ships") is an American experimental and psychedelic rock band from San Francisco, California.
                                                                       

The project has released one EP and seven albums. Guitarist Ripley Johnson also plays in two side

projects, including Moon Duo, formed in 2009 with Sanae Yamada. The group played at the 2010 All Tomorrow's Parties music festival in Monticello, New York in September 2010 at the request of film director Jim Jarmusch. Johnson has also released solo music under the name Rose City Band. They are signed to Thrill Jockey records.

                                                       

Their sound has been described as experimental, minimalist, drone rock, and "spacey psychedelic

rock". They have been compared to Suicide, Spacemen 3, Loop, The Velvet Underground, The Doors, Soft Machine, Guru Guru, The Black Angels and many more.
                                                

STUDIO ALBUMS

Wooden Shjips (2007)
Dos (2009)
West (2011)
Back to Land (2013)
V. (2018)


WOODEN SHJIPS - WOODEN SHJIPS  2007

                                                              

The Wooden Shjips, Ripley Johnson, guitar and vocals; Dusty Jermier, bass; Omar Ahsanuddin, drums, and Nash Whalen, organ, play minimal, droning, garage band-meets-Krautrock psychedelia full of long

instrumental passages and pounding, primitive rhythms. Often, tunes are based on two or three notes that are cycled into an hypnotic pulse. The short, five tracks, 35 minutes, album alternates between focused song-like pieces and long, free-flowing jams recorded on the fly in the studio. "We Ask You to Ride" grabs you right out of the box with its Zombies-like beat, think "She's Not There," and a spooky organ that floats out of the speakers like the ghost of garage bands past before Johnson's screaming guitar attacks your ears like a dentist's drill hitting a raw nerve.
                                                       

The echoes of Johnson's whispered vocals drop brooding Jim Morrison-like images into the mix before Whalen's organ takes the tune home with a short minimal solo. Listening through headphones, you can hear the music spinning though space and time, bouncing from ear to ear, just like it did on the

psychedelic discs of yesteryear. "Losin' Time" is a noisy track dominated by grinding guitar, garbled vocals, and a minimal rhythm. Another shrieking solo from Johnson is the only thing that breaks the monotony. "Lucy's Ride" lightens things up, the pulse is still minimal, and the vocals unintelligible, but here Johnson's guitar takes flight with a long, spacy solo that spins lightly out into interstellar space, drowning in its own echoing overtones. As expected, "Blue Sky Bands" is a slow blues jam, with more universe-spanning guitar work, and garbled hootchie-cootchie vocals.
                                        

The track concludes with another howling, feedback-laden excursion from Johnson. "Shine Like Suns"

is the slowest track, a free-form noise fest that unspools slowly, with guitar, keys, and those echoing vocals all struggling to break free of the murky mix. Your appetite for this kind of jamming will probably have a lot to do with your age, knowledge of musical history, and tolerance for self-indulgence.

                                                                

Wooden Shjips – Wooden Shjips
Label: Holy Mountain – 011235813
Format:    CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 2007
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock

TRACKS

                                                 

01. We Ask You To Ride    4:53
02. Losin' Time    4:18
03. Lucy's Ride    6:11
04. Blue Sky Bends    7:43
05. Shine Like Suns    10:18

MP3 @ 320 Size: 79 MB
Flac  Size: 201 MB

WOODEN SHJIPS - DOS  2009

                                                

Since 2006, San Francisco’s Wooden Shjips have always worn their influences on their sleeve while

combining them in new and different ways with each recording. While the first 10" was a slippery and raw garage workout with psychedelic overtones, their self-titled debut on Holy Mountain from 2007 was drenched in sounds that somehow combined the darker sounds of the Doors, droning keyboard darkness, echo-laden and downright spooky vocals, and the feedback control and trippiness of Spacemen 3 via the guitar work of Ripley Johnson.
                                                   

On Dos’ five tracks, most of the same elements are here, but they added still more influences, and this time far more aggressive ones such as the Stooges, Loop, the Telescopes, and Suicide.
                                  

Wooden Shjips – Dos
Label: Holy Mountain – 144233377
Format:    CD, Album
Country: US
Released: Apr 6, 2009
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock

TRACKS

                                                         

01. Motorbike    4:51
02. For So Long    4:44
03. Down By The Sea    10:54
04. Aquarian Time    6:28
05. Fallin'    11:28

MP3 @ 320 Size: 91 MB
Flac  Size: 224 MB

WOODEN SHJIPS - WEST  2011

                                                        

After two albums and ten EPS, singles, etc., it's fair to ask if we really need another Wooden

Shjips record. The short answer is yes. Bandleader/guitarist Ripley Johnson and his mates have used the D.I.Y. approach for everything Wooden Shjips has released, until now. On their Thrill Jockey debut, engineer Phil Manley (who handled the recording and mixing chores for Johnson's side project Moon Duo's latest album Mazes) was brought in, making this the first WS record to be cut in a proper studio. Mastering was farmed out to Sonic Boom and Heba Kadry.
                                

The end result is the most expansive album WS has issued, and despite the addition of outside

mechanical personnel, it is still full of the fuzzed-out, murky, and distorted excesses that are the band's trademarks.
                                                       

Wooden Shjips – West
Label: Thrill Jockey – THRILL 279
Format:    CD, Album
Country: UK, Europe & US
Released: 2011
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock

TRACKS

                                        

01. Black Smoke Rise    4:10
02. Crossing    5:13
03. Lazy Bones    3:54
04. Home    6:05
05. Flight    7:08
06. Looking Out    5:57
07. Rising    5:09 

MP3 @ 320 Size: 89 MB
Flac  Size: 291 MB

Strawbs: Grave New World 1972 (Remastered 1998)

 

One of the more unsung British progressive bands of the early 1970s, the Strawbs differed from their more successful compatriots, the Moody Blues, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, principally in that their sound originated in English folk music rather than rock. Their transformation from acoustic bluegrass outfit to progressive folk-rock innovators was an impressive feat, and they hit their stride with gems like 1972's Grave New World and its follow-up Bursting at the Seams.
                                                                            

As the '70s wore on, the Strawbs' career began to falter with ongoing lineup and label changes marring

their progress. They survived a breakup at the end of the decade and went on to enjoy a robust revival period in the mid-'80s that, while not quite up to the level of their peak years, helped carry them and their fans into the 21st century. The Strawbs of the 2000s were particularly prolific, delivering an array of studio albums including highlights like 2005's Painted Sky and 2009's The Broken Hearted Bride. Over the years, the group have managed to remain stylistically adventurous even on late-period outings like 2021's Settlement, released over 50 years after their debut.
                                                       

Grave New World is the fourth studio album by English band Strawbs, their fifth overall. It was the first album to be released after the departure of Rick Wakeman, who was replaced by Blue Weaver, late of Amen Corner.
Fulfillment! Singer/songwriter Dave Cousins finds a space somewhere between Bob Dylan and John

Bunyan, Hudson and Ford come up with some superb hooks, and the electric sound is powerful and majestic. The music is serious, perhaps too much so, bracing, and sincere. Reissued on CD in 1998 in remastered form, the band sounds really loud and close, so you can practically feel the room ambience of the studio.
                                                                        

Cousins' electric guitar in "The Flower and the Young Man" crunches right in your ear, and his acoustic fills the room in "On Growing Older," with new notes and two extra tracks. Of the latter, "Here It Comes" (recorded before this album) is bouncy and pleasant enough, even if it doesn't fit the mood of most of the original album, and the previously unissued "I'm Going Home" is one of the best hard rock sides the group ever recorded, a piece of '70s rock & roll in the manner of Badfinger's "Rock of Ages" and T. Rex's "Get It On," which it resembles.
                                                                 

Strawbs – Grave New World
Label: A&M Records – 540 934-2
Series: A&M Re Master Pieces
Format:    CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered 1998
Country: UK   
Released: 1972   
Genre: Rock
Style: Folk Rock, Prog Rock

TRACKS

                                                            

01. Benedictus   4:24
Engineer [Re-mixed] – Strawbs
Producer – Tony Visconti
Vocals – Trevor Lucas
Written-By – David Cousins
02. Hey, Little Man... Thursday's Child   1:06
Written-By – David Cousins
03. Queen Of Dreams   5:32
Written-By – David Cousins
04. Heavy Disguise   2:53
Written-By – John Ford
05. New World   4:11
Written-By – David Cousins
06. Hey, Little Man... Wednesday's Child   1:06
Written-By – David Cousins
07. The Flower And The Young Man   4:17
Written-By – David Cousins
08. Tomorrow   4:49
Written-By – Blue Weaver, David Cousins, John Ford, Richard Hudson, Tony Hooper
09. On Growing Older   1:56
Written-By – David Cousins
10. Ah Me, Ah My   1:24
Engineer [Re-mixed] – Strawbs
Producer – Gus Dudgeon
Written-By – Tony Hooper
11.  Is It Today, Lord?   3:07
Sitar, Tabla – Richard Hudson
Written-By – Richard Hudson
12. The Journey's End   1:46
Written-By – Blue Weaver, David Cousins

BONUS TRACKS

    
13. Here It Comes   2:42
Written-By – David Cousins
14. I'm Going Home   3:14
Written-By – David Cousins

CREDITS

Bass – John Ford  (tracks: 1, 5, 7, 8, 11)
Drums, backing vocals,  sitar, tablas – Richard Hudson (tracks: 1, 5, 7)
Guitar – Dave Cousins (tracks: 2, 5 to 8, 11), Tony Hooper (tracks: 1, 5, 7, 8)
Harmonium – Blue Weaver (tracks: 7, 11)
Mellotron – Blue Weaver (tracks: 1, 5, 7)
Organ – Blue Weaver (tracks: 1, 7, 8)
Painting [Front Cover] – William Blake
Piano – Blue Weaver (tracks: 1, 8, 12)
Producer – Blue Weaver (tracks: 2 to 9, 11 to 13), David Cousins(tracks: 2 to 9, 11 to 14), John Ford (tracks: 2 to 9, 11 to 13), Richard Hudson (tracks: 2 to 9, 11 to 13), Tony Hooper (tracks: 2 to 9, 11 to 13)
Reissue Producer – Dave Cousins, Mike Gill
Remastered By – Roger Wake
Vocals – Dave Cousins (tracks: 1, 2, 5 to 8, 11, 12), John Ford  (tracks: 1, 4, 7, 11), Richard Hudson (tracks: 1, 7, 11), Tony Hooper (tracks: 1, 5, 7, 10, 11)

NEW WORLD  LYRICS

                                                                   

There's blood in the dust
Where the city's heart beats
The children play games
That they take from the streets
How can you teach when you've so much to learn
May you turn
In your grave
New world.

                

There is hate in your eyes
I have seen it before
Planning destruction
Behind the locked door
Were you the coward who fired the last shot
May you rot
In your grave
New world.

                

There is death in the air
With the lights growing dim
As those who survive
Sing a desperate hymn
Pray that God grants you one final request

 

       

May you rest
In your grave
New world.

MP3 @ 320 Size: 105 MB
Flac  Size: 312 MB