Moby Grape: Moby Grape' 69 1969 + Truly Fine Citizen 1969 + 20 Granite Creek 1971

 

Moby Grape is an American rock group from the 1960s, known for having all five members contribute

to singing and songwriting and that collectively merged elements of folk music, blues, country, and jazz together with rock and psychedelic music.
                     

Mention the name Moby Grape to a roomful of rock critics, and you'll hear nothing but praise for the 1960s San Francisco rock band. But aside from fans and critics, few people today have ever heard of

Moby Grape. Why? Bad advice, bad breaks and bad behavior are three short reasons. Now that a label is trying to right these wrongs by reissuing the group's first five records, old problems still stand in the way. The name Moby Grape comes from an absurdist punch line: What's big, purple and swims in the ocean? But the band that influenced groups ranging from Led Zeppelin to The Pretenders was no joke. Neither was its 1967 debut, according to Rolling Stone senior editor David Fricke.
                      

"It's one of the few rock 'n' roll albums of any era that you can say, 'That is a perfect debut album.' The songwriting on it is memorable — you take those songs with you wherever you go. The triple-guitar

orchestration... it's not just power chords. Everyone is playing melodies and counter-melodies and rhythms. Very funky, also very country, very punk, very surf. And they were all singers. "When other San Francisco bands were stretching out with long, psychedelic jams, Moby Grape was producing catchy three-minute songs that were composed, played and sung by each member. Moby Grape's drummer, Don Stevenson, calls the songwriting process a "collective consciousness."

MOBY GRAPE - MOBY GRAPE' 69 1969

                         

Moby Grape '69 is the third album by the psychedelic rock band Moby Grape, released on January 30, 1969. It is the first album after the departure of co-founder Skip Spence. Spence nonetheless is heard on

one song, "Seeing", presumably from the Wow/Grape Jam sessions, and positioned as the final song on Moby Grape '69. Moby Grape '69 is concise enough -- most of the songs are under three minutes and the whole thing clocks in at a shade under a half-hour -- and the high points come close to recapturing the electric magic of the group's nearly flawless debut, especially the gritty groove of "Hoochie," the doo wop influenced boogie of "Ooh Mama Ooh," the beatific joy of "It's a Beautiful Day Today," the raucous celebration of one "Trucking Man," and the folk-tinged wisdom of "If You Can't Learn from My Mistakes." However, even though these sessions found guitarists Peter Lewis and Jerry Miller,

bassist Bob Mosley and drummer Don Stevenson playing and singing at the top of their game and writing fine songs, the absence of Skip Spence, who left the band after Wow, robs Moby Grape '69 of a significant share of the energy and drive that was the hallmark of their finest studio work. It's significant that the album's most striking cut, the closer "Seeing," was written by Spence during the Wow sessions; it's a harrowing meditation of madness that may well be Spence's greatest song. Despite the obstacles presented by Spence's absence,

Moby Grape – Moby Grape' 69
Label: Sundazed Music – SC 11193
Format: CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Carded Sleeve - Jewel Case
Country: US
Released: 2007
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic, Classic Rock

TRACKS

                              

  
01. Ooh Mama Ooh   2:26
Written-By – D. Stevenson, J. Miller
02. Ain't That A Shame   2:28
Written-By – D. Stevenson, J. Miller, P. Lewis
03. I Am Not Willing   2:58
Written-By – P. Lewis
04. It's A Beautiful Day Today   3:06
Written-By – B. Mosley
05. Hoochie   4:21
Written-By – B. Mosley
06. Trucking Man   2:00
Written-By – B. Mosley
07. If You Can't Learn From My Mistakes   2:33
Written-By – P. Lewis
08. Captain Nemo   1:43
Written-By – D. Stevenson, J. Miller
09. What's To Choose   1:57
Written-By – P. Lewis
10. Going Nowhere   2:21
Written-By – D. Stevenson, J. Miller
11. Seeing   3:44
Written-By – S. Spence

STUDIO RECORDINGS, 1967 - 1968       

12. Soul Stew   2:16
Written-By – B. Mosley
13. If You Can't Learn From My Mistakes (Demo Rec.)   1:23
Written-By – P. Lewis
14. You Can Do Anything (Demo Rec.)   3:35
Written-By – S. Spence
15. It's A Beautiful Day Today (Demo Rec.)   4:12
Written-By – B. Mosley
16. What's To Choose (Demo Rec.)   3:19
Written-By – P. Lewis
17. Big (Demo Rec.)   2:19
Written-By – D. Stevenson, J. Miller
18. Hoochie (Demo Rec.)   3:18
Written-By – B. Mosley

NOTES

Recorded 1968. Extra tracks recorded 1967-1968.

Tracks 1-11 originally issued as Columbia CS 9696 January 30, 1969.
Tracks 12 to 14, 17 from Columbia/Legacy - Moby Grape Vintage, 1993.
Tracks 13 to 16 previously unissued.

LINE - UP

                             

Peter Lewis - rhythm guitar, vocals
Jerry Miller - lead guitar, vocals
Bob Mosley - bass, vocals
Don Stevenson - drums, vocals
Skip Spence - vocals and unknown instruments (on "Seeing")

MP3 @ 320 Size: 141 MB
Flac  Size: 249 MB

MOBY GRAPE - TRULY FINE CITIZEN 1969

                         

Truly Fine Citizen is the fourth studio album by American rock band Moby Grape. It was released on July 30, 1969, by Columbia Records. After completing the album, the band went on hiatus until 1971 when they reunited with Skip Spence and Bob Mosley to record the reunion album, 20 Granite Creek.
                

Moby Grape – Truly Fine Citizen
Label: Sundazed Music – SC 11194, Sundazed Music – A 713836
Format:    CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Carded Sleeve - Jewel Case
Country: US
Released: 2007
Genre: Rock, Blues
Style: Country Rock, Psychedelic Rock & Country

TRACKS

                                 

01. Changes, Circles Spinning   2:27
Written-By – P. Lewis
02. Looper    3:02
Written-By – P. Lewis
03. Truly Fine Citizen   1:47
Written-By – T. Dell'Ara
04. Beautiful Is Beautiful   2:29
Written-By – T. Dell'Ara
05. Love Song   2:22
Written-By – T. Dell'Ara
06. Right Before My Eyes   2:02
Written-By – P. Lewis
07. Open Up Your Heart   2:36
Written-By – T. Dell'Ara
08. Now I Know High   6:10
Written-By – P. Lewis
09. Treat Me Bad   2:17
Written-By – T. Dell'Ara
10. Tongue-Tied   2:01
Written-By – S. Spence, J. Miller
11. Love Song, Part Two   2:41
Written-By – T. Dell'Ara

Extra Tracks: Live & Studio Recordings, 1967 - 1968

    
12. Rounder (Live)   2:02
Written-By – S. Spence
13. Miller's Blues (Live)   6:06
Written-By – B. Mosley, J. Miller
14. Changes (Live)  4:17
Written-By – D. Stevenson, J. Miller
15. Skip's Song ("Seeing" Demo Rec.)   3:26
Written-By – S. Spence
16. Looper (Demo Rec.)   2:06
Written-By – P. Lewis
17. Soul Stew (Instrumental)   2:18
Written-By – B. Mosley
18. Cockatoo Blues ("Tongue-Tied" Demo Rec.)   3:41
Written-By – S. Spence, J. Miller

NOTES

Recorded 1967-1969.

Tracks 1 to 11 originally issued as Columbia CS 9912 July 30, 1969.
Tracks 12 to 15 from Columbia/Legacy - Moby Grape Vintage, 1993.
Tracks 16 to 18 previously unissued

LINE - UP

                      

Peter Lewis - rhythm guitar, vocals
Jerry Miller - lead guitar, vocals
Don Stevenson - drums, vocals
Bob Moore - bass

MP3 @ 320 Size: 157 MB
Flac  Size: 340 MB

MOBY GRAPE - 20 GRANITE CREEK 1971

                     

20 Granite Creek is the rock band Moby Grape's fifth album. After recording their last album for Columbia Records, Truly Fine Citizen, the band went on hiatus until 1971 when they reunited with Skip

Spence and Bob Mosley and recorded this reunion album for Reprise Records; their only album for the label. David Rubinson, who produced most of the band's Columbia albums, was back as producer here, as well as serving as the band's manager. The album title refers to an address near Santa Cruz, CA but there is no record that any band member ever lived there. The rights to this album are now owned by the band after previous manager, Matthew Katz, lost them when the band successfully sued him in 2007.
                         

Moby Grape – 20 Granite Creek
Label: Linea Records – LECD 9.00886 O
Format: CD, Reissue, Album
Country: Germany
Released: Jan 1990
Genre: Rock
Style: Classic Rock

TRACKS

                       

01. Gypsy Wedding   2:22
Written By – Bob Mosley
02. I'm The Kind Of Man That Baby You Can Trust   3:33
Written By – Jerry Miller
03. About Time   2:52
Written By – Don Stevenson
04. Goin' Down To Texas   2:00
Written By – Peter Lewis
05. Road To The Sun   2:46
Written By – Bob Mosley
06. Apocolypse   2:07
Written By – Peter Lewis
07. Chinese Song   5:44
Written By – Alex Spence
08. Roundhouse Blues   2:43
Written By – Jerry Miller
09. Ode To The Man At The End Of The Bar   3:40
Written By – Carl Andrew Tyler Mosley
10. Wild Oats Moan   3:02
Written By – Don Stevenson, Jerry Miller
11. Horse Out In The Rain   2:16
Written By – Peter Lewis

NOTES

Mosley is credited as James R. Mosley, and Spence is credited as Alex Spence.
This release, as with most Moby Grape releases not on San Francisco Sound, only briefly escaped amid litigation arising from a former manager of the band. This was the second and final of four Moby Grape titles slated for reissue by Line. "'69" and "Truly Fine Citizen", which were due in 1991, were advertised but never issued. Matthew Katz later released an unauthorized version of "20 Granite Creek" on San Francisco Sound.

LINE - UP

                        

Peter Lewis - rhythm guitar, vocals
Jerry Miller - lead guitar, vocals
Bob Mosley - bass; drums (track #9); vocals
Skip Spence - rhythm guitar; koto; vocals
Don Stevenson - drums; electric guitar (#3); vocals
Gordon Stevens - electric viola, dobro, mandolin

Additional personnel

                    
Jeffrey Cohen - bass (#9)
Andy Narell - steel drums
David Rubinson - electric piano, congas

MP3 @ 320 Size: 87 MB
Flac  Size: 196 MB

MOBBY GRAPE Albums on Urban Aspirines HERE