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Moby Grape Yet another unjustly forgotten 60s group. This is a weird story all around. Skip Spence, a budding singer-songwriter, was recruited by the Jefferson Airplane to play drums (!) in their original lineup. He cut one record with them and quit in mid-1966, at which point he and the Airplane's manager hatched a scheme of forming a new band in the same mold. Like the Airplane, Byrds, and Buffalo Springfield, the new group was to be a harmonizing alliance of singer-songwriters with a fan following of rebellious teenage girls. And like those groups, Moby Grape was to go within just a few months from initial rehearsals to full-blown recording sessions. The plan almost worked: Spence landed four talented songwriters, all from the West Coast and all with extensive gigging credentials. The group's first album was a careful blend of compositions by all five band members. Released within weeks of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band, it was full of trendy pseudo-psychedelic two-minute pop songs. At this point, however, everything fell apart. The record company's efforts to hype the album's release (e.g., foolishly releasing five debut singles at once) were a total flop. The same week, three of the band members were busted for drug possession and (ahem) contributing to the delinquency of minors. The album's cover photo had to be modified when someone noticed that it showed a band member flashing a finger. And so on. Things got worse and worse, with the group falling out with its manager, its performances deteriorating, and Spence consuming enough hallucinogenics to kill a stadium full of Deadheads. In early '68 Spence flipped out completely, running amok with a fire axe and landing in Bellevue for six months (!), which needless to say weakened the group's second album. The Grape cut a third album without him, and later a bizarre country-western fourth album with only three of the original band members, but the spark - and opportunity to cash in on the nation's Summer of Love cultural detour - was gone forever. Nonetheless, Spence cut a solo record in 1969; the other members released their own solo records throughout the 70s, 80s, and 90s; and various combinations of the five founders have regrouped to cut no less than four reunion records, all of them hard to get except by mail order - I've listed them, but omitted most of the solo records. I've only seen the band's first album on CD - the others can be had for a price, I'm told. But there's a good, nationally-released two-disk compilation (Vintage) that includes all the stuff from their regular records you'll want to hear, plus a pile of pretty good bonus tracks. It's also got endless liner notes, which explains why I know way too much about these guys. There used to be a full-blown, non-commerical Moby Grape web site with lyrics, photos, a really good discography, etc., but it has disappeared and I can't find anything comparable to it. (JA) Lineup: Peter Lewis (guitar, vocals); Jerry Miller (lead guitar, some vocals); Bob Mosley (bass, vocals); Skip Spence (guitar, vocals); Don Stevenson (drums). Spence died of multiple medical problems, April 1999. Moby Grape (1967) One of those Holy Grail 60s records that every self-appointed rock critic talks about but nobody actually listens to (see the Zombies' Odessey and Oracle). It's actually worth the trouble, though, rivalling the Airplane's Surrealistic Pillow. The guys prove they can harmonize either on fast-paced rockers with jangly guitars and blistering solos ("Fall On You"; "Omaha") or gentle semi-acoustic ballads ("8:05"; "Someday"; "Sitting By The Window"). But they've got a weakness for smiley-faced country ("Ain't No Use") and utterly unconvincing white-boy soul ("Come In The Morning"), and sometimes their vocals just fall short of the mark, even though the backing tracks are solid ("Hey Grandma"; "Changes"). (JA) Wow (1968) Vintage includes eight of eleven tracks from this, and they're good, but weird, like the folksy, acidified sendup "Murder In My Heart For The Judge," and Spence's bizarre 20's nostalgia piece "Just Like Gene Autry: A Foxtrot." With band members no longer considering attendance at recording sessions to be mandatory, the album is beefed up with R & B horn sections ("Can't Be So Bad") and gratuitous sound effects (the otherwise pleasant ballad "Bitter Wind"; the bopping rocker "Motorcycle Irene"). But it rises occasionally to the riffy, tripped-out harmonizing of the earlier record ("Rose Colored Eyes" and the gorgeously orchestrated "He"). The original LP came with a bonus disk called Grape Jam, which as you might expect is a bunch of studio jams a la disk 3 of All Things Must Pass. (JA) Moby Grape '69 (1969) And Vintage includes ten of eleven tracks from this, even though they're not as good as the previous lot. Because overdubs and effects are minimal, everything comes down to the songwriting and performance of the four remaining band members (Spence had quit) - and they just don't have it. The only complicated production is a wacked out acid rock epic that leaves you banging your head for reasons you can't quite remember - and of course it's a Spence leftover ("Seeing"). Even the nicer ballads ("What's To Choose"; "It's A Beautiful Day Today") and heavier rockers ("Going Nowhere" - quite apt, eh?) sound dated, derivative, and slightly corny. And the band is starting to show a dangerous liking for country-western ("Ain't That A Shame") and brainless, overwrought R & B chug-a-thons ("Trucking Man"; "Hoochie"). (JA) Oar (Spence: 1969) Whatever this sounds like, Skip Spence's one and only solo album must at least be interesting. Spence wrote everything and played all the instruments. All bets are off as to whether it's enjoyable, but I'm looking for it. It did get a CD reissue, including five bonus tracks, but I've never seen it. (JA) Truly Fine Citizen (1969) Mosley had quit to join the Marines (!), and the remaining band members had already thrown in the towel when "contractual obligations" came up, necessitating this toss-off album. Recorded in Nashville with a session bass player, it's apparently a listless country-western effort. The two songs I've heard from it (title track; "Right Before My Eyes") are pathetic, and I seriously doubt this would be worth tracking down even if it was still in print (it isn't). (JA) 20 Granite Creek (1971) The first reunion record, and the only one to feature all five members. Its early date suggests that it might include some innovative music. There are also some outside players who contribute some possibly interesting instrumentation like congas, mandolin, steel drums, and dobro. Spence got in one composition ("Chinese Song"), and the rest is split about equally between Lewis, Miller, and Mosley. This and the next two records can be found on CD, but again are hard to find outside of mail-order firms. (JA) Live Grape (1978) Spence's last appearance on record that I know of, and despite being a live record all the material is new. But the bad news is that Spence contributed only one tune ("Must Be Goin' Now Dear"), and the lineup included only the band's three guitarists - so Miller and Lewis split most of the songwriting, and there are also a couple of covers. I've never heard of the bass and drum players, and the record also features a saxophonist (Cornelius Bumpus) who contributed one song ("Set Me Down Easy"). (JA) Moby Grape (1983) The full lineup minus Spence. Also known as Silver Wheels (one of the song titles), this features a bunch of extra players like a violinist; and in a bizarre twist of fate, original producer Matthew Katz returns despite his bitter falling out with the band in the late 60s. Mosley wrote about half the record, and two tunes were contributed by guesting keyboard player Richard Dean. (JA) Legendary Grape (1989) Again, a reunion recording without Spence. However, he did contribute one composition ("All My Life"). Most of the track listing is split between Miller and Mosley. I have been told that this has been released recently on CD by DIG Music. (JA) You'll probably want to skip off to some more reviews...  Main page   New additions   Pop: 00s  90s 80s 70s 60s 50s  Latin/Jazz   Top 20: DBW JA   E-mail