Moby Grape, the legendary first album

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by classicrockguy, Sep 23, 2022.

  1. classicrockguy

    classicrockguy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Livingston NJ
    What's your opinion?
    I think it's a "grower", meaning that the first listen was good but didn't exactly blow me away, but by the second or third listen I suddenly loved it! Very un-1967, meaning just a great band and very little psych stuff.
    an amazing band, very tight and catchy.
     
  2. lennonfan1

    lennonfan1 Senior Member

    Location:
    baltimore maryland
    I'm one of the few that likes Wow more but the first has loads of charm. Great harmonies, guitars that sound like they're on meth, lotsa fun
     
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  3. Trainspotting

    Trainspotting Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    It's a classic. Surrealistic Pillow is my fave '60s SF album, but Moby Grape is number two.
     
  4. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    Fantastic album, sadly it being out of print for so long due a silly dispute over the cover art has led to it becoming near forgotten.
     
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  5. ssmith3046

    ssmith3046 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arizona desert
    It was a huge influence on Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons. I like it a lot, still play it.
     
  6. Jim Duckworth

    Jim Duckworth I can't lose with the stuff I use.

    Location:
    Memphis TN
    An all time favorite.
     
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  7. Chemguy

    Chemguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Canada
    Great record, even if my copy is short a finger.
     
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  8. Love it. Always have, always will.

    Got a Canadian mono LP with the bird flip
     
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  9. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
    I found an original stereo with the finger back when it wasn't mega expensive. Like it but I don't quite hear it as a five star record the way some seem to. Still, a good album and there is cool stuff on Wow and '69 too.
     
  10. Evethingandnothing

    Evethingandnothing Forum Resident

    Location:
    Devon
    I like the music but not so keen on that generic west coast vocal sound.
     
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  11. I've always loved it. One of the great debuts, fully formed out of the box, 5 songwriters, 5 voices, great harmonies, very tight, nice balance of melody and rock and roll tension. Epitome of San Fran/West Coast sound, heard wafting from many houses the summer of its release.
     
  12. Carl Swanson

    Carl Swanson Senior Member

    Exact opposite, IMO.

    I enjoy the album, been listening to it one way or another since it came out.

    But even with all that, it is indeed a "grower."

    I have the Edsel UK 1989 CD, see no need to "upgrade."

    EDIT: The only nit I have to pick with it is the simultaneous release of 10 of the 13 tracks on singles, amounting IMO to a commercial "bombardment" which blunted the impact of the album.
     
  13. It wasn't generic when it was released in June '67. I guess you may have been listening to its derivatives prior to hearing it?
     
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  14. Evethingandnothing

    Evethingandnothing Forum Resident

    Location:
    Devon
    Maybe. But that doesn't matter much does it? For what it's worth I think that Buffalo Springfield did this sort of thing better.
     
  15. Lol, so you only have room for one West Coast band? (Neil and company also had a tendency to plod a little more than the Grape.)
     
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  16. Evethingandnothing

    Evethingandnothing Forum Resident

    Location:
    Devon
    Lol, indeed. I like quite a few west coast bands from this era. Just not usually ones with that sort of vocal sound. It's just my opinion though. Opinion was asked for.
     
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2022
  17. sharedon

    sharedon Forum Zonophone

    Location:
    Boomer OK
    It’s a stone cold classic.
     
  18. Carl Swanson

    Carl Swanson Senior Member

    One of my favorite vids is MG doing "Hey, Grandma" at Monterey. Skip Spence tears it up.

     
  19. qtrules

    qtrules Forum Resident

    Location:
    canada
    love it. one of my favourites.

    wish it was more widely available!! i want to stream it on apple music.
     
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  20. a customer

    a customer Forum Resident

    Location:
    virginia
    It was average.
    I even bought the album that you had to play at 78 rpms or something.
     
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  21. Robbie California

    Robbie California Forum Resident

    I loved that album when it came out. I played it to death ... maybe that was my problem. For some unknown reason it just doesn't hold up for me now ... maybe it's the "not so great" MG recording. Omaha and 8:05 are my fave tracks and I still get a good vibe from those two whenever I do hear them. I would have loved to have seen them in '67 ... I bet they killed it live.
     
  22. SPF2001

    SPF2001 a must to avoid

    Location:
    St. Petersburg,Fl.
    I "bought" it through the Columbia Record Club when it came out and it remains an
    all-time favorite. Don't have that copy anymore,but I do have a couple of other
    stereo lp's in great shape and the Sundazed cd release.
     
    TimB likes this.
  23. Glenn Christense

    Glenn Christense Foremost Beatles expert... on my block

    I love it.
    In the era before we knew everything about everything, I saw the album in a record store when it was just released , and bought it on a hunch. I knew nothing about the album, but liked the look of it.

    I remember the exact circumstances of listening to it for the first time and I loved it from “Hey Grandma” through “Indifference “. Not a dud song on the album to my ears. I was delighted by my lucky guess.

    I got all their albums through Truly Fine Citizen back in the day on vinyl and got their last CDs including this one before it got shut down, and a couple greatest hits CDs and Oar, so I guess I’m a major fan.
     
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2022
  24. ralphb

    ralphb "First they came for..."

    Location:
    Brooklyn, New York
    Very few albums from that era hold up for me the way this one does, not a bad song in the bunch, they mixed up rock'n'roll, country and ballads like no other band did at the time. No psychedelic meandering, just short sharp songs that were played and sung with guts and heart and soul. Brilliant.
     
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  25. jwoverho

    jwoverho Licensed Drug Dealer

    Location:
    Mobile, AL USA
    A band with talent to burn. Whoever decided to release all those singles at once did the group no favors.

    Strangely, Walgreens used to play 8:05 regularly on our in-store music service. It was a nice change of pace from the usual fare.
     

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