Moby Grape, the legendary first album

I think we mean that gruff Bob Mosely "white guy with long hair and a moustache" vocal sound (which I generally don't dig, except John Fogerty). (Not exclusively West Coast, and you don't actually have to grow a moustache, just sound like someone who would, and not a nice Paul McCartney moustache either but one of those droopy hippie versions that illustrators would draw on generic rock musicians when they wanted to indicate "grooviness is present".)

 

I have to believe the answer would be "Omaha," as that was the album's highest-charting single. (That's the "Listen, my friends" song, for the not-so-familiar with Moby Grape. )

 

Thanks for the link. Not seen that footage before. Skippy really was quite an engaging performer.

 

Yeah, but it doesn't sound like the stuff I'm talking about.

 

Yeah, it's that forced sounding white soul voice plus a wall of tight harmonies where you get to thinking that there's just too many people singing. And all too loudly. Step it back a tad.

 

An almost perfect album.

Once I made a 40' compilation of the rest of their albums and it wasn't nearly as good as the debut.

 

Yeah definitely Omaha, with 8.05 as the B side...

 

Kind of like Jefferson Airplane? I much prefer Moby Grape personally.

 

That’s a good one, showing two sides of the band.

 

Jefferson Airplane would be on my list of offenders. Not that I'm particularly offended. I still like them and I quite like Moby Grape. Just not very keen on the vocal sound. That's all. Can I go now?

 

... with a dirty finger.

I get it!

 

That stray digit may have been their downfall. Columbia might not have enjoyed the gesture.

 

I've got the 2007 Columbia Legacy comp Listen My Friends, remastered by Bob Irwin.



01. Hey Grandma
02. Mr. Blues
03. 805
04. Omaha
05. Sitting by the Window
06. Indifference
07. Bitter Wind (version one - 2:41)
08. Murder in My Heart for the Judge
09. Can't Be So Bad
10. He
11. Motorcycle Irene
12. Rose Colored Eyes
13. Sweet Ride (Never Again) (long version - 5:57)
14. Ooh Mama Ooh
15. Ain't That a Shame
16. If You Can't Learn from My Mistakes
17. Going Nowhere
18. Seeing
19. Changes, Circles Spinning
20. Truly Fine Citizen

 

I would have gone with "Omaha" and "Hey Grandma". A double a-side so to speak.

 

Tells me enough, thanks, not looking to define your taste, just get some idea...

 

That would've been a killer single. Grandma is my fave. The Move covered it.

 

The Columbia Records move smacked of hype and it did cause some backlash with the cognoscenti of the period who thus perceived The Grape as not so hip (at least as they?!?).

 

Too bad Don's microphone appears to be off because it's supposed to be Don and Skip singing togetherk, as on the studio track.

 

Besides the Murder in my Heart riff they also got the idea for the "Stop Hey what's that sound" part from Peter's song "Stop."

 

As it was, “Omaha” (b/w “Someday”) charted only #88 on the Billboard Hot 100.

 

With five singles competing for airplay none became a hit. I think the record company seriously thought all five singles would break the top twenty, and were inspired by the Beatles having five singles in the top ten, but that was more due to mass Beatles hysteria at the time and the Beatles being a social as well as musical phenomenon. Moby Grape were unknowns, they needed an initial hit to "break" them.

 

What is the go to LP reissue of MG first LP?

 

For mono the Sundazed. It actually sounds better than the original Columbia which was not a great pressing and is pretty noisy.

Not sure about the stereo.

 

Sundazed reissued the lp in 2007 (now out of print), but some prefer the UK Edsel mono lp reissued in 1984. Original US Columbia pressings in stereo and mono aren’t that hard to find, though.