Listen My Friends!
By Moby Grape
| . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
Track listing
- 1 Hey Grandma 2:46
- 2 Mr. Blues 2:01
- 3 8:05 2:22
- 4 Omaha 2:46
- 5 Sitting by the Window 2:46
- 6 Indifference 4:16
- 7 Bitter Wind (Version 1) 2:40
- 8 Murder in My Heart for the Judge 3:00
- 9 Can't Be So Bad 3:27
- 10 He 3:39
- 11 Motorcycle Irene 2:26
- 12 Rose Colored Eyes 4:03
- 13 Sweet Ride (Never Again) 5:57
- 14 Ooh Mama Ooh 2:30
- 15 Ain't That a Shame 2:32
- 16 If You Can't Learn From My Mistakes 2:36
- 17 Going Nowhere 2:05
- 18 Seeing 3:47
- 19 Changes, Circles Spinning 2:27
- 20 Truly Fine Citizen 2:48
- Total length: 60:54
Rate/Catalog
Catalog
Set listening
Review
To rate, slide your finger across the stars from left to right.
4 Reviews
Praise the Lord for tag sales, flea markets, and garage sales. A couple of weeks ago I came across Listen My Friends! The Best of Moby Grape in a dollar bin. My Moby Grape music had been confined to their original vinyl albums, so this was a good and, better yet, cheap purchase.
Moby Grape was a part of the sixties west coast psychedelic movement. It featured three guitarists, Jerry Miller, Peter Lewis, and former Jefferson Airplane drummer Skip Spence, plus bassist Bob Mosley and drummer Don Stevenson. All three guitarists were capable of playing lead, plus when they combined together, they would produce one of the more unique and creative sounds of the era. They also had four fine voices that would gel in tight and precise harmonies.
Their self-titled debut album was viewed as a classic at the time of its release. It achieved some national success reaching Number 24 on the United States album charts. The problem was the group was over-hyped, which reached a crescendo when their label, Columbia, released five singles at the same time. The only one to chart was “Omaha,” which stalled at Number 88.
They continued their success with their second album, Wow/Grape Jam, which reached Number 20, but problems began shortly after. Spence had a breakdown which reduced the band to four members. Shortly thereafter Bob Mosley joined the Marines, then reducing the group to three. The original five members reunited for an album during 1971, but the band was basically finished. They have reunited off and on over the years, with and without Skip Spence. The four original members of Moby Grape, with Omar Spence substituting for his father, have been performing together since 2007.
Listen My Friends! The Best Of Moby Grape is a nice retrospective of their career. The twenty tracks represent most of what can be considered their best. Tracks such as “Hey Grandma,” “8:05,” “Motorcycle Irene,” “Going Nowhere,” and “Omaha” among others are all nice relics of the psychedelic era. Their ability to fuse blues and folk into a psychedelic mix enabled them to produce some of the best music of the late 1960’s.
The packaging is first-rate with some rare pictures and a couple of interesting essays included. Columbia has also done a good job of cleaning up the sound.
Today Moby Grape has been regulated to the second tier of 1960’s west coast bands along with the likes of the Electric Flag and Country Joe & the Fish, which is good company indeed. Listen My Friends! The Best Of Moby Grape is a fine document of some of the best and underrated music of the psychedelic movement.
Moby Grape was a part of the sixties west coast psychedelic movement. It featured three guitarists, Jerry Miller, Peter Lewis, and former Jefferson Airplane drummer Skip Spence, plus bassist Bob Mosley and drummer Don Stevenson. All three guitarists were capable of playing lead, plus when they combined together, they would produce one of the more unique and creative sounds of the era. They also had four fine voices that would gel in tight and precise harmonies.
Their self-titled debut album was viewed as a classic at the time of its release. It achieved some national success reaching Number 24 on the United States album charts. The problem was the group was over-hyped, which reached a crescendo when their label, Columbia, released five singles at the same time. The only one to chart was “Omaha,” which stalled at Number 88.
They continued their success with their second album, Wow/Grape Jam, which reached Number 20, but problems began shortly after. Spence had a breakdown which reduced the band to four members. Shortly thereafter Bob Mosley joined the Marines, then reducing the group to three. The original five members reunited for an album during 1971, but the band was basically finished. They have reunited off and on over the years, with and without Skip Spence. The four original members of Moby Grape, with Omar Spence substituting for his father, have been performing together since 2007.
Listen My Friends! The Best Of Moby Grape is a nice retrospective of their career. The twenty tracks represent most of what can be considered their best. Tracks such as “Hey Grandma,” “8:05,” “Motorcycle Irene,” “Going Nowhere,” and “Omaha” among others are all nice relics of the psychedelic era. Their ability to fuse blues and folk into a psychedelic mix enabled them to produce some of the best music of the late 1960’s.
The packaging is first-rate with some rare pictures and a couple of interesting essays included. Columbia has also done a good job of cleaning up the sound.
Today Moby Grape has been regulated to the second tier of 1960’s west coast bands along with the likes of the Electric Flag and Country Joe & the Fish, which is good company indeed. Listen My Friends! The Best Of Moby Grape is a fine document of some of the best and underrated music of the psychedelic movement.
Published
ADVERTISEMENT
Although I'm not sold on the somewhat forced "Motorcycle Irene," several of these songs could probably have proudly held their own on the Easy Rider soundtrack alongside Roger McGuinn and Steppenwolf. The Moby Grape sound often did resemble the Byrds (during their brief psychedelic transitional period), and John Kay's outfit (though nothing quite approaching his most intense anthems).
In addition to that, they also tackled what was later to become the more successful style of Blood, Sweat & Tears. Elsewhere, they could conjure up references to anything from Spirit to Iron Butterfly. But although Moby Grape got signed to a big label, they just never struck it big. Looking back, it's understandable that San Francisco probably wasn't quite ready for those artists who were exploring music beyond what was being practiced by the city's Gods at the time. But even a national push can leave a group just shy of getting struck by lightning, such as the previously-mentioned Spirit (who were from a little bit further South).
If you like late 60's California rock, and don't mind a bit of stylistic variety, check 'em out if you're not already familiar. This is a comp that's just about the right size and representation of the group. It's sure easier finding this than trying to track down all of their records.
A strong group that, like so many others at the time, may have made the mistake of not settling on a single style just a bit longer and pursuing it more intensely. That said, there are some weak songs on here that I don't care for at all, and it leaves me wondering if people got an earful of those wrong ones.
In addition to that, they also tackled what was later to become the more successful style of Blood, Sweat & Tears. Elsewhere, they could conjure up references to anything from Spirit to Iron Butterfly. But although Moby Grape got signed to a big label, they just never struck it big. Looking back, it's understandable that San Francisco probably wasn't quite ready for those artists who were exploring music beyond what was being practiced by the city's Gods at the time. But even a national push can leave a group just shy of getting struck by lightning, such as the previously-mentioned Spirit (who were from a little bit further South).
If you like late 60's California rock, and don't mind a bit of stylistic variety, check 'em out if you're not already familiar. This is a comp that's just about the right size and representation of the group. It's sure easier finding this than trying to track down all of their records.
A strong group that, like so many others at the time, may have made the mistake of not settling on a single style just a bit longer and pursuing it more intensely. That said, there are some weak songs on here that I don't care for at all, and it leaves me wondering if people got an earful of those wrong ones.
Published
Listen My Friends! is the way to go for anyone who needs a solid introduction to Moby Grape, the best band you've never heard of. This compilation gathers the best of the band's first five albums (their entire Columbia Records catalog) and also replaces the long-out-of-print 1993 compilation Vintage. While Vintage was more comprehensive, it was two CDs and probably more than a person new to the Grape's music would need.
The first six tracks on _Listen My Friends!_ come from Moby Grape's eponymous first album, which is arguably the band's best. You'll notice that just about any one of these songs could have been a single, which is what makes the Grape's early days so interesting. They were poised, ready, and they had the material to take the world by storm, but it just never happened.
Track 7 is an outtake of the song "Bitter Wind", a different take of which eventually ended up on the Grape's second LP, 1968's Wow. Tracks 8 through 12 are from the _Wow_ album and these are about all the casual fan would need to know about that LP. "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" is the easy highlight, with honorable mention going to "Can't Be So Bad", "He", and "Rose Colored Eyes". Unfortunately, Grape Jam, the companion jam album originally sold as a package with Wow but now sold separately, is not represented here at all.
After the Wow tracks comes "Sweet Ride (Never Again)", a shortened version of which appeared on the soundtrack to the 1968 film _The Sweet Ride_. Tracks 14 through 18 are from Moby Grape '69, an album that receives fierce defense from a lot of fans, but for some reason has never really gotten the run it deserves from critics and more casual fans. Of particular worth are the tracks "If You Can't Learn from My Mistakes" and the hauntingly beautiful "Seeing".
The compilation closes with two tracks from the Grape's final Columbia LP, Truly Fine Citizen. While "Changes, Circles Spinning" and "Truly Fine Citizen" are without a doubt two of the best tracks on that album, it seems unfair to not include one or two of the other hidden gems to be found on that record like "Now I Know High" and "Right Before My Eyes".
Overall, if you're new to the Grape and not sure you want to invest in the albums, this is an absolutely perfect place to start. If you like what you hear, go for the albums.
The first six tracks on _Listen My Friends!_ come from Moby Grape's eponymous first album, which is arguably the band's best. You'll notice that just about any one of these songs could have been a single, which is what makes the Grape's early days so interesting. They were poised, ready, and they had the material to take the world by storm, but it just never happened.
Track 7 is an outtake of the song "Bitter Wind", a different take of which eventually ended up on the Grape's second LP, 1968's Wow. Tracks 8 through 12 are from the _Wow_ album and these are about all the casual fan would need to know about that LP. "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" is the easy highlight, with honorable mention going to "Can't Be So Bad", "He", and "Rose Colored Eyes". Unfortunately, Grape Jam, the companion jam album originally sold as a package with Wow but now sold separately, is not represented here at all.
After the Wow tracks comes "Sweet Ride (Never Again)", a shortened version of which appeared on the soundtrack to the 1968 film _The Sweet Ride_. Tracks 14 through 18 are from Moby Grape '69, an album that receives fierce defense from a lot of fans, but for some reason has never really gotten the run it deserves from critics and more casual fans. Of particular worth are the tracks "If You Can't Learn from My Mistakes" and the hauntingly beautiful "Seeing".
The compilation closes with two tracks from the Grape's final Columbia LP, Truly Fine Citizen. While "Changes, Circles Spinning" and "Truly Fine Citizen" are without a doubt two of the best tracks on that album, it seems unfair to not include one or two of the other hidden gems to be found on that record like "Now I Know High" and "Right Before My Eyes".
Overall, if you're new to the Grape and not sure you want to invest in the albums, this is an absolutely perfect place to start. If you like what you hear, go for the albums.
Published
ADVERTISEMENT
Largely confined to the dustbin of rock history, the San Francisco-based band Moby Grape have long been tagged as one of rock’s more crestfallen contenders for musical glory. Coming on like the Buffalo Springfield’s punkier younger brothers, Moby Grape’s 1967 debut is treasured by psych-rock fans as a high water mark, an abundance of hook-filled rock, soul and country sent into amphetamine-fuelled hyperdrive (unlike their buddies in the Dead or Airplane, these guys craved concision, with only 2 of the debut’s 13 songs clocking in over 3 minutes). But as great as their first record was, common wisdom has held that their subsequent releases stunk to high Valhalla. While this one-disc retrospective does much to rectify the Grape’s reputation as a one-album wonder, there is the unmistakable sense of a band losing its moorings as the disc nears its end.
Kicking off with 6 unimpeachable classics from the debut, things take a quick dive with “Bitter Wind”, a bit of treacly hippiedom that flounders despite the ballsy singing and typically amazing bass playing of Bob Mosley. “Murder in My Heart for the Judge” and “Can’t Be So Bad” (where the band takes a swing at the style of Blood, Sweat & Tears and improves upon it), from the sophomore album Wow, shows the band developing on their strengths, and knowing that these gems will never get played on the oldies stations that they belong on is one of the pains of being a Grape fan.
Skip Spence devotees get two rare finds here, “Motorcycle Irene”, a paean to a biker chick that literally ends with a crash, and “Seeing”, a song that sounds like Spence and the rest of the band going their separate ways. As the last few songs on this peculiarly saddening compilation attest, the band became disillusioned, still playing a far-seeing version of country-rock but without the bite that they or similar bands like the Flying Burrito Brothers were capable of. “Truly Fine Citizen”, the title track of their fifth and final album, closes things out on a high, with Jerry Miller and Don Stephenson somehow channeling the sound and vision of the absent Spence, at least for a glorious 1:48 – they must have given their all, for the silence that follows is deafening.
(Coxsackie’s Sundazed Records will be reissuing the first five Moby Grape albums in October & November of 2007).
Kicking off with 6 unimpeachable classics from the debut, things take a quick dive with “Bitter Wind”, a bit of treacly hippiedom that flounders despite the ballsy singing and typically amazing bass playing of Bob Mosley. “Murder in My Heart for the Judge” and “Can’t Be So Bad” (where the band takes a swing at the style of Blood, Sweat & Tears and improves upon it), from the sophomore album Wow, shows the band developing on their strengths, and knowing that these gems will never get played on the oldies stations that they belong on is one of the pains of being a Grape fan.
Skip Spence devotees get two rare finds here, “Motorcycle Irene”, a paean to a biker chick that literally ends with a crash, and “Seeing”, a song that sounds like Spence and the rest of the band going their separate ways. As the last few songs on this peculiarly saddening compilation attest, the band became disillusioned, still playing a far-seeing version of country-rock but without the bite that they or similar bands like the Flying Burrito Brothers were capable of. “Truly Fine Citizen”, the title track of their fifth and final album, closes things out on a high, with Jerry Miller and Don Stephenson somehow channeling the sound and vision of the absent Spence, at least for a glorious 1:48 – they must have given their all, for the silence that follows is deafening.
(Coxsackie’s Sundazed Records will be reissuing the first five Moby Grape albums in October & November of 2007).
Published
Votes are used to help determine the most interesting content on RYM.
Vote up content that is on-topic, within the rules/guidelines, and will likely stay relevant long-term.
Vote down content which breaks the rules.
Vote up content that is on-topic, within the rules/guidelines, and will likely stay relevant long-term.
Vote down content which breaks the rules.
Catalog
15 Aug 2023
26 Mar 2023
27 Dec 2021
12 Sep 2021
20 Aug 2021
15 Aug 2021
24 Jun 2020
2 Jan 2020
22 Oct 2019
6 Jul 2019
24 Jun 2019
18 May 2019
6 Nov 2018
5 Nov 2018
7 May 2018
- Be respectful! All the community rules apply here.
- Keep your comments focused on the release. Don't post randomness/off-topic comments. Jokes are fine, but don't post tactless/inappropriate ones.
- Don't get in arguments with people here, or start long discussions. Use the boards for extended discussion.
- Don't use this space to complain about the average rating, chart position, genre voting, others' reviews or ratings, or errors on the page.
- Don't comment just to troll/provoke. Likewise, don't respond to trollish comments; just report them and ignore them.
- Any spoilers should be placed in spoiler tags as such: [spoiler](spoiler goes here)[/spoiler]
Note: Unlike reviews, comments are considered temporary and may be deleted/purged without notice.