NEW Moby Grape - Vintage Collected (CD)

Moby Grape | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: PID
• ASIN: B000026G8K
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #135,184 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rich, but imperfect anthology, November 2, 2002

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Vintage - The Very Best Of Moby Grape (Audio CD)

There's a certain ironic consistency in this anthology being a slight misfire. Given the long-string of events that negatively affected the band's commercial fortunes, a perfectly realized retrospective would almost be unfitting. Still, given that the Grape's first three albums are currently only available from the band's former manager (and arch nemesis) Matthew Katz on his Los Angeles-based San Francisco Sound label, and that the debut lists for a ridiculous price (and the reproduction of "Wow/Grape Jam" is incomplete), hunting down a copy of this out-of-print 1993 collection is still your best (and perhaps most morally fulfilling) bet.

Though compilation producer Bob Irwin (who now heads Sundazed records) is an obvious Moby Grape enthusiast (as is David Fricke, who wrote the excellent liner notes), some of his choices for this collection are hard to understand. Of particular consequence is the reproduction of the first album in its entirety (good!), but with bits and pieces of studio chatter inserted here and there (very, very bad). The debut was a beautifully produced and tightly crafted package, and the additions are hugely distracting. The inclusion of original mono single versions is a nice touch, especially given that producer David Rubinson's stereo mixes reproduce poorly in mono.

The selections from the remaining Grape albums leave out a few key tracks, such as "Three-Four" from the "Wow" album, and virtually all of "Truly Fine Citizen" (a contractual obligation recording, but still valued by Grape fans). What's here is excellent, and serves as both a fine introduction and fitting reminder of the Grape's greatness. The demos and live tracks are nice additions to the Grape canon, but they're no substitute for having complete, unenhanced, versions of the albums available. This 2-CD set is out-of-print in the U.S., but can still be found used on Amazon's U.S. site, and new on Amazon's U.K. site ....

4-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Slightly-less-than-perfect Grape anthology, November 20, 1999

By 

Todd M. Pence (Fairfax, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vintage - The Very Best Of Moby Grape (Audio CD)

Moby Grape, a band with a star-crossed history and a short life, nonetheless used their time in the sun to create some memorable and refreshing tunes and albums. A two-disc anthology from the band's first four essential albums was a great idea and seemed to be a surefire formula for success. Unfortunately, the selection and programming of tracks leaves plenty to be desired. While the first three albums are well-represented, the truly fine Truly Fine Citizen has been mostly neglected. Also, one of the finest songs from the Wow album, "Three-Four", has been inexplicably omitted. The space gained in leaving out all this stuff has been filled with a lot of superflous stuff such as alternate and live versions of tracks already on the album, as well as a couple of totally unnecessary "mono" versions of songs from the first album. This gives the collection a patched together feel, making it sound at times like an assemblange of curiousities rather than an album you can put on and just cruise through, which is what Moby Grape albums are supposed to sound like. What the compilers of this collection should have done is put on the complete four albums in their original running order. There would have been enough room to do this on two discs and still have room left over for the bonus studio tracks. I see that this particular collection is no longer availible. Maybe someday someone will release Moby Grape '69 and Truly Fine Citizen on CD and then we'll have all the Grape albums out on CD and can listen to this band the way they were meant to be heard.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The ONLY Grape compilation out there..., August 16, 2001

By 

AudioObscurica (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vintage - The Very Best Of Moby Grape (Audio CD)

...This is the only thorough compilation out there for the Moby Grape - it's been deleted in the US (try [Amazon.com's] UK branch, you can find it there!!) and it's a shame. It has the complete debut LP (with some dialog) and some of the WOW LP (omitting two good tracks "Three-Four" and the more familiar take of "The Place and the Time") although it does add what Matthew Katz' CDs delete (complete version of "Bitter Wind" and "Just Like Gene Autry"). Has all the tracks (sort of, except for a different take of one song) from Moby Grape '69 , but forgets about "Truly Fine Citizen" including just two tracks from it (FIND THIS ALBUM!!!!) and the inclusion of the radio spot for that LP as a hidden track (end of the 2nd CD) is interesting but "Changes Circles Spinning" and "Love Song" should have been included. Also licensing a track or two from "20 Granite Creek" or "Never" from Grape Jam wouldn't have hurt either. All in all, this is possibly the last chance to get all this Moby Grape material in one package, possibly in any package, so get this if you can. The bonus tracks are somewhat entertaining as well...