Customer Reviews

NEW Moby Grape - Vintage Collected (CD)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

...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...

Having been a Grape fan for years I was afraid this album would be a collection of odds and ends that didn't make sense but I was very surprised. The album includes just about every one of the "must have" songs but some other gems as well. In one sense, the Grapes first album was such a precision masterpiece that it seems redundant to repeat those songs here -- because you must buy the first album in its released form. On this album, I found the inclusion of inane chatter before some of the first album classics VERY annoying -- what information did that impart? Nothing. And it ruined the intro of some fine songs. Of the unreleased songs, "Rounder" was clearly destined to be a classic but was never released - a shame. Skip's "Seeing" is a haunting classic in many ways superior to the slightly overwrought version later released. "You can do Anything" is another unrealized Skip classic. "Sweet Ride" shows the band at their unpretentious barroom best and "Place and the Time" is a lost masterpiece. In the end, after listening to all these tunes I had a much stronger sense of the Grape and who they were. You also get a sense that though their first album was a little too tight, too overproduced, their later stuff wasn't tight enough and too underproduced. What we're left with is piecing together what might have been had the band gotten some good breaks. This is one of the great San Fransisco ballroom bands and this album is proof. How great they were may never be fully apparent on CDs but this is probably as close as you'll ever get.

If ever one single band epitomised those zany.crazy and flowery powery 'daze' of '67' the summer of lurve then MOBY GRAPE stand accused.
Their unique blend of contagious garage,r+b ,soul and good 'ol' rock and roll is perfectly captured here on this bumper set along with many unreleased items.GRAPE were many faceted. BYRD
like on SOMEDAY and the lovely SITTING BY THE WINDOW.Soulful on the masterful MURDER IN MY HEART FOR THE JUDGE and CHANGES.Rockin' on HEY GRANDMA' or humourus on NAKED IF I WANT TO.
The GRAPE deserve to be remembered for some truly fine music and can proudly take their place shoulder to shoulder with the BYRDS
QUICKSILVER MS,SPIRIT and AIRPLANE.
Yes it was a very good year.
ps.SKIP SPENCE went on to record OAR an album that sharply divides opinion.Some liken it to the 'second coming' while others proclaim it to be incoherent ramblings from a once great artist.I guess you'll just have to listen for youself.

The San Francisco group "Moby Grape" consisted of 5 talented singer-songwriting musicians who blended rock, soul, country, blues and folk. Their self-titled debut album was stunning and definitely deserves it's classic status.
Unfortunately a few factors worked against the group: the wide diversity of styles set them apart from their contemporaries but probably alienated some listeners; they were also way over-hyped and they had such an odd blend of personalities (particularly the unstable Skip Spence).
It can't be denied that their musical output after the first album was a very mixed bag, but despite the fact that they never got close to matching the quality of the first record every album contains some excellent music. This is why a retrospective like this is the best way to appreciate their music. It's especially good for those new to the group and fans like me who have a bunch of old LP's and have longed for a compilation of their better material.
Thankfully, most of the "good stuff" is here, including the entire debut album, some rarities and a few curiosities. The individual members are well represented: lead guitarist Jerry Miller shines on songs like "Can't Be So Bad" and "Miller's Blues" and he shares the songwriting credit along with drummer Don Stevenson on some of their best songs like "Hey Grandma", "8:05", "Ain't No Use" and "Murder in My Heart For the Judge". (It's also no surprise that many place Miller in the same guitar league as Hendrix, Santana and Bloomfield). Bass player Bob Mosley's soulful voice is dynomite on "Mr. Blues", "Murder In My Heart.." and "Truckin' Man". Peter Lewis(son of the late movie-TV star Loretta Young) is probably the best singer-songwriter in the group and is great on "Ain't That a Shame", "Sittin' By The Window", "Right Before My Eyes" and uses his unique vocal vibrato to good effect on "What's To Choose". Last but not least, creative and slightly unhinged, Skip Spence rocks on the classic "Omaha", does a nice live version of "Changes" and has 2 different versions of his strange "Seeing".
Individually they were all talented, but when they really gelled as a group it would be hard to find a better rhythm section and 3 guitars that blended so well. You then add vocal harmonies that can positively give you the chills and you've got Moby Grape at it's best.
The one thing this CD can't reproduce is the adrenaline rush of seeing the group live; Mosley with his bass hanging down to his knees, Miller all over his hollow bodied electric guitar, the 4 and 5 part harmonies and, although he was never my favorite on record, in concert the whirling dervish Skip Spence always stole the show.

...i expected more.

so what is this> this is a 2-disc package of moby grape's good stuff. everything you need in one place. moby grape was the 60s san francisco psychedelic band you never heard, but it was also arguably the best. buffalo springfield, creedence clearwater (admittedly a far superior band), grateful dead, all of these SF bands went on to attain worldwide fame, and though moby grape should've been neck and neck with them, terrible management, misdirected promotion, and inner turmoil destroyed them before they even had a chance. the debut album, included here in its entirity, is considered one of the greatest albums of the 60s, indeed, one of the greatest debut albums of all time. and it is very good, but i've never been a huge fan of harmonized vocals...i much prefer a single prominent lead singer. nonetheless, this is a near-perfect record. the rest of the stuff is good too, and some of it i like even more, as they eventually drifted away from the harmonies-only approach. if you like the grateful dead and buffalo springfield and crosby stills & nash, you'll like this even more.

Where can you get this. I had to borrow it from the library. There's gotta be a lot of us middle-agers that have great memories attached to these tunes. Please see what you can do to get this one out of the locked vaults.

I really hate having to criticize this compilation, as it's currently the most available Moby Grape thing out there, and the guys who produced it are obviously fellow GrapeHeads. But there's simply no excuse for including the studio patter amongst the debut album tracks; "Moby Grape" is one of the best rock lps ever made, and inserting snippets of screwed-up intros and recording booth chatter is just a complete annoyance, and almost a complete disgrace. (Would "Sgt. Pepper" benefit from putting a few seconds of John and Paul laughing it up after a screwed-up intro between 'Sgt.Pepper' and 'A Day In the Life'? Answer: Obviously not. And yes, "Moby Grape" is just as good as "Sgt. Pepper" in its own way.)

Furthermore - and the casual listener is not likely to know this - a couple of fine songs from the Grape's second album, "Wow", have been ommited from this collection (those two songs are "3/4" and a neat remake of "Naked Like I Want To"). For some bizzare reason, the producers obviously felt those two songs were not as worthy of inclusion as such complete non-essentials like " Like Gene Autry - a Foxtrot" and "Big". I cannot for the life of me figure that out.

Nevertheless, it's impossible not to recommend "Vintage" because the Grape's music is so good. If there ever is a reprinting of this comp, I hope the producers get it right.

The Summer of Love was not easy on all of its revellers, regardless of their innate musical brilliance. Moby Grape definitely got the short end of the stick.

Considering the musicality of such catchy rock numbers as the quick-fingered "Aint No Use" or the resolute "I Am Not Willing," it's stunning their name isn't dropped more frequently with the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, or even Quicksilver Messenger Service. They could rock harder than most of their contemporaries, often were more delicate and concise too, and had the added firepower of 3-part vocal harmonies which put them in a league with the Byrds.

All the right ingredients can be present and still not result in success or acclaim. These are the hits you never heard, and an unfiltered taste of the San Francisco sound in the late sixties.