Moby Grape '69

Moby Grape '69
Studio album by Moby Grape
Released	January 30, 1969
Recorded	April 22-November 24, 1968
Genre	Psychedelic rock, country rock, folk rock
Length	29:17
Label	Columbia
Producer	David Rubinson
Moby Grape chronology
Wow/Grape Jam (1968) Moby Grape '69 (1969) Truly Fine Citizen (1969)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	[2]
Rolling Stone	(positive)[3]

Moby Grape '69 is the third album by the psychedelic rock band Moby Grape.

It is the first album after the departure of co-founder Skip Spence. Spence nonetheless is heard on one song, "Seeing", presumably from the Wow/Grape Jam sessions, and positioned as the final song on Moby Grape '69. As Peter Lewis describes the album, "We made Moby Grape '69, in an attempt to rebound from the Wow album, which was over-produced. And it's a cool album. Although we could have rehearsed it a little more, we still believed in it. But I think we were waiting for Skippy to come back, and he never did."^[4]

The album peaked at a disappointing number 113 on the Billboard chart.^[5] While it did not sell well at the time of its release, in a recent (2008) review, it is pointed out that the album would be particularly appreciated by persons who like the music of Poco and The Eagles. For Moby Grape fans at the time, the album was perhaps too country in musical orientation.^[6] In some respects, the album was ahead of its time, predating the more popular first country rock releases by Poco and The Eagles.^[7]

Track listing

Side one

1. "Ooh Mama Ooh" (Jerry Miller, Don Stevenson) – 2:26
2. "Ain't That a Shame" (Jerry Miller, Don Stevenson, Peter Lewis) – 2:28
3. "I Am Not Willing" (Peter Lewis) – 2:58
4. "It's a Beautiful Day Today" (Bob Mosley) – 3:06
5. "Hoochie" (Bob Mosley) – 4:21

Side two

1. "Trucking Man" (Bob Mosley) – 2:00
2. "If You Can't Learn from My Mistakes" (Peter Lewis) – 2:33
3. "Captain Nemo" (Jerry Miller, Don Stevenson) – 1:43
4. "What's to Choose" (Peter Lewis) – 1:57
5. "Going Nowhere" (Jerry Miller, Don Stevenson) – 2:01
6. "Seeing" (Skip Spence) – 3:44

Bonus tracks on 2007 CD edition

1. "Soul Stew" (Bob Mosley) – 2:16
2. "If You Can't Learn from My Mistakes" [Demo] (Peter Lewis) – 1:23
3. "You Can Do Anything" [Demo] (Skip Spence) – 3:35
4. "It's a Beautiful Day Today" [Demo] (Bob Mosley) – 4:12
   • Previously unreleased
5. "What's to Choose" [Demo] (Peter Lewis) – 3:19
   • Previously unreleased
6. "Big" [Demo] (Jerry Miller, Don Stevenson) – 2:19
7. "Hoochie" [Demo] (Bob Mosley) – 3:18
   • Previously unreleased

Personnel

• Peter Lewis - rhythm guitar, vocals
• Jerry Miller - lead guitar, vocals
• Bob Mosley - bass, vocals
• Don Stevenson - drums, vocals
• Skip Spence - vocals and unknown instruments (on "Seeing")

Charts

Album - Billboard

Year	Chart	Position
1969	Pop Albums	113

References

1. Allmusic review
2. Christgau, Robert (October 18, 2007). "Mixed Grapes: Moby Grape". Retrieved February 26, 2015.
3. Dubro, Alec (5 April 1969). "Records". Rolling Stone (San Francisco: Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc.).
4. Interview with Peter Lewis by Jud Cost, 1995. www.sundazed.com
5. For further details, see UAO (pseudonym),Wow: The Moby Grape Story March 30, 2005
6. Review of Moby Grape '69 "An Overdose of Fingal Cocoa" music blog, April 21, 2008.
7. Poco's first album, Pickin' Up the Pieces, was released in May 1969, while the Eagles' self-titled first album was released in June 1972. Moby Grape '69 was also being recorded during similar periods when The Byrds were recording the landmark Sweetheart of the Rodeo album (recorded March to May 1968). The Byrds' album was completed earlier and as a consequence released six months prior to Moby Grape '69. Sweetheart of the Rodeo, now regarded as a groundbreaking masterpiece, was initially met with similarly mixed public reactions to that associated with Moby Grape '69. Sweetheart of the Rodeo's highest U.S. charting was number 77, and it failed to chart at all in the United Kingdom; see Sweetheart of the Rodeo.