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C.A.T: Moby Grape

Moby Grape – Moby Grape (1967)
Though they might not have the same name recognition as some of the other groups to come out of the late 60’s San Francisco scene such as The Grateful Dead or Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape’s debut album is probably better than any album either of those groups ever produced. It’s just too bad that the rest of their short-lived career paled in comparison due to tension between band members and bad management.

The album mixes a variety of genres including country, blues, garage rock, and psychedelia. This eclectic sound is probably due to the fact that all five of Moby Grape’s members contributed songs to the album. The album gets off to a rockin’ start with “Hey Grandma”, and never really lets go. There’s a great energy that comes out of the musical interplay between guitarists Jerry Miller, Peter Lewis and Skip Spence on songs like “Omaha”, “Fall on You”, and “Changes”. There’s even a lot going on instrumentally on the slower songs like “8:05” or “Sitting by the Window”, and really every song is consistently solid. The whole band sounds very tight throughout the whole album not to mention the solid harmonies and great songwriting, and not a second is wasted considering the albums brief running time of 32 minutes.
Favorite Tracks: Fall on You, Come in the Morning, Omaha