Country Joe and the Fish went through a personnel change for their fifth album,
CJ Fish, adding
Greg Dewey,
Doug Metzner, and
Mark Kapner in place of
David Cohen and
"Chicken" Hirsh. They retained, however, their primary composers
Barry Melton and
Country Joe MacDonald, keeping the sound and style of the original band.
CJ Fish is not as strong as their other albums, but it does have a few highlights. The content is typical
Country Joe and the Fish: more love, less war, and the tunes are only a little fresher than the ideas. On their previous release
Here We Are Again, they experimented with various styles. On
CJ Fish, they tried to recapture the sound of their previous success, but they "went back to the well" only to find there wasn't much there. Most of the lyrics are thoughtful and bright; many are in rhyme as many of that time were. The overall timbre is interesting, being both joyful and sobering at the same time. Some bright spots in the material are
"Hey Bobby," "She's a Bird," and
"Hang On," which are delightfully
Country Joe. Overall it's not a bad album and no
Country Joe and the Fish collection is complete without it. ~ Brandon Budenz
