Electric Music for the Mind and Body

by Country Joe & the Fish

Overview

Their full-length debut is their most joyous and cohesive statement and one of the most important and enduring documents of the psychedelic era, the band's swirl of distorted guitar and organ at its most inventive. In contrast to Jefferson Airplane, who were at their best working within conventional song structures, and the Grateful Dead, who hadn't quite yet figured out how to transpose their music to the recording studio, Country Joe & the Fish delivered a fully formed, uncompromising, and yet utterly accessible -- in fact, often delightfully witty -- body of psychedelic music the first time out. Ranging in mood from good-timey to downright apocalyptic, it embraced all of the facets of the band's music, which were startling in their diversity: soaring guitar and keyboard excursions ("Flying High," "Section 43," "Bass Strings," "The Masked Marauder"), the group's folk roots ("Sad and Lonely Times"), McDonald's personal ode to Grace Slick ("Grace"), and their in-your-face politics ("Superbird"). Hardly any band since the Beatles had ever come up with such a perfect and perfectly bold introduction to who and what they were, and the results -- given the prodigious talents and wide-ranging orientation of this group -- might've scared off most major record labels. Additionally, this is one of the best-performed records of its period, most of it so bracing and exciting that one gets some of the intensity of a live performance. The CD reissue also has the virtue of being one of the best analog-to-digital transfers ever issued on one of Vanguard Records' classic albums, with startlingly vivid stereo separation and a close, intimate sound. ~ Richie Unterberger & Bruce Eder

Product Details

Release Date:	02/02/2018
Label:	Craft Recordings
UPC:	0888072030176
Rank:	51914

Tracks

1. Flying High
2. Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine
3. Death Sound
4. Porpoise Mouth
5. Section 43
6. Superbird
7. Sad and Lonely Times
8. Love
9. Bass Strings
10. The Masked Marauder
11. Grace

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Country Joe & the Fish   Primary Artist
Country Joe McDonald   Bells,Guitar,Vocals,Harmonica,Tambourine,Lead Guitar,Guitar (Rhythm)
Bruce Barthol   Bass,Fuzz Bass,Harmonica
David Bennett Cohen   Organ,Guitar,Keyboards,Lead Guitar,Guitar (Rhythm)
David Cohen   Drums,Organ,Guitar,Guitar (Rhythm),Lead,Organ,Guitar,Guitar (Rhythm)
Gary "Chicken" Hirsh   Drums
Barry Melton   Bass,Lead,Guitar,Rhythm,Vocals,Lead Guitar,Lead Vocals,Guitar (Rhythm)
Joe McDonald   Bells,Guitar,Rhythm,Vocals,Soloist,Recorder,Harmonica,Tambourine,Guitar (Rhythm)
Chicken Hirsh   Drums

Technical Credits

Country Joe McDonald   Composer
Samuel Charters   Producer
Al Nichol   Composer
Bruce Barthol   Composer,Lyricist
David Bennett Cohen   Composer
David Cohen   Composer,Lyricist,Composer
Gary "Chicken" Hirsh   Sounds,Composer,Lyricist
Barry Melton   Composer,Lyricist
Joe McDonald   Composer,Lyricist
John Francis Gunning   Composer,Lyricist
David Chen   Composer
Chicken Hirsh   Composer
John Gunning   Composer