Moby Grape Live

Living in the Bay area in the late sixties and early seventies, and being into the music scene there were a lot of well known bands but not all were "must see" acts.Moby Grape, Quicksilver Messenger Service and the Flamin' Groovies were.The band that should have been the band of the era, drugs and marketing robbed this amazing group of a greater share of fame than they received.While the compilation,Vintage-Very Best of has a few live cuts, this is all live and the highlight is the long jam, "Dark Magic"So much energy in this CD, it's as close as you can get to having seen them on stage.Skip Spence, the haunted genius behind much of the band's energy can be heard here at his best.Like so many other fine musicians of that brief but exciting time in American rock history, his hard and full throttle life style took him out for many years. His short lived comeback ended with his death from cancer.Having been there when this San Fran scene was in the center of eye of the rock storm, this was one band that everyone wanted to see perform.

73 minutes in length approximately. The mostly mono sound is good,considering the various recording sources,and the age of the tapes,but don't expect crisp,clean sound. "Dark Magic" is not up to the fidelity standards of the other (sometimes muddy) tracks,sounding a bit distant,but it's certainly worthy of inclusion. This release is for those who value the music over sound quality. The cardboard foldout booklet is up to the usual standards of Sundazed Records,with photos and information on the band and recordings. Sundazed has gone the extra distance with heavily embossed lettering on the cover-a nice touch. The disc is snapped in,inside the cardboard holder.By now most listeners of 60's rock music are familiar with the band's first (and best) album,or have at least heard of MOBY GRAPE. Their first album is legendary,and their other original albums all contain some fine music. While the group came out of the psychedelic era (forming in 1966),their blend of rootsy,basic rock/blues/country/and folk music stood out from other bands of the time. And the promise found in their studio albums can be heard on this live release. But it took until now for most listeners to hear,at length,what the band was capable of on stage.This release has several good examples of the take-no-prisoners,triple-guitar sound of Alexander "Skip" Spence,Peter Lewis,and Jerry Miller,and the group's (including Don Stevenson and Bob Mosley) soulful singing style,both individually and collectively. Like their studio albums,this set focuses on the band's concise songwriting and powerful guitar sound. It's interesting that the group's vocal approach is mirrored in their guitar sound. The vocals were built on,and woven in and around each other,as were the guitars,which produced their trademark sharp yet dense sound. Only occasionally would a band member step forward for a solo,vocally or instrumentally. This approach produced the band's trademark,seemingly barely containable,sound. For a good example of the band's visceral,early sound,the tracks from The Monterey Pop Festival (recorded close to the same time as the first album release),heard by only a small crowd that day,shows how tight the band was from it's early beginnings. The combination of soulful group/individual vocals,and their tight,and at times,fiery guitar playing was pretty spectacular. Tracks like "Indifference","Omaha",and "Mr. Blue",from their first album generate a lot of excitement,and are good examples of the band's early live style. All the band members could write,sing,and really play-and this combination set the group apart from others of the era. A bonus are the live recordings of "Looper" and "Rounder"- the different live version of "Rounder",on the album "Truly Fine Citizen" is from 1968,a year later. The B.B. King tune,"Sweet Black Angel",is the group's nod to the blues (and the album's only song not written by the band),and is a good mix of the MOBY GRAPE sound and the blues.One thing many listeners not lucky enough (like me) to have heard the group live,don't know,is that on many (not all) occasions the band would really stretch out on a song with some electrifying,sometimes fierce playing. Skip Spence (who was the drummer on the JEFFERSON AIRPLANE album "Takes Off") was usually the spark that ignited these jams,and his "Dark Magic" (an early crowd favorite) is representative of the band's psychedelic instrumental prowess,with the lyrics representative of the (1966) era. The ebb and flow of the music is also straight out of the late 60's,and it's easy to see why this was a favorite of ballroom crowds for their dancing/tripping delight. Oftentimes this tune was extended even longer than the rendition heard here,and the crowd went wild over the group's combination of instrumental firepower and flowing,laid back groove. A true psychedelic artifact from the era.After Spence's departure from the band (due to drug/mental illness problems) the remaining members carried on,and while the band would never be the same again,the tracks from Danish radio ("Murder In My Heart for the Judge","Omaha","Fall On You" as examples) prove that the group could still produce good music with that MOBY GRAPE sound and feel. Having been lucky enough to have heard both the original band and as a four-piece,this album is a good example of what they did best-playing a synthesis of styles,all with the band's tight vocals and stunning playing.It's a shame the band was dogged by bad management (which still haunts them today) from the beginning,a stupid decision by Columbia Records to release five tracks from the first album as singles-simultaneously,an ill-fated release party/gig,and certain band members being caught with underage girls-all in a short span of time. Combined with Spence's problems (which caused him to leave the band),the group would never be the same. The magic of that first album would never be repeated,except in a few instances on their other albums. But through it all the band was,and still is,one of the best groups to come out of the 60's era. And this live album goes a long way in proving that point. Hopefully the legal problems concerning the re-release of their albums (particularly the first) will be resolved. But in the meantime we have this great live album,which shows what MOBY GRAPE was all about-great rock'n'roll.

Grape at their very best —- if you like moby grape you have to hear this live edition

This live overview of Moby Grape live from late '66-'69 is what you would expect of a quality Sundazed issue. Great packaging, liner notes, and sound, all things considered with the age/limitations of the source tapes.The Avalon tape is on par with other early ballroom recordings done by the Jefferson Airplane or Grateful Dead (well, they didn't have Owsley, so maybe not quite as good). MUCH better than what you hear on the live QMS releases though. I've never been a fan of the Monterey Pop soundboards for any band. They sound flat and lifeless, and with the exception of Country Joe & The Fish and Big Brother, performances of the SF bands weren't particularly good. The Grape sound rushed and under a lot of pressure (they were only permitted to play a four song set while people were still getting settled in their seats), but their energy beams through. The Dutch radio soundstage recordings are decent quality, but not as good as the live tracks on Vintage Grape or the Sundazed reissues of their albums. Performances are good here, especially "I'm Not Willing," but radio shows aren't the most inspiring venues for a band to play at. It's too bad that there aren't more ballroom recordings of the Grape from '66-'67.Is this an essential release? Maybe not. I'm glad to have it though. As other reviewers have mentioned, the band sounds much looser and speedier than they do on their studio albums. But there are enough remarkable performances here to make Moby Grape Live worth the price of admission.

Tout ok, merci.

A bit disappointed by this release - Moby Grape were never able to follow the brilliance of their debut album , their other albums are rather patchy , although I quite like the country rock of Truly fine citizen from 1969.These live recordings from 1966 - 1969 also differ in quality -the first set from 1967 is ok but the sound quality is not so good (especially the vocals) - best of the lot are the four tracks from their Monterey performance and the tracks from a concert in Holland from 1969 - the "bonus" 17- minutes Dark magic" from 1966, is mostly aimless improvisation and the sound quality is poor - more careful editing of the material would have been wiser than releasing everything available - Moby Grape were a good band but not in the same league (especially live) as other West Coast bands like Jefferson Airplane,Quicksilver Messenger Service or Grateful Dead

A l'époque je pouvais passer un Quicksilver, un Airplane et même un Dead les potes étaient toujours contents par contre c'était toujours plus difficile avec le Moby Grape pas assez Psyché, pas de grande envolée et bien voilà cet album est là pour vous prouver le contraire. Moby Grape est bien un groupe de Frisco, Skip Spence est bien un joyeux fou plein de talent et Jerry Miller et un sacré guitariste. Le son est quelquefois un peu brouillon surtout sur les enregistrements de 66. J'aurai aimé que la partie de 1969 ou il me semble il n'y a pas Skip Spence fasse partie d'un album à part avec d'autres morceaux de ce concert.

モビーグレープ大好き、リアルタイムで10代の時から聴いていたデッドボールＪＡと比べても頭抜けていた。ＭＧのライブが聴けるとはいい時代劇になったもんだ。

Super Cd. Habe selten etwas besseres gehört. Kann ich nur weiter empfehlen. Super Sound und es passt alles zusammen.Ciao und weiter so