What’s purple and swims in the ocean? The answer, of course, is a moby grape. Of such bad jokes are 1960s psychedelic band names are born.
Moby Grape is a psychedelic rock band that formed in the mid-1960s and still exists today. They were always better live than in the studio, and Moby Grape Live is a two-disc release that gathers performances from their late sixties classic period.
Jerry Miller, Skip Spence, and Peter Lewis formed Moby Grape’s three-guitar lineup with bassist Bob Mosley and drummer Don Stevenson in support. They produced a raw psychedelic garage rock sound that belied their tight harmonies, which made the band unique. Many times there was no lead vocalist, but rather a shared approach.
The band’s career was handicapped by poor decisions and health issues that prevented them from achieving their full commercial potential. For example, when their first album came out, their label released five singles all at once, all of which immediately disappeared.
The first seven tracks on this album are taken from a performance at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco. “Rounder,” “Bitter Wind,” “Indifference,” and “Someday” are all a good introduction to their concert style, a wall-of-guitars sound combined with the harmonies. The vocals may not be as tight as in the studio, but they were unique for the psychedelic era.
The gem of this collection is their 1967 set from the Monterey Pop Festival. The set was lost for a number of years and may be their best recorded live performance. It is relaxed and high-powered; “Mr. Blues,” “Sitting By The Window,” and “Sweet Little Angel” all shine.
Most of the rest of this release is from performances in the Netherlands. By then Spence had left the group, which hurt the uniqueness of their approach. The gem of the entire collection is a 17-minute rendition of “Dark Magic” taken from a 1966 Avalon Ballroom appearance, which is a psych guitar classic.
Moby Grape Live is a visit to a bygone era. It is raw and the recordings are not up to modern-day standards. However, it is an accurate look at one of the better, but often overlooked bands of the psychedelic era.
