Slade, covering Moby Grape’s Omaha, recorded for the BBC
(slade was the best-selling band in the UK during the 1970s (who knew? er, well WE did! , and moby grape was the unluckiest band in the history of the world)
Kostas does it again! (does that man ever sleep? 🛏 😏 😂 ) with a profile of Moby Grape
Moby Grape ’69 - Urbanaspirines
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I should like to point out The Rock Machine Turns You On and it was this album that introduced me to a whole gamut of American influences and we bought this first hip compilation for shillings (ask an elder Brit! less than a pound as memory serves) at the time and look how loyal I proved!Bob Dylan was a given from my older brother Steve’s influence and I am not sure if this might be where I first heard Leonard Cohen* but it was certainly where I first found Moby Grape*, Spirit*, Taj Mahal*, Tim Rose, Electric Flag, Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera even Roy Harper I think. Being ever the Amerafile, I remained immensely loyal to most if not quite all of these* Others, like His Bobness, we had already heard; The Zombies, The Byrds (obvs) Simon and Garfunkel all of whom had already toured and struck the British scene. But we loved the exotic nature of these unknowns from magical places like San Francisco and the West Coast!
Far out man!
Around the late sixties there were number of compilation album of bands that we maybe wouldn't have heard in the UK and also cutting edge bands to promote their following over here too. Rock Machine Turns You On (and its sister follow up Rock Machine Loves You - although I didn't get that one for some reason) and 'You Can All Join In' were budget priced and essential listening and especially The Rock Machine Turns You On which was the first bargain priced sampler album. It was released in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, The Netherlands, Germany and a number of other European countries in 1968 as part of an international marketing campaign by Columbia Records, it cost 14/- about half the price of a standard LP then (about 75p). This was how I discovered Moby Grape, Spirit, amongst others. Their eponymous debut remains their signature statement
*One of the best '60s San Francisco bands, Moby Grape, were also one of the most versatile. Although they are most often identified with the psychedelic scene, their specialty was combining all sorts of
roots music -- folk, blues, country, and classic rock & roll -- with some Summer of Love vibes and multi-layered, triple-guitar arrangements. All of those elements only truly coalesced for their 1967 debut LP. Although subsequent albums had more good moments than many listeners are aware of, a combination of personal problems and bad management effectively killed off the group by the end of the '60s. The album discussed here was rmematered and rereleased in 2007
Moby Grape 1967 - Urbanaspirines
