MOBY GRAPE! - 1967 - Urbanaspirines

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

* Rock Machine Turns You On track listing CBS 1968 

Side 1[edit]

1. "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" - Bob Dylan - from the LP John Wesley Harding
2. "Can't Be So Bad" - Moby Grape - from the LP Wow
3. "Fresh Garbage" - Spirit - from the LP Spirit
4. "I Won't Leave My Wooden Wife For You, Sugar" - The United States of America - from the LP The United States of America
5. "Time of the Season" - The Zombies – from the LP Odessey and Oracle
6. "Turn on a Friend" – The Peanut Butter Conspiracy – from the LP The Great Conspiracy
7. "Sisters of Mercy" – Leonard Cohen – from the LP The Songs of Leonard Cohen

Side 2[edit]

1. "My Days Are Numbered" – Blood, Sweat and Tears – from the LP Child Is Father to the Man
2. "Dolphins Smile" – The Byrds – from the LP The Notorious Byrd Brothers
3. "Scarborough Fair / Canticle" – Simon and Garfunkel – from the LP Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
4. "Statesboro Blues" – Taj Mahal – from the LP Taj Mahal
5. "Killing Floor" – The Electric Flag – from the LP A Long Time Comin'
6. "Nobody’s Got Any Money In The Summer" – Roy Harper – from the LP Come Out Fighting Ghengis Smith
7. "Come Away Melinda" – Tim Rose – from the LP Tim Rose
8. "Flames" – Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera – from the LP Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera

Side one

1. "A Song for Jeffrey" (Ian Anderson) – Jethro Tull – (Alternative mix, original version from This Was) (ILPS 9085)
2. "Sunshine Help Me" (Gary Wright) – Spooky Tooth – (from It’s All About Spooky Tooth) (ILPS 9080)
3. "I’m a Mover" (Paul Rodgers, Andy Fraser) – Free – (from  Tons of Sobs) (ILPS 9089)
4. "What’s That Sound"^[4] (Stephen Stills) – Art^[5] – (from Supernatural Fairy Tales) (ILP 967)
5. "Pearly Queen" (Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi) – Tramline – (from Moves of Vegetable Centuries) (ILPS 9095)
6. "You Can All Join In" (Dave Mason) – Traffic – (from Traffic) (ILPS 9081T)

Side two

1. "Meet on the Ledge" (Richard Thompson) – Fairport Convention – (from What We Did on Our Holidays) (ILPS 9092)
2. "Rainbow Chaser" (Alex Spyropoulos, Patrick Campbell-Lyons) – Nirvana – (from All of Us) (ILPS 9087)
3. "Dusty" – (Martyn) - John Martyn – (from The Tumbler) (ILPS 9091)
4. "I’ll Go Girl" (Billy Ritchie, Ian Ellis, Harry Hughes) – Clouds – (from Scrapbook) (ILPS 9100)
5. "Somebody Help Me" (Jackie Edwards) – Spencer Davis Group – (from The Best of the Spencer Davis Group) (ILPS 9070)
6. "Gasoline Alley" (Mick Weaver) – Wynder K. Frog – (from Out of the Frying Pan) (ILPS 9082)

Seminal influences upon my taste both . . . . . . . .