Country Joe & The Fish - Electric Music For The Mind (1967)

Ένας κλασικός δίσκος. Τι ντεμπούτο όμως συγκροτήματος ε? Ένας δίσκος που εκτιμώ ότι πρέπει να βρίσκεται σε κάθε σοβαρή δισκοθήκη. Κάντε αν είναι δυνατόν μια αναδρομή στο μυαλό σας και σκεφτείτε πόσους τέτοιους δίσκους θυμάστε να κυκλοφόρησαν εκείνη την εποχή ως ξεκίνημα συγκροτήματος, το οποίο όμως να είχε συνέχεια. Εκτιμώ ότι δεν θα θυμηθείτε πολλούς με αυτή την ποιότητα και με αυτό το περιεχόμενο. Δεν του βρίσκω κανένα ψεγάδι (το μόνο ψεγάδι είναι ότι δεν χωρούσε γαμώτο κι άλλα κομμάτια) απολύτως καθώς είναι ένας δίσκος διαχρονικός, ολόφρεσκος που ενδεχομένως θα έπρεπε να φύγει στο διάστημα όπως το Satisfaction, έτσι ώστε οι «εξωγήινοι» να καταλάβουν τι θα πει ψυχεδέλεια (για σκεφτείτε ότι για να χαρακτηρίσουν αυτή τη μουσική έδωσαν μία Ελληνική λέξη. Υπάρχει καμία άλλη λέξη που να χαρακτήρισε κάποιος είδος μουσικής του περασμένου αιώνα? Αυτή τη στιγμή δε θυμάμαι). Ίσως υπερβάλλω με αυτά που γράφω, έτσι ακριβώς όμως τα πιστεύω.
Κάποτε για το HERE WE ARE AGAIN που είχα ανεβάσει, είχα γράψει ότι το αγόρασα από ένα μαγαζάκι στην Φορμίωνος (δίπλα στην Εθνική Τράπεζα), τον Ρυθμό. Από κει αγόρασα και αυτόν πιτσιρικάς, με ότι περίσσευε από το χαρτζιλικάκι που έπαιρνα. Αυτούς τους δίσκους που αγόρασα με στέρηση τους εκτιμώ ιδιαίτερα αφού τους πονάω. Όταν τα χρόνια πέρασαν και είχα την σχετική άνεση να αγοράσω ένα δίσκο ευκολότερα, δεν είχε πλέον την ίδια συναισθηματική αξία. Πιάνω το δίσκο να τον βγάλω φωτογραφία και με θυμάμαι 18 χρονών να τον κρατάω όλο χαρά βγαίνοντας από εκείνο το συνοικιακό μαγαζάκι. Πάνε τα χρόνια, πέρασαν φίλοι μου…πέρασαν και πίσω δε γυρνάνε τα πρόστυχα.

Personnel:
MIKE BEARDSLEE vcls A
COUNTRY JOE MCDONALD gtr, vcls, hmnca A
BARRY MELTON gtr A
CARL SHRAGER perc A
BOB STEELE bs A

ALBUMS:
1(D) ELECTRIC MUSIC FOR THE MIND AND BODY (Vanguard VSD 79244) 1967 39
2(D) I-FEEL-LIKE-I'M-FIXIN'-TO-DIE (Vanguard VSD 79266) 1967 67
3(D) TOGETHER (Vanguard VSD 79277) 1969 23
4(E) HERE WE ARE AGAIN (Vanguard VSD 79299) 1969 48
5(-) GREATEST HITS (Vanguard VSD 6545) 1969 74
6(-) C J FISH (Vanguard VSD 6555) 1970 111
7(-) THE LIFE AND TIMES OF COUNTRY JOE AND THE FISH FROM HAIGHT-ASHBURY TO WOODSTOCK (Vanguard VSD 27/28) 1976 197
8(-) RE-UNION (Fantasy 9530) 1976 -
9(-) THE EARLY YEARS (The Rag Baby EP's) (Rag Baby AMR 3309) 1981
10( ) LIVE! FILLMORE WEST 1969 (Dble) (Vanguard-Comet 139/140) 2000
NB: Of recent interest to collectors will be a European double CD The Vietnam Experience. LPs (1), (2) and (7) have been reissued. (10) includes cameo appearances by Steve Miller and Jerry Garcia. (10) also issued on CD (Vanguard VCD 139) 1996, the double vinyl version listed is an Italian-only issue.
NB: (1) The I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag plus one other track. 'B' side contains two tracks by Pete Krug. Issued in an oversize envelope jacket printed on both sides. (2) Bass Strings plus two other tracks. The first edition was issued in hard carboard PS with group name above and below the front sleeve photo. (3) Bass Strings plus two other tracks. Subsequent editions issued in hard carboard PS with group name entirely above front sleeve photo. (4) Kiss My Ass plus two other tracks. Joe McDonald is backed by Grootna on this EP. Issued in oversize envelope jacket printed on both sides. (2) and (3) are different pressings of the same EP. These EPs were issued on the LP The Early Years in 1981 and reissued on Decal LIK 8 (1987), One Way and Sequel (NEX CD 228) 1992. (2) features Bass Strings, Thing Called Love and Section 43 and can also be heard, along with The Frumious Bandersnatch, Mad River and Notes From The Underground EPs, on one CD, The Berkeley EPs (Big Beat CDWIKD 153) 1995. More recently, Akarma has produced a deluxe LP-size box set containing (1), (2) and (4) in their original packaging plus seven double sided pages of sheet music, lyrics and text (Akarma 2019/3) 2001, also issued as a CD box set.

45s:
1 Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine/Masked Marauder (Vanguard 35052) 1967 95
2 Janis/Janis (Instrumental) (Vanguard 35059) 1967 -
3 Who Am I?/Thursday (PS) (Vanguard 35061) 1967 114
4 Rock And Soul Music Pt1 /Pt2 (Vanguard 35068) 1967 -
5 Here I Go Again/You Drive Me Crazy (Vanguard 35090) 1969 106
6 Janis/I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die-Rag (Vanguard 35112) 1970 -
NB: In the U.K. only the first 45 and 'Here I Go Again/it's So Nice To Have Love' (Vanguard VA3) were issued. Other European releases included: The Fish Cheer + F.U.C.K/Rock and Soul Music (Vanguard 119023) 1969 - a French single with B&W picture of Country Joe at Woodstock with a big "F.U.C.K." written on the sleeve. The French censors were probably unable to read english! Country Joe also had a solo 45 in France: Tiger by the Tail / Friend Lover Woman Wife (Vanguard 119028L) 1970, which was housed in a picture sleeve showing a B&W picture of Country Joe

Country Joe and the Fish were the wittiest, most political and most reflective of the Bay Area 'acid' rock bands. Their radicalism emanated mainly from Country Joe McDonald, who was born of leftist parents in El Monte, California in 1942. His Christian name, Joe, was apparently after Joseph Stalin. Musically, his main influences were country and he wrote his first song I Seen A Rocket in support of a colleague's campaign for student presidency. In 1964 he made The Goodbye Blues (his first recording) with Blair Harriman. His first group was The Berkeley String Quartet. Then, with Barry Melton and Bruce Barthol he played in the 13-strong Instant Action Jug Band. The Rag Baby EPs were the first recordings credited to Country Joe and the Fish. They were released starting in 1965 on the Rag Baby label, Rag Baby was a left wing pamphlet magazine. The group, which was based in Berkeley, eventually developed and recorded their superb debut album Electric Music For The Mind And Body. Written to trip to, this was one of the classic albums of the period and contained a broad range of material. There was Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine, a song of social satire, drug songs like Flying High, Bass Strings and Section 43, a daring political skit Superbird and the closing love song Grace (presumably about Grace Slick of The Jefferson Airplane) was full of acid-inspired lyrics.
Country Joe left The Fish after this album, getting married and recording a solo album. Barry Melton kept the band together either as The Fish or The Incredible Fish and individual band members wrote their own material. The band reformed a few months later as The Country Joe and The Fish Revue. Although nowhere near as good as their first two albums Together, which included the results of their individual enterprise still has some fine moments notably on An Untitled Protest- another anti-Vietnam protest song and The Streets Of Your Town and Bright Suburban Mr and Mrs Clean Machine which were both protests against their own environment. McDonald is still credited as one of the band on the album sleeve and he appeared on some of the tracks. During 1968 these were extensive personnel changes and as a result Here We Are Again was disappointing.
They appeared at the Woodstock Festival on 21-24 August 1969, with a modified line-up, and performed their infamous Fish Cheer, but only McDonald and Melton now remained from their definitive line-up. They also appeared in Michael Wadleigh's full length movie of the festival in 1970. The same line-up recorded their CJ Fish album. After this the band disintegrated. Briefly in the mid-seventies the whole 1967 line-up reformed for a series of live gigs and the disappointing Reunion album.
Barry Melton later recorded an album with Melton, Levy and The Dey Brothers.
David Cohen has a website at: http://www.davidbennettcohen.com
(Vernon Joynson/Stephane Rebeschini/Clark Faville)

Tracks:
"Flying High" (Joe McDonald) – 2:38
"Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine" (McDonald) – 4:21
"Death Sound" (McDonald) – 4:23
"Porpoise Mouth" (McDonald) – 2:48
"Section 43" (McDonald) – 7:23
"Superbird" (McDonald) – 2:04
"Sad and Lonely Times" (McDonald) – 2:23
"Love" (McDonald, Melton, Cohen, Barthol, Gunning, Hirsh) – 2:19
"Bass Strings" (McDonald) – 4:58
"The Masked Marauder" (McDonald) – 3:10
"Grace" (McDonald) – 7:03

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