****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE 2013 2 CD REISSUE ON ACE RECORDS.READ AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS REVIEW FOR INFO ON THE UP-COMING RELEASE OF THE BAND'S SECOND ALBUM.AND IF YOU PURCHASED THE FIRST PRESSING OF THIS SET, WITH THE DEFECTIVE MONO DISC, LOOK UNDER "COMMENTS" FOR A REPLACEMENT FROM ACE."In it's essence, psychedelic music is folk music." Barry Melton."If you want to understand psychedelic music, and you haven't heard "Electric Music For The Mind And Body", then you probably don't know what you're talking about." Joe McDonald."I believe I'll go out to the seashore, let the waves wash my mindOpen up my head now just to see what I can findOh, yes you know I'm gonna see what I can findJust one more trip now, you know I'll stay highAll the time, all the time"-verse from "Bass Strings".And "Bass Strings" is just one example of what you'll find on this album. Check out "Grace" for some more trippy lyrics and some good psychedelic arrangements. This 1967 album gets 5 "stars" for being in the vanguard of the then new true psychedelic movement, plus an atmospheric cover-layout that let you know this was something new and different, and for some great tunes.This reissue has the original stereo mix from 1967, and the original mono mix from the late 60's. I own the original Vanguard Records vinyl album, and the later CD reissue, and there are slight differences in the mix. And to my ears this new reissue sounds better. The stereo mix that we all know from CD reissues is okay, but this original mix is slightly better overall. The equalization is a bit better, the sound is cleaner and more open. Everything sounds just a bit smoother since no compression was used to "beef up" the sound, which has been used in other reissues. I've never heard the original mono mix, so I can't compare them, but I was surprised at just how good the album sounds in mono. It too has a clean, open sound, without that muddy mono sound sometimes found on mono reissues.The discs snap inside a tri-fold cardboard holder, with a slot for the booklet. The 40 page booklet is well worth having. The cover photo is the unused design that was originally going to be on the album cover. The artwork they did use is much more representative of the music and the era. There's a short explanation of the differences in the various mixes of the album. There's 16 pages of notes and interviews with band members on both the album and the era. Also included are many full color poster reproductions from the period, along with a number of period photographs. The rest of the booklet is taken up with track-by-track notes, including the lyrics, and more poster reproductions. All in all, a nice (and fitting) presentation of this great album and band.Simply put-this is the quintessential, late 60's psychedelic album that helped define that whole Bay Area happening that lasted only a short time-actually a few months. 1967 was also the year that the "Death of Hippie" march took place in the Haight-including a "coffin" filled with "hippie stuff". By that time the media had taken over and blown everything out of proportion. So things were changing fast-even for that whole period when change seemed constant-and exciting. And (according to Charles Perry, but I too remember hearing this rumor which began in Berkeley) for a short time Country Joe was seen around Berkeley with a baggie of ground up and roasted banana peels and a pipe-thinking that chemicals in banana peels would get someone high. The band even passed some banana joints out at a concert, thinking that this was a legal high. The band had tried it and thought it did indeed get you high-but they were also ingesting all manner of "substances" at the same time, so they gave the peels the benefit of the doubt. Oh well.Nobody could quite match Joe McDonald's way with lyrics-courtesy of his political background (his father was apparently a victim of the Communist witch hunts) and the beatnik climate in Berkeley in the 60's. And in The Fish he had the perfect band to get his lyrics across. Barry Melton (now a lawyer for the people), guitarist in the band, where "Fish" is said to be related to Mao Tse Tung's Manifesto, was a great guitarist in that Eastern/psychedelic style that was just beginning to be heard more and more in The Bay Area. And with David Cohen the band had a good atmospheric organist, and great second guitarist who (even though it's not known today) was capable of dueling it out on stage with Melton. And "new" drummer "Chicken" Hirsh was a good find for the band. His style fit perfectly with how the band wanted to sound.All in all, this band was representative of what was going on in The Bay Area in the 1960's-the blending of folk/jugband music, protest music, jazz, Eastern music, a bit of humor, and rock 'n' roll-all electrified into one slab of great music and sometimes thoughtful lyrics. Using the term "Electric" in the title was apt-there's no acoustic guitars on the album. While their second album was another good slice of the 60's (and hopefully it will follow as a 2 CD set), nothing quite compares with the initial dosing of their first true album.If you're a fan of this band, you should consider purchasing this great reissue. I know, it's another 2 CD set to put on the shelf, but this time it's worth it. When this album (and to some extent their second album) was let loose on the more innocent portions of the "Leave It To Beaver" generation, it twisted a lot of heads all the way around. This album, along with first albums by The Dead, Steve Miller, Jefferson Airplane, The Youngbloods, Santana, etc. were all part of that burgeoning, exciting scene that lasted, in it's truest form, for only a short time. I was going to college in Palo Alto in the late 60's/early 70's and got to see all the great area bands, along with all the "out of towners" who came to play. And that includes Country Joe & The Fish. They were sometimes a little messy but always seemed to put on a good show with some great music. This set brings a lot of those memories back. But if you couldn't be there, this batch of songs will still give you a good idea of what all the craziness and excitement was about in those unrepeatable times. It may be hard to believe now, but at the time this album was truly wild and wooly/thumb your nose at the establishment/"electric music for the mind and body". It was an exciting breath of fresh air even during those turbulent times.Also check out "The Berkeley Eps" in the "Nuggets From The Golden State" series, on the Big Beat label. It contains three good early tracks from the band ("Bass Strings", "Thing Called Love", "Section 43") along with good music from other Bay Area bands of the time, and is relatively easy to find. And if you can find it at a good price, check out "Collectors Items: The First Three Eps" on the One Way label. It has even more (including the above "Nuggets From..." set) good period songs (plus alternates of "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die") from those radical days in Berkeley where the band came together. If you're interested in hearing examples of more period music besides this 2 CD reissue, you need to hear the three EP set. It features Country Joe alone and with the band, and is a good insight into part of what was going on during those wild, weird, and exciting times.AND LOOK FOR THE SECOND ALBUM by the band in late Sept. this year. My source at Ace says this too will be a 2 CD mono/stereo set, plus a couple of bonus tracks-including an alternate of the title track. The 32 page booklet has notes by Alec Palao, including fresh interviews with band members. Also included is a replica of the "Fish Game" that was included in original copies of the album.
