Moby Grape

In June 1967 Moby Grape issued their debut album. It is one of the best albums you've never heard. They were a San Francisco band, usually discussed in conjunction with the Grateful Dead or Jefferson Airplane. If you like "Golden Road" or "Cream Puff War" from the Dead's first album, you'll probably like this one.

Why haven't you heard it?

It's complicated.

The band began when Jefferson Airplane dismissed their manager and drummer, Skip Spence. The pair found Bob Mosley from a San Diego outfit called the Misfits to play bass, Jerry Miller and Don Stevenson from Seatle band, the Frantics, on lead guitar and drums, Peter Lewis, a Hollywood kid and guitarist for the Cornells was recruited and Spence moved over to guitar. All five members sang and wrote.

The band was a hit in San Fransisco and got a good record deal, but then things went wrong.

For starters, 10 of the album's 13 songs were simultaneously issued as the A and B-sides of 5 singles. DJ's apparently didn't know which one to focus on, and only one, "Omaha", charted. The album didn't really catch on.

Early on, the band was supported by their manager, at one point they signed a paper giving him the ownership of the band's name. They spent the next 40 years fighting with him over the name and the royalties they said he owed them. In 1978 they released Live Grape, an album that made no mention of Moby Grape. Eventually, they won the name back and the rights to their royalties. The album was released. Luckily, I picked it up on i-tunes before the manager sued their company, claiming rights to the album's artwork. It was withdrawn.

One can hear some of the songs on Spotify, but not the whole album. They are all available on youtube. Here is the album.
The Grape went to New York to record Wow, their followup. At some point during the recording, Skip Spence came into the studio whacked out on some heavy psychedelics. He was sweating profusely. Later, he went after drummer Don Stevenson and lead guitarist Jerry Miller, with a fire ax. He tried to chop his way through the door. Heeere's Skippy....with Don. Guess which is which.
Moby Grape Photo Gallery

A sophomore slump, Wow showed an over-reliance on studio effects, but it did have some strong tracks. It's release has also been blocked by the Grape's ex-manager.
It did come with a second disc, Grape Jam, kind of like the third disc to All Things Must Pass. The first song, "Never", seems to be the template for Led Zeppelin's "Since I've Been Loving You". Seven, seven, seven...to eleven....
After the ax attack, Skip was committed to Belleview hospital. Upon his release, he hopped on his cycle and rode to Nashville, where he recorded Oar. Intended as a set of demos, Columbia released it as an album.

Reduced to four, the Grapes recorded Moby Grape 69', after which bass player, Bob Mosley, joined the marines...peace and love and all that...where he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. The band recorded Truly Fine Citizen as a three-piece, with a Nashville sessioneer on bass. After that, various combinations of members would record four - or five - more albums, each usually including a song by Spence who, as well as Mosley experienced periods of homelessness.

So, where to start? Try the first album. After that, Moby Grape 69', is a return to form. Maybe these covers can serve as an introduction. "Skip's Song" was recorded as "Seeing" on 69'.

And that manager? He was at the forefront of the crusade against Napster...protecting the rights of artists....you can't make this stuff up.

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