MOBY GRAPE, THE SAN FRANCISCO BAND SYNONYMOUS WITH EVERYTHING STARRY-EYED AND LAUGHING
about the Summer of Love and the West Coast revolution, wrapped up its Columbia Records career with a pair
of solid albums that showed just how much they'd grown musically since their first three releases—even after
they'd lost a couple of band members. Moby Grape '69 demonstrated traits heretofore unnoticed: vibrant shades
of doo-wop on "Ooh Mama Ooh" and 18-wheeler, freeway-cruising, redneck-rock on "Trucking Man." Although
Skip Spence had departed, his blistering song "Seeing" sounds like a preview of Oar, his landmark 1969 solo
album. And Bob Mosley's lovely ballad "It's A Beautiful Day Today" can stand toe-to-toe with any song the Grape
ever cut. With Spence out of commission and Mosley serving in the U.S. Marines, the Grape was reduced to the
trio of Peter Lewis, Jerry Miller and Don Stevenson for their Columbia swansong, 1969's Truly Fine Citizen. Even
with a pair of cylinders missing, the threesome sucked it up and cut a very handsome little record. The chugging
title track, coupled with Lewis' heartfelt "Changes, Circles Spinning," make it plain: Moby Grape was capable of
greatness, even with two hands tied behind its back. Track listing: Changes, Circles Spinning / Looper / Truly
Fine Citizen / Beautiful Is Beautiful / Love
Song / Right Before My Eyes / Open Up Your
Heart / Now I Know High / Treat Me Bad /
Tongue-Tied / Love Song, Part Two / Rounder
(live) / Miller's Blues (live) / Changes (live) /
Skip's Song ("Seeing" demo rec.) / Looper
(demo rec.) previously unissued / Soul Stew
(instrumental) previously unissued / Cockatoo
Blues ("Tongue-Tied" demo rec. ) previously
unissued
