I don't know about the working man, but the Dead's decision to lighten the aural load and put their unique spin on country-rock was a no-brainer. Three wickedly catchy tunes are proof of that ("Uncle John's Band", "Dire Wolf", and "Casey Jones"). But it's not all pure country, either – they are a bit all over the place in typical Dead fashion, sort of sounding like hardcore blues rock at times, and others roughly echoing The Stones' vibe from the same time frame. A couple of these tracks take some getting used to but here – even for the casual interloper – it's worth the time. Reissues add on practically the entire record in live format, as a bonus.
Like a lot of other rock acts around this time, Moby Grape cut a record in Nashville which roundly echoed the city's native music. Unlike a lot of those acts, it barely got noticed. Which is a bit of a shame, because it's a pleasant listen, even though it's far removed from their original sound.
Certainly a step down from the first two Moby Grape records, partly due to the exit of Skip Spence, who was central to the bizarre energy which drove those documents. A lot of pretty sounding country-style rock mixed in with occasional bits of straight-ahead garage-rockin' like "Hoochie". Still, a decent record. Spence's "Seeing" ends it on an appropriately quizzical note.
The 'Grape gave us a double album for their follow-up, but it's more like two separate records, and anyway it's the first one (Wow) which deserves the lion's share of attention. The crazy energy remains from the debut, but right from the jump the mood has completely changed, replaced by a severely manic-depressive frame of mind. "Can't Be So Bad" is the only track which resembles anything from the first record. "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" typifies the kind of music you will encounter here. Even the intended humorous stuff smacks of desperation. It's accentuated by lots of Sgt. Pepper-style sound effects and generally a more complicated production approach. The second album, Grape Jam, consists of 4 laid back blues-based songs (only 1 with vocals, "Never"), and one very experimental collage/spoken word thing called "The Lake". It's OK, but doesn't do anything that Wow already did. I like this, but I can see how and where other listeners will find frustration, because overall, even I have to admit it's a spotty record. But certainly a worthy companion to the debut.
