Electric Music For The Mind And Body

I find it very hard to get excited about an album like this. It was probably big or important in its time (67, right at the beginning of the whole psychedelic pop-rocknsummer of love shit) but this is the same crap I've heard a done much better a million times. I paid more attention to the lyrics to see if I was missing something groundbreaking - cool cats, diggin trips, fuck LBJ, nothing new to see here. And I get that these are cliches now but might not have been at the time, doesn't make them less annoying. It's raw, and I fucking love raw albums, but these guys needed a couple more takes of a few of these songs. And the bluesy track that could have been a nice song was ruined by the loudest tambourine I've ever heard in a song, followed later by the loudest maracas I've ever heard in a song. "Death sound". Maybe I'd have enjoyed it if I'd heard it before I heard Jefferson airplane, grateful dead etc. Or if I never watched ANY Vietnam movies. Or if I dropped some acid first. Other than that, great album.

Well, it’s better than the Grateful Dead, but that’s a low bar.

blues-y patchouli oil old school hippy stuff. Rugged, gritty, leftist. That classic "I recorded this in a tent" aesthetic.

Electric Music for the Mind and Body by Country Joe and The Fish (1967) McDonald’s moniker “Country Joe” is a reference to Joseph Stalin, and Barry Melton’s moniker “The Fish” is a reference to Mao Zedong (Wikipedia); you see, mommies, daddies, and managers were post-WWII socialists. This was music that was loved at the time because it was so ‘counter-cultural’. And it was loved by people who celebrated their difference from the mainstream by imitating each other. This mindset was perfectly parodied by Dick Shawn in the 1967 Mel Brooks classic “The Producers”. The ‘message’ is carried by trite lyrics that clunk along and stop just short of expressing feeling. It’s what you get when you turn red diaper babies loose in the studio. Lyrically, the album seems to be excusing itself by saying, “Since I’m stoned, I don’t have to make sense”. There’s one weeny stab at amateur political satire of LBJ (“Superbird”) that can be reduced to “I don’t like you, nyaah, nyaah”. And when a songwriter says (“Sad and Lonely Times”), “I can’t find the words to tell you how I care”, the listener can’t help but say, “Well, keep searching and get back to me”. Lead guitar has some nice moments (“Death Sound”, “Bass Strings”) with sparkling blues runs, inventive rapid tremolo and tasteful reverb, but it’s slapped against lead vocals that utterly lack soul. Plus, the bass strings on “Bass Strings” are seriously out of tune (actually, this is the case on most of the album). And there’s often an annoying mismatch between the gimmicky guitar effects (e.g., “Porpoise Mouth”) and the lyrical mood. Organ and harmonica on the pretentiously ‘psychedelic’ extended “Section 43” are strictly amateur. The closing track “Grace” (supposedly a tribute to Grace Slick) is so bad I can picture Slick saying, “Thanks, but no thanks.” It’s all about love, peace, getting high, stop the war, yada yada. And it’s all so plastic—an album that begs not to be taken seriously. 1/5

Excellent stuff. Love finding bangers on this list that I've never heard of. Loved the weirdness of it

Was having a bad day. couple of beers and this CD fixed me.

On the whole, I liked it. Good, old-school, jazz-infused psychedelic rock. There were some things I didn't like though. The guitars were occasionally too high-pitched and whiny for my liking (although I really liked the more swamp-style twingey guitar parts) and the vocals weren't the best either. Still, a nice listen overall.

Meh. Groovy, but only as a period example

Great psych!

Fuzzy, loosey goosey blues and psych. A pleasant surprise, but I feel like it loses the plot near the end. I like how, at one point, they drop all pretense and just whisper the letters "LSD". Favorite tracks: "Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine", "Love"

Who could forget the time that LBJ fought the Fantastic 4 and Doctor Strange? This album is on DRUGS

Wow. A psychedelic rock album from 1967? These guys were truly innovators. There were definitely no other psychedelic rock albums from this time period! I'm sure this album belongs on the list and is not just a footnote in one of the most oversaturated music genres of all time! Country Joe should shut up and let THE FISH speak for a moment. I want to hear some blubs. Truly one of the albums ever. 2/5.

These fuckers were at Woodstock and I was served this album during Daylight Savings Time. These things are both true and more substantial than I care to admit. Drugs and drug music have gotten much better since this album was released. Yet we still can't fix Daylight Savings Time or create another successful Woodstock.

Apparently you can judge a book by its cover. My favourite part was the song that randomly played right after this album finished on Apple Music. Check out “Screamin’” by The Paul Butterfield Blue Band.

Well that Xmas recycling is not going to sort itself, I'd better get a crack on. For some reason our yellow bin cycle doesn't really align with Xmas, so it's a bit of struggle, what with two weeks of normal recycling and then all the Xmas boxes and stuff, but then that's Canterbury Bankstown council for you. Sorry did someone say something about Country Joe and the Fish, sorry, I didn't catch that..on a par with Stephen Stills? I can't hear you over the sound of boxes being scrunched.

I Liked this a lot more than I expected I would, especially after starting it and not getting through the first song or two the first couple tries. You can tell that it was one of the albums that laid the foundation, or discovered the formula for, psych and jam bands that would follow. It seems like a more bare representation of the elements that would go on to dominate those genres. Very bluesy at times with a country and rock ‘n roll vibes with a lot of experimentation and ambience.

Probably the best Country Joe and the Fish album

On the whole, I liked it. Good, old-school, jazz-infused psychedelic rock.

4.5/5. Might be low-key some of the best stuff from 60s Cali psych at the time

beautiful

I really enjoyed this album, maybe the electric stuff got a little too loud but when they go folksy, yum, I liked it so much I easily listened twice

Really enjoyed this one, especially the dark psychedelic sound that it has.

tri bom o som

Had never heard of them before but loved it. All the sounds, the twang, the catchiness of the lyrics, I probably saved half the album to my music. This is why I'm doing this project, to find things like this. And also, what a name!

One surprise in this project is how much I like psychedelic music. Certainly wasn’t much of a thing for me when I was younger. Through this project, though, the psychedelic-laced albums more often than not appeal. This album is no exception. I listened to it three times today and each time enjoyed it more! I dig it not just as a historic album but also as a groovy listen.

swampy psychedelia? sign me the fuck up — 10/10

Groovy, I love it. The first tracks are perfect, the last ones are a bit less interesting to me, but still very good

Electric Music for the Mind and Body is Country Joe and the Fish's debut album, originally released in 1967. This might be the best psychedelic album ever. I mean, the cover alone should peak your interest. This album is so raw. The guitars are mixed so loud that they just take over. It almost has the vibe of an early acid test live performance. There's fuzz guitar, delay, tremolo, everything you'd want in a psychedelic record. The organ parts can be a bit overbearing and dated at times but there's so many cool moments on this record that it gets overshadowed. It's fantastic under certain mind altering substances. It's a shame that Country Joe & The Fish kinda got lost in music history and aren't mentioned much anymore in the psychedelic scene because they were true psychedelia at the top of their game. Fun fact: You may see old vinyl copies of this LP with messed up corners. There was a rumor upon release that they dipped one of the corners of the record sleeve in LSD, and many a hippie tried to get dosed by chewing the corner.

I LOVED this

Nice

What a fun album

Well, I approach this with a great deal of nervousness. Country? Ew. Is it actually country? No, thank the lord it isn't. It's psychedelic rock, which is on every measure better than country. Speaking of "country", I absolutely love the filth of "Not so sweet Martha Lorraine". Clearly a reference to Shakespeare's "Country Matters", this is a song about sex. A bookish woman has learnt about sex from books and by rote. She doesn't take pleasure in it, but uses it. She wants him "to die" is obviously, glaringly la petit mort, the little death. Wiping the tears "from his friend's eye" is sordidly descriptive. She's using sex, using it to bring him to climax even - but she's never learnt "the country ways" - she doesn't know how to take any of that pleasure for herself. And he's lamenting that. What a cracking little track and what a story it tells!

What a fantastic record.

9/10 - pretty good album

the keyboard and guitar on this album feels, ELECTRIC. the end of the album takes it slow and lets you soak in tbe beauty

This shit goes hard af

60's psychedelic rock from San Francisco is where it's at. I thoroughly enjoyed this album. They played Monterey Pop and Woodstock. What an awesome scene to have been involved in. Great stuff.

One of the best psychedelic rock record that really worked with what the genre wanted to do.

Scrappy hippies are my kind of wannabee cowboys.

Un viaje sonoro espectacular, recomendable

Nice album.

Amazing listen all the way through

Wow.

A good album, but the styles of the songs vary too much, from simple rock'n'roll and blues rock to tracks that lean into folk and prog.

I really like their sound. The songwriting isn't that great, and maybe that's why they're not really remembered all that well compared to their colleagues. Best track: Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine

This is my type of music. Music like this reminds me we all have different tastes in music and so it's ok for most people to like Drake and for just me to like Country Joe or Pere Ubu. The stereo mixing makes it engaging to pinpoint locations of the surreal noises around your room, especially if you're high. It's cool and bluesy, which makes it chiller to listen to compared to the heavier more garage-influenced acid rock of their contemporaries (e.g. Electric Prunes, Big Brother). In a lot of ways this is like a slightly less experimental and more accessible United States of America. A never-ending surplus of fun and surprising moments. I like his dreamy voice and share of high pitched guitars. Lots of variety, just listen to the difference from the acid "Love" (performed at Woodstock alongside the first 2) to the surreal "Bass Strings" to the whimsical "Masked Marauder." Their use of silence and sharp transitions allows these different styles to be coherent and smooth rather than harsh. Will seek out again. Favorites: Flying High, Lorraine, Porpoise Mouth, Bass Strings, Masked Marauder, Grace

What an awesome surprise of an album. Guess they didn’t like LBJ much?

This sounds like a mix of early Dead and Velvet Underground. While the musicianship isn’t quite on the level of other early psychedelia I was deeply impressed by the lyricism

Fantastic bluesy album with some psychedelic influences

It was pretty good. I'd listen to it again. Wasn't my absolute favorite, but it had some tracks to listen to again.

Gezellig.

Debuutalbum van psychedelica-pioneer Country Joe & The Fish, en een van de eerste albums binnen het genre uit San Francisco. Sterke tracklist, goed luisterbaar. leukste nummer: Love Het nummer "Grace" is een hommage aan leadzangeres Grace Slick van Jefferson Airplane.

Good jams!!

Pretty chill trippy vibes

I've never heard anything from this album, never even heard of Country Joe & The Fish. I was certainly worried that this would end up being a country album but I was pleasantly surprised. This is just some fun 60s psych rock. It's groovy and bluesy and just fun to sit back and chill with. Considering it's 60s psych rock I imagine it was made to be enjoyed on acid, but I can confirm it's a pleasant listen while sober too. Some of the American politics in the lyricism is lost on me though. Generally it feels like a darker and more melancholy take on the genre but it's pretty great. Favourite: Death Sound

4.0 - Considering some other 1967 releases ("Sgt. Pepper's", "Velvet Underground And Nico", Doors' debut, "Surrealistic Pillow", "Are You Experienced") it's no wonder this records feels like a footnote. Still, it certainly outshines other albums within the psychedelic canon (see "The 13th Floor Elevators"). This feels like a complete and cohesive artifact of the Haight-Ashbury sound and there are genuinely trippy, LSD-laden jams. Particularly, "Porpoise Mouth" and "Section 43" create a swirly, colorful atmosphere in the middle. "Bass Strings" is also a highlight.

Great psych album, beyter than early dead.

Of it's time in the best way, that great late 60's political idealism mixed with psychedelia. Had never heard any of this before, but I may be a new fan.

Late 60's San Francisco sound from Joe and the Fish. It's full of peace and love and a touch of the brown acid. Very good stuff. The music, I mean...not necessarily the acid. But, hey man, it's your trip.

Knew very little about them including style of music. I knew they played Woodstock but that’s about it. Early psychedelic stuff. Quite interesting and worth a listen.

Lots of good tracks, interesting 60s vibe. Probably not the best album in this style I've listened to, but knowing they were one of the first to do it gets an extra star

Sloppadelica

Such a fun album. Provides the perfect soundtrack for when structures are crumbling around you and you need to transform trauma into hilarity!

Brilliant! I enjoyed the vibe

I found this quite enjoyable and just a nice relaxing curiousity. Faves: Flying High, Super Bird

A bit of psych a day keeps the doctor away.

This album unlocks a new feature on Spotify that makes the surroundings smell like Patchouli...

Best: Super Bird Worst: Grace

Very good, I liked it quite a bit

I liked this album and admittedly have not listened to hardly any country joe. It was a nice change of pace to hear some good old psychedelic rock. Bet this was a fun band to see live.

Didn't know a single thing about this but it's rather good psychedelia with Flying High the best of a decent bunch.

A little bit of a lot of genres

guitar riffs

There are albums I listen to twice because I really enjoyed them and albums I listen to twice because I feel like I wasn't listening to/for the right things. This one falls into both.

Pluspunkt: erinnert mi an The Doors Punktabzug: erinnert mi an The Doors

Far out man

A surprisingly great album. I wasn't expecting psych rock from a group called Country Joe and the Fish, but this record blew me away. Section 43 is beautiful, and every other track is similarly good.

they're jammin. bluesy with a country twang. nice lead guitar work. a bit psychedelic at times. i liked the keyboard sound. I liked the track Bass Strings a lot. Section 43 was a cool instrumental. At first it was a little too country for me but i liked it as it progressed and got more psychedelic

Really solid overall. I especially like "Sad And Lonely Times" and "Porpoise Mouth"

Surprised by this hidden gem. The harmonica in section 43 is superb, love is a beautiful sound, Death Sound is haunting. Awesome album and pscyhrock at its finest.

One of those songs that will be around forever for good reason.

cooooool vibe

I sort of feel this has been overshadowed by what came after, so it's important to remember this did come first.

This album was so damn trippy...but I think I loved it musically. I honestly have no idea why because this spectrum of music usually turns me off. Favorite track: Section 43

Ok, this was the start of something. It was the beginning of something. An era. A generation. And I get it.

Very nice discovery. I like the mix of genres in this one.

I was initially not excited for an album by a band named "Country Joe and The Fish", but this album was actually really good. Even when it was just instrumental pieces, I was entertained, which can't be said for many psychedelic rock albums. It's very close to a five stars, but I just didn't love it enough to give it such a rating. Even so, there were quite a few really good songs on here, especially right at the end of the album, and was nothing I didn't like. Grace gave me chills, which a song has never really done to me before. It's an amazing song. My favourite songs were Grace, The Masked Marauder, and Bass Strings.

As with all output of the prime American Psychedelic era (a really narrow window actually) it’s hard not to judge it in context of that grim looming reality that Hunter S. Thompson described so thoroughly- that this wave would very shortly break, and roll back. For me anyway it makes some of the most intolerable Hippie Shit (e.g. The Masked Marauder) grate a little more. Still, the energy and innovation here are real.

Yes. Could listen to this album a bunch. Every song isn't great but i like the twang and The vocals are appealing

04/14/22

Listened Before? N WOW! Another psychadelic surprise for me! Didn't expect to like this one as much as I did. Putting it into rotation. Added to Library? Y Songs added to Playlist: Death Sound, Porpoise Mouth

Good songs throughout, and a cohesive sound that is perfect for an evening on a porch or a leisurely drive. Missing the special something to pump it for me, but still really good.

I LOVE this style of music and this is a great find that I'll have to go back to again and again! The singer has a wonderful tone of voice and the music has a great groove!

This was cool! Not very polished or well-produced, but the guitar was great and the vibes were fun, not to mention good songs. Better than I expected for sure.

Et rikt album, et ekte bøljeband band.

The name of the album and the band, combined with the album cover, gave me a pretty clear idea of what the music would be. It did not disappoint.

I'm listening to this record on the way back from teaching some disabled children how to swim. It's really cheered me up after a few of the weaker children drowned when I dunked them under the surface. Well done, Joe & The Fish, you've really saved my weekend.

Liked this a lot. Great guitar, some powerful lyrics, good sound. A K-Town Banger in my opinion.

At first listen, they sound like Cream. Not a bad thing. I was concerned I was getting yet another ridiculous electric, rave album, but this is refreshingly psychedelic, bluesy rock. There's also a Three Dog Night/The Guess Who. Overall, this album clicks. It also doesn't overstay its welcome at 44 minutes. In hindsight, I see why this album makes the list. Taking into consideration that this is 1967, the band and the album are part of a musical movement, but while they didn't rise to the mainstream enough for me to hear them, they clearly innovated and inspired others who did. Section 43 sounds familiar - and it has a real vibe to it that I imagine played well to Doors audiences. This album is pretty slick.

Yeah I was into this. Blusey aand cool