Country Joe occupies a strange place in rock history.
He never had many hits.
He never had songs covered by others that became hits.
He never had any sort of a sizable cult develop around him.
But he is still discussed and listened to.
Admittedly, most of the discussion is around his psychedelic, acid, country, folk, rock band “Country Joe and the Fish”. Also, most discussion seems to revolve about their historical importance in relation the anti-war movement and in breaking down other taboos rather than the music specifically.
Perhaps that was a sign of the times.
I have a couple of Country Joe and the Fish albums and I have always liked them. They are perhaps a little dated but they are anarchic and uncompromising in a lot of ways. They are not as cynical as The Fugs and they aren’t as hippy-esque as Donovan or Scott McKenzie. But they were always, politically, left of centre. They embraced the politics but they also embraced the experimentation that seemed to go with the politics. If you like the 60s groove, as I do, then you will have no troubles getting into them.
You wont hear them being played in any 60s retro dance club though.
When Country Joe struck out on his own in the 70s the psychedelia was turned down but he still experimented musically albeit within the singer songwriter style. He never abandoned the earlier Country Joe and the Fish style as there is folk, country, old timey in there also. His tunes, whether they are accompanied by other instruments or not, are still quite dense. They are both lyrical and thoughtful.
You wont hear them being played in any 70s retro dance club though.
Country Joe wrote or co-wrote all of the songs and they are, as his musical pedigree dictates, fairly topical. There are, however, some nice “personal” ones in there also.
Personal songs about the universal themes are timeless and can appeal across generations. Topical songs are more limited in their appeal, but I like them. They appeal to my interest in history and frequently topical songs (and historical films) will set me off to my Encyclopedia Britannica (err, or increasingly, the internet …sigh) in search of background and detail.
This album is quite typical of the (great) Vanguard label. It’s produced cleanly by Vanguard co-owner and sometimes writer Maynard Solomon (he wrote the well known text “Marxism and Art” in 1973).
Ultimately, Country Joe, like many of his ilk is an album act and this album should be listened to as such. It is a perfect snapshot of the times, from a political singer songwriters perspective. I’m not sure if a compilation would really suit him or would even sell. But then again such commercial considerations probably don’t matter to him. Given he has managed to keep recording and still have an audience, regardless of size, into this decade, more power to him.
Read his bios, links below, they make for interesting reading.
Tracks (best in italics)
- Dr. Hip – with a laid back funk going on this recalls Country Joe & the Fish.
- Old Joe Corey – old folk time song.
- Making Money in
- You Messed over Me – again, very Country Joe and the Fish – jagged guitar and pointed lyrics.
- Memories – No politics and one of the strongest songs on the album. Quite evocative.
- Pleasin' – a love song of sorts. It works
- Jesse James – another ode to an authentic American rebel. There ain’t no shades of grey or any suggestion Jesse was anything but a rebel.
- Satisfactory – horns a plenty but otherwise the standard Country Joe and the Fish sound …they were never adverse to horns.
- It's Finally Over – a quite witty finale. A Broadway show song about a entertainer bemoaning his career at the end of a show … which works especially well given it’s the last song on the album.
Where’s my mansion
Where’s my car
Where’s my picture in Harper’s Bizarre.
Where are the agents
And where is the press
Where is the bastard that booked this mess
And …
Quirky … a charming reminder from an era when experimentation was normal.
I’m not sure where the market is today.
Probably with sad pricks like me … I'm keeping it.
Chart Action
US
Singles
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Album
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Singles
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Album
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as if there would be any chart action.
Sounds
Dr. Hip
attached
Memories
attached
Country Joe McDonald – Memories
Others
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4xD8j8ye9k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTl68Nr-DKc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cAAVuboEXA
Review
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Bio
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/country-joe-mcdonald-p103837
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_Joe
Country Joe & The Fish
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/country-joe–the-fish-p25282
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_Joe_and_the_Fish
Website
Trivia
Country Joe at
Come on, Frank, I wouldn't call you sad.
Another fun read. I wonder if you knew that Joe collaborated with my fave UK psych outfit the Bevis Frond? He does a sort of tribute to the Fish as the 'Vavona Burr' LP opens with 'Frond Cheer': "Give me an 'F'…Give me an 'R'…" etc. And I think they might have done a whole album together subsequently.
Finally, I'm willing to bet money you do actually own a Britannica…
I didn’t know that about Country Joe and the Bevis Frond. Admittedly I don’t know much about the Bevis Frond, but it does not surprise me that their style of music you would like. Good on them for a doing an album with Country Joe.
And yes I do own the Encyclopedia Britannia. My mum got it for me in the 70s. The micropedia, the macropedia, a index and a large atlas. I recall it was quite expensive. But then again, inAustralia
Historical research changes history so perhaps the Encyclopedia is a little dated but it still is a good, relatively unbiased and even handed start off point for research, perhaps even more so that the internet. The encyclopedia also doesn’t (or didn’t in my edition) pander to pop culture excesses so subject entry lengths are weighted according to their place in overall history rather than recent hype. The same cannot be said for the internet.
Now, if I could only squeeze in a discussion about gardening into this reply ……