Moby Grape - Grape Live {The Unreleased 1968 Columbia Live Album} [Prof. Stoned 2023]
16bit/44.1kHz CD Quality FLAC
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01. 'Introduction Tommy Smothers'
02. Hey Grandma
03. Indifference
04. Mr. Blues
05. Sitting by the Window
06. Omaha
07. Ain't No Use
08. Rounder
09. Looper
10. Bitter Wind
11. Changes
12. Indifference
13. Someday
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Total time: 33m15s
Demix/Mastering: Prof. Stoned (April 2023)
v1.0: 18-04-2023
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Original Credits:
Side 1 (01-06): Recorded at Monterey Pop Festival, Monterey CA on June 17, 1967 | Produced by Lou Adler/John Philipps
Side 2 (07-13): Recorded at Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco CA on January 13/14, 1967 | Produced by David Rubinson
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Note:
January 1968. Moby Grape had relocated to New York to record their 2nd album for Columbia records at the insistence of their producer and it had proven to be a miserable experience for all involved. Their 'leader' Skip Spence had gotten involved with some heavy new friends. His undiagnosed schizophrenia combined with the mountains of LSD he was being fed, had finally blown all his fuses. He was arrested after trying to attack his band-members and producer with an axe and was subsequently put in jail, before being committed to New York's Bellevue Hospital, where he spent six months under psychiatric care. The band was left in disarray. Nevertheless, Rubinson completed the album.
April 1968. Wow/Grape Jam is released. It proves to be a failure after the artistic and relative commercial success of the first LP. The band informs Columbia Records they are breaking up, rendering their 4-album contract void.
June 1968. In an effort to regain some of their expanses, Columbia readies one last Moby Grape album, consisting of live recordings made in 1967. Upon hearing this news, the band reacts by re-grouping as a foursome and demanding the forthcoming live album to be shelved.
April 2023. Prof. Stoned discovers and releases the live-album after nearly 55 years.
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Sources: Monterey, June 17, 1967 Excellent stereo soundboard FLAC; The Complete Monterey Pop Festival Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion; Live (Historic Live Moby Grape Performances 1966-1969).
[N.B.: Time to cut the crap, haha. There was no planned live-album. But this set improves upon the official 2010 live-album by using an alternative stereo mix of the Monterey set (rather than the rough mono mix that Lou Adler supplied to Sundazed); by adding Hey Grandma from the 2017 bluray (in mono, as it comes from the camera audio feed) and with all tracks being given the PS demix/remaster treatment. There are days when I'm convinced Moby Grape was the the best damn band from the 1960s. Hope you enjoy! ]
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I have used the following digital studio gear and monitoring in the making of this:
- DeMix Pro 4.0.2
- Cubase
- Universal Audio UAD-2 Satellite Quad-Core (incl. various extra plugins I purchased over the years)
- PMC IB2s & iLoud Micro monitors
- Adobe Audition
- Izotope RX9
