Moby Grape '69 is third album by the psychedelic rock band Moby Grape

Moby Grape

Moby Grape is an American rock group from the 1960s, known for having all five members contribute to singing and songwriting and that collectively merged elements of folk music, blues, country, and jazz together with rock and psychedelic music...

.

It is the first album after the departure of co-founder Skip Spence

Skip Spence

Alexander Lee "Skip" Spence was a Canadian-born musician and singer-songwriter. He was co-founder of Moby Grape, and played guitar with them until 1969. He released one solo album, 1969's Oar, and then largely withdrew from the music industry...

. Spence nonetheless is heard on one song, "Seeing", presumably from the Wow/Grape Jam

Wow/Grape Jam

-Side one:# "The Place and the Time" - 2:07# "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" - 2:58# "Bitter Wind" - 3:09...

sessions, and positioned as the final song on Moby Grape '69. As Peter Lewis

Peter Lewis (musician)

Peter Lewis is one of the founding members of the band Moby Grape. Three of his better known songs with Moby Grape are "Fall On You" and "Sitting By The Window" from the self-titled first Moby Grape album and "If You Can't Learn From My Mistakes", from Moby Grape '69.- Background :He is the...

 describes the album, "We made Moby Grape '69, in an attempt to rebound from the Wow album, which was over-produced. And it's a cool album. Although we could have rehearsed it a little more, we still believed in it. But I think we were waiting for Skippy to come back, and he never did."

The album peaked at a disappointing number 113 on the Billboard chart. While it did not sell well at the time of its release, in a recent (2008) review, it is pointed out that the album would be particularly appreciated by persons who like the music of Poco

Poco

Poco is an Southern California country rock band originally formed by Richie Furay and Jim Messina following the demise of Buffalo Springfield in 1968. The title of their first album, Pickin' Up the Pieces, is a reference to the break-up of Buffalo Springfield. Highly influential and creative,...

 and The Eagles. For Moby Grape fans at the time, the album was perhaps too country in musical orientation. In some respects, the album was ahead of its time, predating the more popular first country rock

Country rock

Country rock is sub-genre of popular music, formed from the fusion of rock with country. The term is generally used to refer to the wave of rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s, beginning with Bob Dylan and The Byrds; reaching its greatest...

 releases by Poco and The Eagles.

Side one

1. "Ooh Mama Ooh" (Jerry Miller
   Jerry Miller
   Jerry Miller is an American songwriter, guitarist and vocalist. He performs as a solo artist and as a member of the Jerry Miller Band. He is also a founding member of the 1960s San Francisco band Moby Grape, which continues to perform occasionally...
   
   , Don Stevenson) – 2:26
2. "Ain't That a Shame" (Jerry Miller, Don Stevenson, Peter Lewis
   Peter Lewis (musician)
   Peter Lewis is one of the founding members of the band Moby Grape. Three of his better known songs with Moby Grape are "Fall On You" and "Sitting By The Window" from the self-titled first Moby Grape album and "If You Can't Learn From My Mistakes", from Moby Grape '69.- Background :He is the...
   
   ) – 2:28
3. "I Am Not Willing" (Peter Lewis) – 2:58
4. "It's a Beautiful Day Today" (Bob Mosley
   Bob Mosley
   Bob Mosley is principally known as the bass player and one of the songwriters and vocalists for the band Moby Grape. He has also developed a career as a solo artist. Three of his best known songs with Moby Grape are "Mr...
   
   ) – 3:06
5. "Hoochie" (Bob Mosley) – 4:21

Side two

1. "Trucking Man" (Bob Mosley) – 2:00
2. "If You Can't Learn from My Mistakes" (Peter Lewis) – 2:33
3. "Captain Nemo" (Jerry Miller, Don Stevenson) – 1:43
4. "What's to Choose" (Peter Lewis) – 1:57
5. "Going Nowhere" (Jerry Miller, Don Stevenson) – 2:01
6. "Seeing" (Skip Spence
   Skip Spence
   Alexander Lee "Skip" Spence was a Canadian-born musician and singer-songwriter. He was co-founder of Moby Grape, and played guitar with them until 1969. He released one solo album, 1969's Oar, and then largely withdrew from the music industry...
   
   ) – 3:44

Bonus tracks on 2007 CD edition

1. "Soul Stew" (Bob Mosley) – 2:16
2. "If You Can't Learn from My Mistakes" [Demo] (Peter Lewis) – 1:23
3. "You Can Do Anything" [Demo] (Skip Spence) – 3:35
4. "It's a Beautiful Day Today" [Demo] (Bob Mosley) – 4:12
   • Previously unreleased
5. "What's to Choose" [Demo] (Peter Lewis) – 3:19
   • Previously unreleased
6. "Big" [Demo] (Jerry Miller, Don Stevenson) – 2:19
7. "Hoochie" [Demo] (Bob Mosley) – 3:18
   • Previously unreleased

Personnel

• Peter Lewis
  Peter Lewis (musician)
  Peter Lewis is one of the founding members of the band Moby Grape. Three of his better known songs with Moby Grape are "Fall On You" and "Sitting By The Window" from the self-titled first Moby Grape album and "If You Can't Learn From My Mistakes", from Moby Grape '69.- Background :He is the...
  
   – rhythm guitar
  Rhythm guitar
  Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
  
  , vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  
• Bob Mosley
  Bob Mosley
  Bob Mosley is principally known as the bass player and one of the songwriters and vocalists for the band Moby Grape. He has also developed a career as a solo artist. Three of his best known songs with Moby Grape are "Mr...
  
   – bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  , vocals
• Jerry Miller
  Jerry Miller
  Jerry Miller is an American songwriter, guitarist and vocalist. He performs as a solo artist and as a member of the Jerry Miller Band. He is also a founding member of the 1960s San Francisco band Moby Grape, which continues to perform occasionally...
  
   – lead guitar
  Lead guitar
  Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
  
  , vocals
• Don Stevenson – drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  , vocals
• Skip Spence
  Skip Spence
  Alexander Lee "Skip" Spence was a Canadian-born musician and singer-songwriter. He was co-founder of Moby Grape, and played guitar with them until 1969. He released one solo album, 1969's Oar, and then largely withdrew from the music industry...
  
   - vocals and unknown instruments, "Seeing".

Charts

Album - Billboard

Billboard charts

The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...

Year	Chart	Position
1969	Pop Albums	113