Country Joe Mcdonald, Fish - Together

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Music reviews of Together

Music Review: Even more a musical variety show than 'Fixin' to Die'
Rating: 3 Stars

"Rock and Soul Music" [1 star] A blending of frat rock with R & B of the same vintage (and a little bit at Booker T & the MG's), with totally vacuous, pointless lyrics. A ridiculously silly way to start an album. An imitated hillbilly voice (heard with much greater effect on "The Harlem Song") intones "rock and soul music is doggone good!" You get the idea.

"Susan" [5 stars] The only holdout from the dominant style of the first album ['Electric Music for the Mind and Body']. Definitely a diamond in the rough.

"Mojo Navigator" [1 star] Dopey rock similar to the style of the song "Love" from the first album.

"Bright Suburban Mr. & Mrs. Clean Machine" [3 stars] Vaudeville style music, a satire on the middle class lifestyle. Vocals have that 'megaphone' sound.

"Good Guys/Bad Guys Cheer/The Streets of Your Town" [4 stars] Song about Joe's bad impression of a visit to NYC. Biting satire, that arguably shouldn't have been written/recorded, but nevertheless, extremely effective. Still affects the way I feel about the city.
"Number people race through the dawn
With their number people faces on
Well square is not the word for the sucking, squeezing herd . . .
The subway is not the underground!"

"The Fish Moan" [unrated]

"The Harlem Song" [4 stars] More vaudeville, and even better. In the middle is a very long spoken/shouted dialogue between a somewhat egregious country fellow from the South and a Harlem resident, brutally satirizing racial stereotypes, but doing it in the most hilarious and skillful way imaginable.

"Waltzing in the Moonlight" [3 stars] Fish flamenco [sort of}. A little weak compositionally, but well executed. Not the first American flamenco rock of the psychedelic era--that distinction probably belongs to the Doors, who used a traditional guitar introduction to their "Spanish Caravan" from the 'Waiting for the Sun' album. There, Robby Krieger executed, note-for-note, a traditional, lengthy flamenco toque.

"Away Bounce My Bubbles" [3 stars] Watery, happy meditation, mostly instrumental.

"Cetacean" [4 stars] Here the Fish meet the Cetaceans (biological classification for the family of sea mammals which includes, whales, dolphins, porpoises, etc.). Change the settings on the lead guitar so it's not so 'acid' sounding, and you have a surf instrumental as good as anything from the Mar-kets or the Chantays, and better than the more popular Surfaris and Ventures. This one's very playful, with an extremely interesting bridge section. Betcha never heard acid surf before! I hadn't either.

"An Untitled Protest" [5 stars] A very powerful, poetically graphic Vietnam war protest song, sang/wailed by Joe [accompanied only by an organ droning in a minor key]; this one has to be heard to be believed.

Description of Together

Classic Rock CDs

• Music > Styles
• Folk
• Pop
• Rock