The Wave of Electrical Sound

by Country Joe & the Fish

Overview

Even in an era of fetish reissue projects, this LP-only box set compiling Country Joe & the Fish's first two albums is an outlier. Arriving a few months after the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love, Craft Recordings, a label devoted solely to deluxe reissues -- R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People, John Lee Hooker's King of the Boogie honoring his centennial, and The Complete 1957 Riverside Recordings of Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane -- has assembled a package worthy of the excess of the historic period it depicts. While most know Country Joe & the Fish for their performances on the Woodstock soundtrack -- "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag" and "Fish Cheer" ("Gimme an F!...") -- their first two recordings for Vanguard, Electric Music for the Mind and Body and I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die, remain seminal tracts of 1960s counterculture music. With its marriage of folk, early psychedelic rock, jazz, bluegrass, and even jazz, the former has weathered the passage of time remarkably well. This limited-edition package includes both 1967 albums in mono and stereo versions on 180-gram vinyl in tip-on jackets. (Yes, there are two copies of each album.) The mono version of Electric Music for the Mind and Body boasts rare alternate cover art, while the remaining discs have standard issue covers. Fans can debate all day long about the merits of which mix is better -- for our money the stereo LPs win hands down given the claustrophobic, eight-track, live-in-studio sound of the originals. The Wave of Electrical Sound box also contains a plentiful amount of ephemera, including replicas of The Fish Game, a Fish Fan Club book, and a Fish calendar designed by artist Tom Weller. Also included is a DVD of How We Stopped the War, a 30-minute documentary, filming the band on its way to an anti-Vietnam War rally, directed by David Peoples (screenwriter for Blade Runner, Twelve Monkeys, and Unforgiven). Also included are a 24-page book comprising rare photos, artwork, and a stellar liner essay from writer, producer, and musician Alec Palao. The stereo mixes of these albums are available separately, making the decision to purchase the box one for hardcore fans, or collectors with a fetish for unusual packages. ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	02/02/2018
Label:	Craft Recordings
UPC:	0888072030169
Rank:	76072

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Flying High
2. Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine
3. Death Sound
4. Porpoise Mouth
5. Section 43
6. Superbird
7. Sad and Lonely Times
8. Love
9. Bass Strings
10. The Masked Marauder
11. Grace

Disc 2

12. Flying High
13. Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine
14. Death Sound
15. Porpoise Mouth
16. Section 43
17. Superbird
18. Sad and Lonely Times
19. Love
20. Bass Strings
21. The Masked Marauder
22. Grace

Disc 3

23. The Fish Cheer & I-Feel-Like-I¿¿¿m-Fixin¿¿¿-To-Die
24. Who Am I
25. Pat¿¿¿s Song
26. Rock Coast Blues
27. Magoo
28. Janis
29. Thought Dream
30. Thursday
31. Eastern Jam
32. Colors for Susan

Disc 4

33. The Fish Cheer & I-Feel-Like-I¿¿¿m-Fixin¿¿¿-To-Die
34. Who Am I
35. Pat¿¿¿s Song
36. Rock Coast Blues
37. Magoo
38. Janis
39. Thought Dream
40. Thursday
41. Eastern Jam
42. Colors for Susan

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Country Joe & the Fish   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Country Joe McDonald   Composer
Bruce Barthol   Composer
Gary "Chicken" Hirsh   Composer
Barry Melton   Composer
Joe McDonald   Composer
John Francis Gunning   Composer
David Cohen   Composer