Electric Music For The Mind And Body

Favorite track(s): Section 43, Love, Bass Strings

To the extent that Country Joe and the Fish are remembered at all, they are remembered for one song. And it isn't on this album.

This album has the distinction of being the first West Coast Psychedelia album which could go either way, depending on your tolerance for West Coast Psychedelia.

Personally, I think it's the sort of album that every musician should hear, if only as a warning to not do this ever again.

The best thing on here is probably "Love", but even that dissolves into a mediocre blues jam. The rest are the sort of thing that someone at the time might have looked up from their bong for long enough to say "Wow, cosmic," before drifting off into smokey dreams.

The lyrics are unrelentingly "mind expanding", in that they don't make a lick of sense, but they sound like they might mean something.

Probably the low point is Section 43, a multi movement instrumental of extraordinary banality that sounds like the sort of thing that a promoter who couldn't afford The Doors might put on and advertise as "A Freak Out".

1 star for being the first and a half for the vocals on "Love". I rounded down.

Pretty standard 60s psychedelic rock. Nothing too notable, but going off the other reviews this is something I’m more tolerant of and willing to give a go than most people

Ok.

Ein charmant-verrauchtes Psychedelic‑Relikt: atmosphärisch, aber nicht durchgehend packend.

The guitar was pretty dang nice

I was surprised. I was expecting something terrible. Overall, I found the music very entertaining and funny. I might not listen to it every day, but I'll definitely listen to it from time to time. 4/5

Vähän kyseenalainen lisä listalle -- ei kovinkaan ihmeellistä psykerockia.

Joe should go back to the country and go fishing.

Interesting listen, certainly new and usual at the time, and you can see the influence on other artists.

Call me crazy but I believe this guy wanted to fuck a porpoise. I wasn’t in love with this album, but it’s still better than anything I’ve heard from The Byrds so far.

Better than Coldplay

Maybe … MAYBE if it was 1967 and I was really stoned.
It's okay, definitely a relic of its time. Proto-jamband stuff. If the late 60's country-rock psych era never happened, I think we'd all be better off (except for Jefferson Airplane, who rule). I'm being facetious, of course. You will like this if you enjoy the Dead, Phish etc. Not really well executed, nothing very novel in the songwriting or instrumentation, a bit sloppy.

I wanted to like this more than I did. There are flashes of something real — clever lyrics, interesting keyboard ideas, and that unmistakable sense of 1967 energy — but the whole thing never quite gels. The mix is rough, the tambourine and organ dominate everything, and the songs often sound more like good demos than finished work.

I can see how this would’ve felt revolutionary at the time, but compared to other San Francisco records of the era — especially Jefferson Airplane — the contrast is stark. It’s a fascinating listen historically, just not one I’ll come back to.

⭐️⭐️

Not really my jam

Wrote a long rant about how mad I am that shit like this is over-represented on this list. Quickly realised I don't actually care enough to post it.

Feels like country without the twang

I mean as far as psychedelic goes, its not the worst thing on this list

It was fine, but not very memorable. I had to go back this morning to remind myself of a few tracks... yeah, it was fine, maaan! ✌️

It was pretty boring. Also the panning messed me up. I know it's old, but it hurt hearing the drums only in the right ear.