Country Joe & The Fish is a classic psychedelic rock and folk rock band from the 1960s. I’ve never actually listened to an album of theirs all the way through, but I thoroughly enjoyed Country Joe McDonald’s album, Hold on It’s Coming (1971), a little while ago. I figured it’s about time I took a listen to an album with The Fish. Country Joe & The Fish started in Berkley, California, in 1965, and went through different iterations of members before mostly coming together for a performance at Woodstock. They definitely seem interesting to me, so with that I’m going to jump on into the music.
“I Feel Like I’m Fixin To” starts out with an adamant cheer from some sort of crowd in the studio spelling out the name of the band. Wow, this song is really sweet – it’s like an acid rock rag song about the Vietnam war. The varying degrees of fuzz from the guitars on either side of the soundscape really create this fuzzed out, acid rock feel, while the organs and other instrumentation almost create a strange rag type of song. I honestly just laughed as the background vocals peer in and out of the track giving an incredibly playful feeling until the very end, when gunshots ring out around the soundscape giving a feeling of being caught in a war.
“Who Am I” sounds like a very gently, serene ballad. Oh wow, the acoustic guitar and airy drums really give a nice, serene feeling that complement the nearly melancholic singing. Oh wow, the electric guitar comes in with an almost shimmering tone in comparison to the soundscape, while the bass guitar plays a very simple clean bass line that lifts the song to different. Oh wow, the electric guitar is really awesome. The loneliness coming from the acoustic guitar at the very end of the song is almost soothing.
“Pats Song” has a very patient sound to it, as the percussion has some simple snares at the beginning while chimes ring out to give a sort of meandering feeling that accompany the electric guitar quite well. Oh wow, the electric organ really rings out very well, and seemingly takes the lead as the drums develop a sort of marching feeling to it. Oh wow, the fuzz on the electric guitar is intense, and seems almost introspective in nature. The bass line pushes the song along quite well as things continue on. This song is super sweet. Oh wow, the song changes up big time suddenly, and picks up intensity like you’re on a psychedelic merry-go-round that continues picking up speed. Things fall back into the main melody once again before the song takes another trip around. I really dig the fuzz on the electric guitar. Definitely a really sweet tune.
“Rock Coast Blues” starts out relatively quickly with some intensity, while the band seemingly outlines some bluesy structure for the song, which gradually takes form more as the song continues to go on. The vocals don’t necessarily get guttural, but definitely get bluesier. The simplicity of the melody is really sweet, and really allows for the intensity of the playing of the chords to voice the blues well. The electric guitar comes in during the verses at times for some gentle bluesy licks, but this one has an almost California folksy blues sound to it, and ends with the sound of what might be waves crashing on the shore from afar.
“Magoo” starts incredibly softly, as the waves crashing from afar at the end of this song become more like a storm with rolls on the cymbals melding the instrumentation and natural sounds together quite well. The acoustic guitar and electric guitar sort of roll into each other. Oh wow, the vocals somehow fade through the musical soundscape to suddenly sound like they’re raining down from the clouds in the storm that’s lightly playing in the background of this song. This tune is super groovy, and far out for sure. The band sort of teases a psychedelic carnivalesque waltz that melds with the storm. The playing of the band and storm fade out, and a really serene acoustic guitar comes into focus. It could either be the eye of the storm, or the passing of the storm at this point. The playing picks up for a moment, only to fade out again. Great tune.
“Janis” is presumably about Country Joe McDonald’s then girlfriend, Janis Joplin, is a very groovy, nearly bluesy, psychedelic meandering tune. The nearly falsetto notes from the vocals while the acoustic guitar plays an almost baroque line alongside a harpsichord really provide a starry sky dream-like song. Great little tune.
“Thought Dream” starts super interestingly, like some sort of psychedelic baptist gospel sermon, which once again has a commentary on the war. Oh wow, the tune dropped into some super tasty psychedelic blues licks with the guitar for a moment. Oh wow, the organ carries the song with a movement to a really lovely musical soundscape, almost like a glimpse of what could be without war. I really dig the interplay between the organs and bass guitar, with the rhythm guitar accentuating the chords. The organs behind the clean lead guitar almost make it sound like the guitar shimmers through the soundscape. The vocals have an almost Sinatra-like quality, like they’re singing directly to you. This song is quite lovely, I can close my eyes and almost melt away in the soundscape. Oh wow, the organs shimmer for a moment alone, then the electric guitar solo comes through and almost picks you up and returns you to reality. Oh wow, the end of the song comes back to that bluesy sermon.
Oh wow, “Thursday” is another psychedelic ragtime type song in the intro, before some really deep, earthy acoustic guitar comes, giving a really nice grounded feeling while the deep kick drums and the bright organs come on and sort of take the song out there. The bass line serves as some really great connective tissue. Oh wow, the electric guitar part is quite pleasant to listen to, and the song is basically completely different from how it started.
“Eastern Jam” is a really groovy jam at the beginning, starting out with drums and then bringing in the bass, and finally bringing in some guitars that all really take the jam far out. There are some worldly flavors mixed in with the percussion. Oh wow, the playing of the electric guitar gets somewhat folksy while keeping the electricity of both the tone and the song continuing on. Oh wow, the electric guitar gets almost a raga inflection to its playing when it picks up an extremely intense layer of fuzz, bringing this song right to the center of your face. I’m really digging this song.
“Colors for Susan” has a really nice airy looseness to the jangly acoustic guitar chords at the very beginning, begging the listener to relax as you’re floated down some sort of musical stream. The crashes of the drums are super interesting in contrast to the gentle, though strong playing of the guitars. I’m not sure when the electric guitar and bass guitar came on, but they all seem to be playing in sync. It’s almost like the band is washing your mind with some musical waves of sorts. The bass picks up every so often, almost in an act of reassurance. There aren’t any vocals yet, as I’m not too sure there even will be. The band seems to be imploring the listener to relax as the playing comes to a close. Definitely a very serene way to end a very interesting album.
This album was pretty sweet, and there was a lot of uniqueness to the style from commentary on wars to all around song structure. This one is definitely a groovy album and one that fans of folk rock and psychedelic rock from the 60s might want to check out. It’s definitely a really interesting listen, in my opinion. If you do decide to give this one a listen, I sincerely hope you enjoy the experience at least as much as I did.
-A