Moby Grape 69

Personnel: Jerry Miller, Peter Lewis (vocals, guitar); Bob Mosley (vocals); Don Stevenson (guitar, drums).Recording information: 11/06/1967-11/24/1968.After the top-heavy overproduction of Wow and the meandering, aimless improvisations on Grape Jam, Moby Grape seemed to be getting back into the groove with their fourth album, simply titled Moby Grape '69. The liner notes by producer David Rubinson refer to the promotional hype that soured many fans to the virtues of Moby Grape and the excesses that had dogged the group since, and while his mea culpa goes a great deal further than it needs to, it does accompany an album that clearly found Moby Grape eager to get back to the business of playing straightforward, heartfelt rock & roll. Moby Grape '69 is concise enough -- most of the songs are under three minutes and the whole thing clocks in at a shade under a half-hour -- and the high points come close to recapturing the electric magic of the group's nearly flawless debut, especially