Country Joe & The Fish - Electric Music For The Mind And Body

A true talisman of the '60s San Francisco Bay Area scene, this 1967 debut LP (180 grams) was packed with mind-blowing psychedelic classics.

Given their origins, both geographical (San Francisco) and stylistic (the founder Joe McDonald and lead guitarist Barry Melton first met in a jug band), it was no surprise that the Fish, despite their motley appearance, sounded like an acid-soaked electric folk group on their 1967 debut.

Both the most political and funniest of all the Northern California bands, the Fish's yippie-hippie ethos was reflected in songs like Superbird (about Lyndon Johnson), Flying High (about drugs, you know what) and the bluesy saga about free love, Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine.

The fact that they were occasionally able to appear serious (the wide-angle instrumental Section Forty Three and the melancholy Bass Strings) only added bite to their satirical humor. --Billy Altman