Country Joe & The Fish - Live! Fillmore West 1969 (1994)

“Live! Fillmore West 1969” is a live album from the Fillmore West performance first CD released in 1994. Mainly includes live versions of the fourth album “Here We Go Again”.
With The Fish's most famous lineup, with Jack Casady of the Jefferson Airplane taking the place of the recently departed Bruce Barthol. The sound is good, but it's only for diehards, as the songs aren't among their best compositions, and the arrangements are way too prone to the uninteresting jamming that eventually gave San Francisco psychedelia a bad name.
This is one of the farewell performances of Country Joe and the Fish (and coincidentally is the same show that featured the American debut of Led Zeppelin), and as a result go out with a real bang!. The highlight of this album is undoubtedly the 38 min "Donovan's Reef Jam" featuring special guests Jerry Garcia, Mickey Hart, and Steve Miller. Though this is enough for any Deadhead, the rest of the album is superb. My personal favorites include the opening "Rock and Soul Music" jam and the sweet "It's So Nice To Have Your Love". Having not heard much Country Joe music (with the exception of the Woodstock soundtrack), this album has made me an instant fan of the group. Certainly a must for any fan of San Francisco era improvisational music.
Notes by Sam Charters and Bill Belmont and published by Vanguard Records.


01.  "Introduction/Rock and Role Music/Love" (Bruce Barthol, David Cohen, Gary "Chicken" Hirsh,
         Country Joe McDonald, Barry Melton)  - 6:15    
02.  "Here I Go Again" (Country Joe McDonald)  - 4:42   
03.  "It's So Nice to Have Your Love"  (Country Joe McDonald)  - 6:31  
04.  "Flying High"  (Country Joe McDonald)  - 12:36  
05.  "Doctor of Electricity"  (Barry Melton)  - 9:11  
06.  "Donovan's Reef Jam"  (Jack Casady, David Cohen, Jerry Garcia, Mickey Hart, Gary "Chicken"
         Hirsh, Country Joe McDonald, Barry Melton, Steve Miller)  - 38:17

Credits
Country Joe McDonald - vocals, acoustic guitar, bells, tambourine
Barry "The Fish" Melton - vocals, electric guitar
David Cohen - electric guitar, organ
Jack Casady - Bass guitar
Gary "Chicken" Hirsh - drums
David Getz - Drums
Mickey Hart - Drums
Jerry Garcia - Guitar, Harp
Jorma Kaukonen - Guitar
Steve Miller - Guitar

Edited By – Kirk Felton
Mixed By – Bill Belmont, Eric Thomson
Photography By – Jim Marshall
Photography By [Cover] – Lars Hansen 
Cover [Cover Art] – Gilles Margerin
Recorded By [Original Recording] – Eddie Friedner
Producer [Originally Produced By] – Sam Charters

Notes
Mixed at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, CA
Sonic Solutions was used on portions of the master to cross fade the applause
Master edited and final assembly done at Fantasy
Recording Date: January 9, 10 & 11 1969 Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA
Poster courtesy of Bill Graham Presents and Jerry Pompili
Length: 1:17:32
Genre:  Blues Rock, Folk-Rock, Live

© 1994 Vanguard Records