''Truly Fine Citizen'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band

Moby Grape Moby Grape is an American rock band founded in 1966, known for having all five members contribute to singing and songwriting, and who collectively merged elements of folk music, blues, country, and jazz with rock and psychedelic music. They were ...

. It was released on July 30, 1969, by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. After completing the album, the band went on hiatus until 1971 when they reunited with

Skip Spence Alexander Lee "Skip" Spence (April 18, 1946 – April 16, 1999) was a Canadian-born American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was co-founder of Moby Grape, and played guitar with them until 1969. In the same year, he released his only s ...

and Bob Mosley to record the reunion album, '' 20 Granite Creek''.

Background

After the departure of

Bob Mosley James Robert "Bob" Mosley (born December 4, 1942, in San Diego, California) is principally known as the bass player and one of the songwriters and vocalists for the band Moby Grape. Some of his best-known songs with Moby Grape are "Mr. Blues", " ...

, the remaining trio headed to Nashville where they cut this album in just three days with legendary Columbia Records producer

Bob Johnston Donald William 'Bob' Johnston (May 14, 1932 – August 14, 2015) was an American record producer, best known for his work with Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, and Simon & Garfunkel. Early days Johnston was born into a professional mus ...

. This album fulfilled the band's contract with Columbia Records. At the time, the band was in the midst of legal disputes with their manager,

Matthew Katz Matthew Katz (born 1929) is an American music manager and producer, most notably as the former manager of Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape and It's a Beautiful Day. He is the owner of the record label San Francisco Sound, and the owner of Matthew ...

, with the result that certain songs written by band members were instead credited to their road manager, Tim Dell'Ara. In particular, songs written by

Jerry Miller Jerry Miller (born July 10, 1943) is an American songwriter, guitarist and vocalist. He performs as a solo artist and as a member of the Jerry Miller Band. He is also a founding member of the 1960s San Francisco band Moby Grape, which continues ...

and Don Stevenson became Tim Dell'Ara songs, to counter Matthew Katz withholding royalties on previous recordings.Moby Grape discussion group--"More B. Grape" thread
May 17, 2004. Replacing Bob Mosley on bass was famed Nashville session musician

Bob Moore Bob Loyce Moore (November 30, 1932 – September 22, 2021) was an American session musician, orchestra leader, and double bassist who was a member of the Nashville A-Team during the 1950s and 1960s. He performed on over 17,000 documented recor ...

, who had played bass on many

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

sessions and was one of the founders of

Monument Records Monument Records is an American record label in Washington, D.C. named for the Washington Monument, founded in 1958 by Fred Foster, Buddy Deane (a prominent Baltimore disc jockey at WTTG), and business manager Jack Kirby. Buddy Deane soon left ...

, for many years the recording home of Roy Orbison.

Critical reception

In a contemporary review for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'', music critic Robert Christgau gave the album a "C+" and wrote, "In which what should have been America's greatest rock group gasps its last. Quite mediocre, despite a couple of lovely Peter Lewis songs."

Track listing

Side one

# "Changes, Circles Spinning" ( Peter Lewis) – 2:27 # "Looper" (Lewis) – 3:02 # "Truly Fine Citizen" (Tim Dell'Ara) – 1:47 # "Beautiful Is Beautiful" (Dell'Ara) – 2:29 # "Love Song" (Dell'Ara) – 2:22

Side two

# "Right Before My Eyes" (Lewis) – 2:02 # "Open Up Your Heart" (Dell'Ara) – 2:36 # "Now I Know High" (Lewis) – 6:10 # "Treat Me Bad" (Dell'Ara) – 2:17 # "Tongue-Tied" (

) – 2:01 # "Love Song, Part Two" (Dell'Ara) – 2:41

Bonus tracks on 2007 CD edition

# "Rounder" ive(Spence) – 2:02 # "Miller’s Blues" ive(Miller,

) – 6:06 # "Changes" ive(Miller, Don Stevenson) – 4:17 # "Skip’s Song" Seeing" Demo(Spence) – 3:26 # "Looper" emo, previously unreleased(Lewis) – 2:06 # "Soul Stew" nstrumental, previously unreleased(Mosley) – 2:18 # "Cockatoo Blues" Tongue-Tied" Demo, previously unreleased(Miller, Spence) – 3:41

Personnel

* Peter Lewis -

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

, vocals * Don Stevenson -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, vocals ;Additional personnel *

- bass

Charts

Album - '' Billboard''

References

{{Authority control Moby Grape albums 1969 albums Albums produced by Bob Johnston Columbia Records albums