Moby Grape - 8:05

[rjplamf61]

Love this song but my favorite Grape tune is The Sweet Ride. That song is so FN badass. The movie used to play on the late, late show on ABC channel 7 in NYC back in the early 70's and the club scene where the Grape play the song was my fav part of the movie. Took me many years to actually get the song on CD. Missed out on them by about ten years. Great FN band. No doubt.

[mojo1229]

@mojoneill I saw them in SF many times, and their sound was great! But another band that was just as good but was overlooked was H.P. Lovecraft. Too bad because they were all talented players and singers.

[hispire1]

Used to buy moby grape tickets just in case they would actually show up.The Best

[dagwoodb]

skip was schizophrenic



[grswain626]

Take me back. Played street football with Jerry and Skip back in' 67 in Mill Valley at the base of Mt. Tam. just where the road left residential and went up the mountain. They lived in an apt complex around the corner from my cousin. Gave us bags of 1 inch purple pins and Moby Grape on them. Still have 1 of them. Wouldn't trade anything to be born in a different time for music.

[fasolplanetarium]

@grswain626 Groovy. Was Skip a weird or by any means an odd guy?

[grswain626]

@fasolplanetarium Skip was a little esoteric prior to his trip to N.Y.. Didn't see him after he left for N.Y. But heard he had gone off on his own "mind trip" while there and returned a different person.

[d1sailer]

i see 2 people thought this was 90's stuff....lol

[flutestar51]

Moved to San Francisco in the 70s, walked down Haight, and Moby Grape was playing in a bar there. They should have been big!

[evilthesaurus]

gotta love skip spence. one of the best musicians/songwriters/men ever.

[aquamoon22]

Always loved this song. Such sweet harmonies.

[jab3785]

My favorite song when I'm high on nitrous. Try it sometime.

[redsfanstu]

Two minutes and 29 seconds of absolute musical perfection! Moby Grape, one of the By God best American Music bands of all time! No one trying today can touch this! GaylordMusic thank you for the upload, my final question: How can one person dislike this, not to mention the other one who did?!?! RIP Alexander "Skip" Spence, M. Katz you have a spot reserved in HELL!

[ceekay1952]

@redsfanstu

Hey Red! Nice tune...thanks for the share!! :)xo

[J5schn1tz]

I wish it was 8:05 mins long ...oh well still great!

[thkro20]

This is really good!

[speedy2green]

I agree with youtalkiname. I husband thinks they were the most underrated band of the time, hands down.

[wonderlin1]

I'm sure I haven't heard this since I was a little kid & it must have been on the back of a 45 or something - I don't think it was a top 40 hit.

[SeattleLA]

This album is one of the best of the entire era, but according to most critics, it is the only album of Grape's, of artistic value, and I agree with that. Three lead guitars, rich harmonies, so much more. There is one reason only, why they fizzled out. I won't say who, but his initials are K A T Z.

[richdys]

Great song. Forget about this track. Love the ending. . . One of the bands from that era that you wished had gotten time to make more music.

[pmandel]

Incredible. I put my Mahler's 2nd Seattle Symphony tkt for sale on Craigslist. A guy contacts me. He's in a local Seattle band, Open Blue Music. He mentioned that his Dad was also a guitarist, world famous, original member of the band Moby Grape. I said I LOVE their old song "8:05". Guess what the dude said: "MY DAD WROTE THAT SONG." Hello...??? Is this a crazy coincidence, or what.?!?!?!?????!!

[SeattleLA]

@pmandel Wow, that is great. I live in the Seattle area. I think that is Jerry Miller. He lives in Sammamish, and maybe Don Stevenson lives here too. Both are credited as writing this song. I hope to meet either of them someday.

[hugosalarm]

Talent-wise, there was no American band of the era who came close to these guys. As much as I loved the Byrds, Springfield, The Youngbloods and the Airplane, Moby Grape was special, and for such a depressingly short time.

[JamezDHI50]

If you like the acoustic guitar sounds and velvet harmonies of The Grape, check out a group from Hawaii that would follow just a couple of years later.. it's hard to imagine that Billy Kaui and The Comfort weren't influenced by 8:05...

enter Conutry Comfort and Sunlite Moonlite and see what you think..

[oliviada97]

1 person is a real Moby Dick.

[Rooktoven]

Drugs didn't destroy this band (though they didn't help matters). Rather this band was destroyed by the utter greed, mendacity and incompetence of one man-- their manager Matthew Katz. Read on to see why, this is one of the great Rock and Roll tragedies.

Wiki Moby Grape to see why,

[bronncohowie]

How could there possibly be ONE cretin who "dislikes" this song ??? This is so timeless, so beautiful, so haunting .......

[brahmburgers]

lovely song, beautifully done. No need for drums, just a clean guitar and a meld of voices. I listened to MG's album many times in the late 60's. Great to hear that tune again. Now, I'm off to look for the the tune which starts, "Would you let me walk down the street / naked if I want to. Can I pop fireworks, on the 4th of July?" ......

[Horrayformusic]

@brahmburgers Naked if I want to :)

[fockingclassy]

@brahmburgers

No drums? There are drums on this track

[mrmdsidebottom]

Learnt this on accoustic guitar - what a beautiful tune to play (badly in my case!)

[CowboyJack44]

I've haven't listened to much Grape over the years, and I kind of forgot about how great this song actually was and still is. And now that I've kinda rediscovered them so to speak, I can't get this fucking song out of my head! LOL! I can listen to this countless times repeatedly without ever growing tired or sick of it. It's a great tune to mellow out or get high too......Absolutely love it!

[DaDa2Phlux]

They are stolen from by so many w/ absolutely no tip of the hat. I'm glad that I'm my age .56,because the memory of them as they were happening keeps the rebellion of youth in my heart.

[dbrinkm1]

@DaDa2Phlux I Still have this album in vinyl.I am 64 and STILL have the "rebellion of youth" only its moved from my heart to my body! Yes...it is hell to grow old !

[DaDa2Phlux]

@DaDa2Phlux I hear ya ! peace ;-)

[plywood34]

One of the most underrated bands of all time. They introduced a style of music that no one has duplicated in almost 50 years. RIP Skip. (Listen to Skip's "Oar" for a true experience of a very mentally disturbed genius. It is a remarkable album in it's own way.)

[plywood34]

One of the most underrated bands of all time. They introduced a style of music that no one has duplicated in almost 50 years. RIP Skip.

[gdillard1]

Thanks, Skippie! And this entire hippie band.

[Dubulous111]

heard about this band from a little dan auerbach record store video. pretty cool

[marmas58ink]

My sister and I had this on a 'hits of the day' type album. Bought (thru the mail, sold on tv) when I was 9 or 10. I remember this *so* well. Even thou it had been 30+ yrs... it stayed w/ me.

As for who did it, long ago my mind had replaced MG w/ The Byrds. Tonite seeing the name 'M G' on a site devoted to 60s artists, the title came to mind. Funny enough, still didn't connect the 2. To me it was still a Byrds' song. ...A long turn around. Guess the mind knows more than it ever let's on.

[krull121]

To my ears this is as good as it gets. Absolutely perfect and beautiful song. Hey Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, ARE YOU LISTENING? 

[verbaud]

Love the Grape. Sad that evil people destroyed Skip. He never came back.

[darcelink]

what a gorgeous song...still remember the first time i heard it. a long long time ago. thanx for posting.

[TroutDancert]

It's such a shame that drugs ruined one of the best bands ever.

[photobywayne2004]

How soon we forget.

[ragtimemarkbirnbaum]

heartbreaking touching.....

[jiugi77]

Such a pretty ballad. wonder what happened to them.

[oldbump]

Yup.

[kayjay83]

My kids are into my vinyl. They cant believe whats there and Moby Grape is one of their favs. They like motorcycle irene and can i walk down ....if i want to.

[rigaudien]

great song !

[icssoma]

haven't been back her for awhile...the postings have gotten heavy!!! (ok this is my era).

at any rate people also self medicate w. bi-polar disorder. bi-polar disorder is more common than schizo.

many people don't get diagnosed for either. they end up on the street, in jail, & a few in the almost non-existent mental health facilities.

one of the biggest problems in this country is the lack of preventative mental health. could probably cut the jail population in 1/2 w. good programs, treatment, &

[Doriiexplorii]

This is exactly how I feel right now.

[crickle47]

I worked at San Jose State University in the 90's. I used to see Skip everyday, just walking around smoking ciggies. He lived in an assisted living house on 10th street, and the policy apparently was to make everyone leave the house during the day, lock it up to clean etc. Kinda tragic to see Skip some days because he would either forget his coat and be cold and miserable all day, or worse....forget his meds and was a mess all day. Saw him many years. Sad.

[Ayinger]

I discovered this song about a month ago and am embarrassed I didn't find these guys many years ago. I have seen the Moody Blues in concert 26 times, but I only got hip to Moby Grape a few months ago! What a gem. Sixties rock lovers need to do a deep dive with this group and find what you've been missing, like I did. These guys are outstanding and have probably 20 excellent songs that few know about.

[qsergyuko]

Holy fuck this song is good,long live the grape and long live the skip.

[mozrt]

is true that the drummer tried to kill his bandmates with an axe?

[maida1982a]

not quite, but it still wasn't pretty

[hugatag]

Oh it be true. Skip Spence.

[mmccutch45]

Incredible musical talent and a genuinely beautiful song

[tamlin10]

my two favorite times of the day, 420, and 805, thanks for posting!!!

[mnoble]

there is nothing in the world better than this

[indianrivergrrl]

Every time i have looked and my clock read, 8:05, this melody has rung, for 40 years, through my mind. I remember how sweet those days were, and how cheap the pot was.

[astronorm111]

Oh so original rock - Thanks.

[mnoble]

Best band of the sixties?

[9erfandex]

mnoble once again you are correct ,Moby Grape may just possibly be the best musical organization of all time, not to mention just the 60's, yes they were that Gy God GOOD! It's just too bad their mgt was so GREEDY AND INSENSITIVE! A classic case of the saddest words from voice or pen, to woefully speculate as to what might have been!

[Uebervater]

I've just found out about this amazing band. Awesome!

[caseypons]

I have no idea of your age but, do yourself a favor and invest in the CD so you can allow yourself, and it to become friends for life.

You will not be disappointed, my friend!

[Uebervater]

I do, my friend, I do!

[volpeck]

What a surprise to see my own artwork included in the slideshow - I did the cover for the Forever Mo' tribute cd. I've loved the Grape since first hearing them in 1966.

And yes, Bob Mosely was homeless for about five years. He's on meds, married, happy, writing songs and performing with the Larry Hosford band in Aptos.

[miguelbgood]

Thanks for the update on Bob! Tell him many people still love the work he did with Grape! One of my favorite albums of all time is their first one, "Moby Grape"!

[miguelbgood]

Oh, and great Forever Mo cover by the way!

[miguelbgood]

volpeck wrote: "And yes, Bob Mosely was homeless for about five years. He's on meds, married, happy, writing songs and performing with the Larry Hosford band in Aptos."

Are you confusing Bob Mosely with Skip Spence? Skip was homeless and mentally ill for a time but got better before he died, according to Wikipedia. I doubt that Mosely was also homeless and mentally ill. Have you perhaps confused the two men's lives?

[volpeck]

No, it happened to them both. Peter Lewis found Bob living under a freeway bridge and was instrumental in getting Bob the care he needed.

Post-recovery, Bob was toying with the idea of releasing a CD called "Under the Bridge."

It's questionable whether Skip actually "got better." His son Omar played him a pre-release copy of "More Oar" just before he passed.

[mookieisfraud]

actually both skip and bob were homeless and borderline schizophrenic if not full. i say borderline because after the amount of acid they ate its pretty hard to stay sane. bob mosley was homeless for 5 year and when he rejoined the band they picked him up where he was living on the side of the highway. he was able to get back on track with life after that

unlike skip who lost his musical abilities a few years after the onset of schizo and remained a homeless until his death.. sad story really...

[mookieisfraud]

actually scratch that last part i actually just checked and he supposedly got a bit better before his death (skip that is) but both him and bob were diagnosed schizos and this is most definitely a direct cause of eating too much acid!

[prunebreath]

@mookieisfraud Actually, acid use does not cause schizophrenia, though people with this condition often self-medicate (especially early on and it tends to develop in the teens to twenties. Of course, LSD is not good for schizo. either. BTW: While Bob may have dropped a few times, he was no major acidhead.

[prunebreath]

@mookieisfraud Skip never lost it. I remember one afternoon seeing him hitching in the s.cruz mtns. I stopped and said; "Hey Skip, how about us getting a burger and a six pack and going to see Jerry?" He was game and we drove the long, winding road to Miller's house, but Jerry was out. His son let us in and Skip picked up a pretty little Yamaha and then laid into a version of "Weighed Down" that sent the shivers going up and down the spine. Leadbelly should have sung like that! Amazing.

[qsergyuko]

@prunebreath Are you lying?what was he like?he he talk much?say anything about the grape?please for the love of god tell us more,did he say anything about what had really happened when recording oar?

[prunebreath]

@qsergyuko

[prunebreath]

@qsergyuko Hey man, for some reason utube didn't like my post. Or well. No lies, life's too short and Skip was too special.

[9erfandex]

Thank you GaylordMusic. I have always loved this song! Moby Grape: The ultimate in mismanagement in the screwy Music World! This particular tune just may possibly be one of a very small handful that could be considered quite possibly the all time best, at least in the Top Ten marooned on a deserted island essential discs, the first by Moby Grape was a definite keeper then, and it is still holding up nicely today! I love the harmonies vocally, and the instrumentation is exquisite, Thanks You Tube

[mnoble]

Another example of those harmonies is "Someday". Fantastic band.

[9erfandex]

mnoble you are correct, in fact all of their 1st l.p. was EXTRAORDINARY! Vocally and instrumentally these boys were just GOOD!!! ROS!!!! Listen closely to somewhere from the Great Beyond on the wings of mighty strings: AMEN!!!!!!

[wpod123]

they rocked

[davcnslt]

Malevolent, greedy management is the story hear. The manager, Matthew Katz, had already been already been sacked by Jefferson Airplane when he worked to form up Grape. The problem is that Katz had little conviction regarding artist remuneration and very little sense of what was good for the group. His was yet another example of unbridled greed and where it gets you.

[RockC67]

love this song. they are one of the most underappreciated and overlooked bands EVER.

[UsingAllTheUsernames]

haha gaylord music

[prunebreath]

It wasn't the evil corporations, it was a singe evil man or more exactly, manager. He sued them for over 40 yr. and they fought back. How much more personal responsibility do you want sonofaurora? Plenty of musicians make it doing a ton more drugs than the Grape; it wasn't the drugs so much as evil, greedy management. Two of the original members were disabled by mental illness as well, but they still fought. Lift up your eyes!

[sonofaurora]

Let's not pass the blame on to corporations. How about personal responsibility to one's self? Alot of musicians make it or don't make it in the music business without drugs!

[Amicus1952]

If Skip lived in another place, he might still be with us. Only here, in the land of the free (corporations) and the brave (corporations) do we allow our citizens to wilt away and die.

Yes, I know there is no solution to this corporate world we live in...our fate was sealed long ago...someone has to mention that things went sour long ago though.

[TacomaPaul]

Jerry Miller lives just a few blocks from me. Hilarious guy ! I didn't even know who he was for 2 weeks while I was playing rythym guitar for him in mid 80s.... then it hit me. HOLY CRAP ! You're Jerry Miller ! Too funny. Great guy.

[youtalkiname]

Another one of the most under rated bands of 60's.

[GroovyColouredLove]

@youtalkiname

And a sad sad story what happened to the members afterwards in life... They had such talent and fell for the wrong things.

[stuccopalm]

how can their sound move me so deeply?, I am in awe.

[foreveraien]

another beautiful tune of this band was "Come in the morning"...unbelief incredible don't travel this on youtube.

[foreveraien]

of this fantastic band...

[kevin1of1]

Today I saw Jerry Miller play at the Reuben sandwich shop in Des Moines, WA... he played a wonderful version of this song! A wonderful person, and awesome guitar player still. Wish I would've had my video camera! ... He's gonna play there again on July 25th, maybe I will remember the camera for that!

[nath909]

just dont get stoned and you remember

[fmhesch]

The best song on one of the best albums ever !!!

[Pauleglide]

There could be a better song out there somewhere... but hearing this again makes me think I havent heard it yet. A masterpiece plain and simple.

[DLJStahl]

They were a great band. It's unfortunate that they got hosed/screwed themselves with some very bad business deals and too many voyages into psychedelia.

This album had such a variety of tunes and styles and was a great example of the creativity that artists could exercise at the time.

[CubanCheGuevara]

DLJS- There was this old, homeless, crazy guy who wandered the streets of San Jose California near where I worked. Everybody knew him, he never bothered anybody. I actually tried to befriend him once but he was so far gone, he didn't even know I was there. When this guy died, the weeklies ran a big story on him with a big photo as him at the time "Skip Spence of Moby Grape Fame Dies"? I was in shock for a week. I LOVED this guy's music when I was a teenager! "Oh my god, THAT was Skip Spence"!

[bigmarty56]

As many of you have said, this is a very pretty song, with most excellent guitar work. Do you all hear the subtle eletric counterpoint to the acoustic lead throughout the tune---especially noticeable in the lead? If not, listen again--it's lovely.

I went into a guitar place a while ago, and prtended I was going to buy. Picked up a Gibson Jumbo and played this. The 20 year old blue long hair said, "Whoa, Man, Cool 8:05". Who'd a thunk it? The best never ends.

[xrcjpx]

eah wheww one of the best American Psychedelic bands (although not sounding so Psych!) harmonies and the guitars inter-weaving were just great. Never saw an ad on TV or heard an ad on the radio for these guys...

A total listening music...people nowadays are drawn into music by image driven false shit!

[xrcjpx]

eah wheww one of the best American Psychedelic bands (although not sounding so Psych!) harmonies and the guitars inter-weaving were just great. Never saw an ad on TV or heard an ad on the radio for these guys...

A total listening music...people nowadays are drawn into music by image false life shit! what has money done?

[hugatag]

the lyrics in 8:05 are so so sweet, I have loved this song since I first heard it back in 1968. One of the most underrated songs of the times in my opinion.

[ocdgod89]

Does anyone know where to find the tablature for the lead guitar/bridge. I can only find the chords online.

[pickrhead]

Why can't you figure it out on your own? Guys who can't play without tab can't play, period.

Sorry if this sounds harsh but there are already way too many guitar owners as opposed to guitar players around.

[6749er]

I'm not going to get into that they were better than this or them but on any given night Live they were as good as Anybody.

I'm from SF & saw them many times.

1966-67 Grape before all the star-crossed problems

Was a truly Great band that could do it All.

From Kick-Ass Rockers to this 8:05 which is one of my all-time faves of all-time. Wadda Band they wereThanks

[altcountryguitar]

Before the Eagles and the whole 70's era of California singer-songwriters, Moby Grape laid out the blueprint. Unreal harmony singing, the incredible guitar playing of Jerry Miller, and the soulful Bob Mosley moving things along on the bottom . First saw them on a NY-based TV show called "The Steve Paul Scene" (also featuring the Staple Singers...talk about a kickin' double bill) and was sold for life upon that first encounter with "Sitting By The Window" live. The Grape broke a lot of ground.

[tradecraft46]

Why don't Idol types try some Grape? You can makes these song your own, and that is what feeds the monkeys.

[slownoman]

the Grape didn't last long, but, at their best they were, imho, the best SF band there was. Amazing live presence, incredible energy and guitar playing, and superb songs. by late '67/early '68 they were burned to a crisp from drugs. bummer. Briefly, they were almost the American Beatles.

[6749er]

Skip's had serious problems & Bob had his too but Skip was the only one that was "burnt" from drugs along with his mental illness.

There were 5 guys in that band.

To say that The Band Moby Grape was burned to the crisp from drugs isn't the truth or fair to the guys who wern't.

When Skip was burned to a crip I saw the other guys make great music. & saw Jerry Miller play just a few months ago & as always he was great & as always not burt to a crisp on drugs. I'm SF & late 67 Grape was Great

[lynric7]

this has to be the most beautiful and truly saddest songs, my father's favorite he used play it alot, the voices are incrediable as well

[tradecraft46]

One of the prettiest song, and no one has covered it recently.

[jim78250]

This gave me terminal goose bumps!

[soltisimba]

I also think this was their most beautiful song and one of the best songs of that period. They do it live on some video you can find on YouTube. It is VERY hard to find any video of this band. I am hoping Wolfgang's Vault comes up with some.

[LaDeGijon]

great song!

[soltisimba]

I saw them in July 1967 and they were brilliant - a wall of guitar and vocal sound. Skip was jumping all over the stage. See the Wikipedia entry for Moby Grape for more of the story (I have contributed to that entry) about Skip and the band. I don't think Mosely was ever homeless, but Skip was and died in 1999 after living on the streets of Santa Cruz for a few years. After 1969, Skip basically could not play music or communicate in a normal manner.

[hugatag]

Thats so sad. I always loved this band.

[racheljlc]

Beautiful song...........yeah, I met Skip at a bar in San Jose in 77, he was gone very sad

[hummingharder]

I can't imagine anything more beautiful.

[maida1982a]

their entire first album had so much variety and each song was packed with ideas, so that a 2 or 3 minutes song seemed longer.

[friar124]

You know your tears could only bring pain in my heart...

I love these guys

[6749er]

One of the best songs ever & when I was a kid on any given night Moby Grape Live could be the best band in town.

[kramerspadowskiki]

the middle guy looks like frodo good song

[Baddoggone]

Of all the bands from SF in the 60's, Moby Grape wrote some of the best songs. They were to radical & stoned for the commercial market & so was everybady else back then in the city, LOL.

[ortleyman]

I think their manager fucked them up. I'm doing a little research on The Grape and this guy who managed them told Lou Adler that he had to pay them a million dollars to film them at the Monterey Pop Festival. What happened after was instead of putting The Grape on Satuday night before Otis Redding they were put on at sunset on Friday when nobody was there. Maybe if they would have backed up Otis they would have blown up like all the other bands did.

[LaDeGijon]

wonderful song

[steveinbelgium]

It's great to hear this again. 5 Stars!!!

[jpinnacle]

0:45-- great photo of them at their press conference, shortly after signing with Columbia.

[icssoma]

it's too bad the quality is lousy, but what a great song, band & all the wonderful memories it evokes, probably especially for those of us that grew up in the city/bay area...

this song, is never far from me...even the bad copy can't diminish it's beauty.

[stevespelling]

This was one of the most under rated and under appreciated terrific rock bands of the 60's. It's a same what happened to them & that we didn't hear more from them.

[nunurox]

didnt like some of them go homeless?

[Billboy10]

Skip Spence was homeless and suffered from mental illness, some of it due to drugs.

[nunurox]

wow.... its sad to what can happen to people with reat talent

[nunurox]

great talent

[rschreck]

Bob Mosely was homeless and a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic as well.

[Jubilo1]

Great blast from the past ! Tasty guitar work, good ballads and a lot of energy in their rockers !!!!

[koopsterr]

covered some of their stuff back in late 60's band. This one really shows the intricacy of the guitar work that a lot of rock guitarists dont get proper credit for....still good today.