Entertainment is my business (Country Joe McDonald) (LP 3181 - 3182)

Country Joe McDonald   Incredible! Live! Country Joe! (Vinyl, Vanguard Records, 1972) ***  

Country Joe McDonald   Goodbye Blues (Vinyl, Fantasy Records, 1977) ***  

Genre: Folk rock 

Places I remember: RCA Music club; Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Kiss My Ass (Incredible! Live!)

Gear costume: Walk In Santiago

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: Country Joe and Arlo Guthrie are kindred spirits. 

They are both loveable rogues who play lovely guitar (Walk In Santiago), are rebels with a cause, happy to play the jester/fool role, poke fun at politicians (Tricky Dicky), play endearing folk rock ditties about war (Kiss My Ass), and are funny as all get out. The sixties were perfect for them.

They also operate well live with a small audience so they can spark off people, tell their shaggy dog stories (Country Joe's one is You Know What I Mean- a meeting between himself and the police) and have a good time.

Incredible! Live! Country Joe!  is recorded live (der) at The Bitter End in New York City and succeeds for the most part. Of course, the political stuff does date the proceedings somewhat. Still and all, he is an excellent entertainer!

Goodbye Blues subs out the political material and subs in the activist material. So - worthy topics like slaughtering seals for fur, killing whales, and destroying the wildness get an airing. He is effective, too, in creating catchy tunes to house these topical protests. 

Interestingly, this album isn't on Spotify (although Incredible! Live! is) and none of the songs on it make his compilation on Spotify. I do have two CD compilations - Classics does have a couple - Blood On The Ice, and Copiapo.

Where do they all belong? A seminal figure in folk rock. Don't forget him!

Hooray, up she rises (Country Joe McDonald) # 91

Country Joe Mcdonald Save The Whales!/ Oh, Jamaica (Fantasy, K6355, 1975)

Country Joe had an interesting career as a solo performer after the split with the Fish. Interesting is an interesting word. It is a weasel word in some senses - his career wobbled and finally collapsed (in terms of commercial potential and critical acclaim - he's still alive and well and putting out albums) under the weight of all the increased activism after his turn at Woodstock.

His album Goodbye Blues (which I like a lot, bear in mind) is a lot like Lennon's Sometime In New York City - a potpourri of good causes but when all lumped together it comes across a little like rent-a-cause.

Still - you can't help admire the energy and the good intention that Joe puts into songs like Save The Whales.

Hidden gem: The B side comes from a previous album - Paradise With An Ocean View and it's a curious choice for a B side. It's a cod reggae paean to er...Jamaica and Jamaican weed (mon). Ho hum!