I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 1967 | |||
Recorded | July and August 1967 | |||
Studio | Vanguard, New York City [1] | |||
Genre | Psychedelic rock | |||
Length | 44:56 | |||
Label | Vanguard VSD 79266 | |||
Producer | Samuel Charters | |||
Country Joe and the Fish chronology | ||||
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I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die is the second studio album by the influential San Francisco psychedelic rock band, Country Joe and the Fish, released at the end of 1967.
The album was released just six months after the debut and is another prime example of the band's psychedelic experimentation. It again features organ-heavy psychedelia and Eastern melodic lines, with more acoustic guitar than the debut. [2] During this time, the band continued to build on their growing reputation by performing at local venues like the Fillmore Auditorium and appearing at festivals including Monterey Pop and The Fantasy Faire. [3] The album, as a whole, fit well in the Bay Area psychedelic scene. The band effectively used satirical humor to express their outspoken views toward the Vietnam War and other hot topics of the counterculture. Although many of the tracks were not as well-known, they were still accessible and showcased Country Joe McDonald as a lead vocalist. With the creativity of the band reaching a peak, the band began touring nationally and internationally. [4]
Recordings took place in Vanguard studios in 71 West 23rd Street, New York City, during July and August 1967 with the exception of "Thought Dream" which was an outtake from the February 1967 sessions for Electric Music for the Mind and Body. [1] [5] With more money to spend than the debut, songs often went through several different arrangements and many overdubs before their final versions were chosen. [6]
Three songs--the title track, "Who Am I?" and "Thought Dream"--were all written and performed before the debut album. The title track remains one of the most popular Vietnam protest songs from the 1960s, having originally appeared in folky acoustic form on their October 1965 EP Songs of Opposition on Rag Baby Records. It was originally considered for the debut album but held over by producer Samuel Charters on account of its controversial lyric. [5] On the album, "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag" appears following "The Fish Cheer", which at concerts became a Country Joe standard. At Woodstock, Joe had the crowd yell F-U-C-K instead of F-I-S-H. "Who Am I?" had also been recorded for the initial Rag Baby EP but left off. Another of the more well-known numbers is the charming waltz-time track "Janis", which opens side two and was written for McDonald's then-girlfriend Janis Joplin. It is one of a number of songs written for female musicians included on their albums, others being "Grace" on the debut in honor of Grace Slick as well as "Pat's Song" for Pat Sullivan and "Colors For Susan" for flautist Susan Graubard of Pat Kilroy's group The New Age. [6] "Magoo" was named after a local Hell's Angel's leader.
Other songs on the album include the closing instrumentals "Eastern Jam", which features raga-inflected fuzz guitar work from Barry Melton and "Colors for Susan", a slow, meditative acoustic guitar piece which conjures a similar mood to the quiet parts of "Section 43." "Colors For Susan" had evolved out of a long talk between Joe and producer Samuel Charters over the emotions the latter felt after hearing Erik Satie's "Les Sonneries de la Rose-Croix" in a still New York garden at sunset. [6] In addition, two short interlude pieces, "The H-Bomb Song" and "The Acid Commercial", appear back-to-back in-between "Thought Dream" and "Thursday." Both pieces were often performed during the band's live shows as comic relief.
The group had been staying at the Chelsea Hotel in New York under brutal summer heat, recording during the day at Vanguard Studios located in the same building, while playing a two-week residency at the Cafe Au Go Go at night. After playing additional shows on the East Coast and Hawaii, the band was exhausted. At one point during the sessions Joe became so exhausted that the band recorded the backing track for "Janis" without him, leaving him to take a nap and add overdubs when awake. [6] The result of the stress was that by the end of September, Country Joe had departed the band. Barry “The Fish” Melton, David Cohen, Bruce Barthol and Chicken Hirsch decided to continue as a four piece and renamed themselves The Incredible Fish. [6] During this time Joe made his way up the coast playing Portland, Seattle and Vancouver whilst the band stayed largely in the Bay Area working theaters and some smaller venues. With the imminent release of the album, manager Ed Denson persuaded the band to reunite, which they did in time for both the album release in November and the airing of the KQED short film of A Day In The Life of Country Joe and The Fish that December.
The front cover photograph was taken by Joel Brodsky at a New York studio where many costumes were lying around, which the band decided to wear. David was a wizard, Joe was a soldier and Barry chose a Nazi uniform, although the swastika on his armband was later replaced by Vanguard with an American flag. [6]
The original album sleeve contained a poster for "The Fish Game", a huge 22 x 33-inch fold-out board game sheet for throwing a dice and moving five three dimensional paper cut-outs of the band members around. Various goals are available for the game such as "scoring a joint". [7]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The album was released in November 1967 and eventually peaked at #67 on Billboard in early 1968. Two singles were released in the wake of the album, neither of which charted. These include "Janis"/"Janis (instrumental)" and "Who Am I"/"Thursday". [9]
The original Rolling Stone review was favorable, [10] as was its entry in the 1979 edition of The Rolling Stone Record Guide, where it was given four stars and deemed a worthy successor to the debut which demonstrated the group's maturation. By contrast, the original Billboard review declared it "isn't up to the group's par", [11] while Richie Unterburger at AllMusic declared it an inferior period piece compared to its predecessor but noted that besides containing the classic title track, "Who Am I?" and "Thursday" as touching psychedelic ballads. [12]
The title song faced a legal challenge from the estate of New Orleans jazz trombone pioneer Edward "Kid" Ory, whose daughter Babette claimed that McDonald had appropriated the melody for his song from Ory's classic "Muskrat Ramble" as recorded by Louis Armstrong & his Hot Five in 1926. A 2005 judgment upheld McDonald's copyright on the song, claiming that Ory had waited too long to make the claim.
The 2013 digi-pack double disc set includes both stereo and mono versions of the album, the latter available for the first time since 1967. Bonus cuts include an unreleased alternate mix of the title track (minus sound effects) and an instrumental version of "Janis" (the original flip side to the single of the same name), both on the mono disc, and a deluxe 40-page booklet stuffed with rare photos and memorabilia. It also comes complete with a replica of The Fish Game, as included in original LPs.
In 2017 Vanguard authorized the release of a quadruple vinyl box set with copies of the first two albums in both stereo and mono, with the mono version of the first album featuring the original rejected sleeve.
All songs by Country Joe McDonald, except where noted. "Janis" is the first song on side two of the original LP.
The 2013 digi pack double disc set includes two bonus cuts added to the mono disc.
Country Joe and the Fish was an American psychedelic rock band formed in Berkeley, California, in 1965. The band was among the influential groups in the San Francisco music scene during the mid- to late 1960s. Much of the band's music was written by founding members Country Joe McDonald and Barry "The Fish" Melton, with lyrics pointedly addressing issues of importance to the counterculture, such as anti-war protests, free love, and recreational drug use. Through a combination of psychedelia and electronic music, the band's sound was marked by innovative guitar melodies and distorted organ-driven instrumentals which were significant to the development of acid rock.
Joseph Allen "Country Joe" McDonald is an American singer, songwriter and musician who was the lead vocalist of the 1960s psychedelic rock group Country Joe and the Fish.
Electric Music for the Mind and Body is Country Joe and the Fish's debut album. Released in May 1967 on the Vanguard label, it was one of the first psychedelic albums to come out of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Woodstock: Music from the Original Soundtrack and More is a live album of selected performances from the 1969 Woodstock counterculture festival officially known as "The Woodstock Music & Art Fair". The album was compiled & produced by Eric Blackstead. Originally released on Atlantic Records' Cotillion label as a triple album on May 11, 1970, it was re-released as a 4 CD box by Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs in 1986 followed by a two-CD set released by Atlantic in 1987. Atlantic re-issued the two-CD set in 1994 correcting a few mastering errors found on their 1987 release. Veteran producer Eddie Kramer along with Lee Osbourne were the sound engineers during the three-day event.
Bruce Barthol was an American musician, singer and songwriter. Born at Alta Bates Hospital, Berkeley, California, he was the original bass player for the psychedelic rock band Country Joe and the Fish, from its inception through November 1968. According to the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Barthol's departure from Country Joe and the Fish stemmed from a dispute with other band members over a potential performance at the 1968 Democratic National Convention protests.
"I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag" is a song by the American psychedelic rock band Country Joe and the Fish, written by Country Joe McDonald, and first released as the opening track on the extended play Rag Baby Talking Issue No. 1, in October 1965. "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag"'s dark humor and satire made it one of the most recognized protest songs against the Vietnam War. Critics cite the composition as a classic of the counterculture era.
Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965–1970 is the fourth Nuggets box set released by Rhino Records. It was released in 2007 and packaged as an 8 1/2 x 11" 120 page hardcover book, the first 73 pages of which were made up mostly of vintage photographs. The compilation focuses on San Francisco Sound bands. Its title is derived from the first line of "Get Together," two versions of which open and close the four-disc set. Although the liner notes cite the 1965 Rag Baby EP as the source for the Country Joe & the Fish track "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag", it was actually taken from the 1967 LP I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die.
David Bennett Cohen is an American musician best known as the original keyboardist and one of the guitar players for the late-1960s psychedelic rock and blues band Country Joe and the Fish.
Thinking of Woody Guthrie was released in 1969 by Vanguard Records and is the debut solo album of Country Joe McDonald, best known for his work with Country Joe & the Fish. It was a different approach by McDonald to release a folk music and country album in the style of Woody Guthrie. Prior to this solo release, he was known to make albums in a psychedelic style with his band. The album was a tribute to the work of Woody Guthrie, a country and folk musician who died two years earlier. All of the tracks on the album were either composed or performed by Guthrie. McDonald was heavily influenced by Guthrie since he was a child. McDonald could recall his interest of Guthrie came first when his parents played Guthrie's first album, Dust Bowl Ballads. Even though McDonald has issued several albums in his career, he looks to this album as the piece he is most proud of.
"Muskrat Ramble" is a jazz composition written by Kid Ory in 1926. It was first recorded on February 26, 1926, by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five, and became the group's most frequently recorded piece. It was paired on the flip side with another one of Armstrong's hits, "Heebie Jeebies." It was a prominent part of the Dixieland revival repertoire in the 1930s and 1940s, and was recorded by Bob Crosby, Roy Eldridge, Lionel Hampton, Woody Herman, Muggsy Spanier, Chet Atkins, Lu Watters, the Andrews Sisters, Harry James, and Al Hirt, among others. It is considered a part of the jazz standard repertoire.
Together is the third album by the San Francisco psychedelic rock band Country Joe and the Fish, released in 1968. Country Joe McDonald had briefly left the band prior to the recording sessions. All of the band members contributed to the songwriting. Together is the most commercially successful album from the band.
Reunion is the sixth studio album by the American psychedelic rock group Country Joe and the Fish, released in 1977. It constituted a reunion of the members of the 1967 band. It was produced by Sam Charters for Fantasy Records and recorded between January and April 1977. The music is not as psychedelic, and several tracks are country rock.
CJ Fish is the fifth album by the San Francisco psychedelic rock group, Country Joe and the Fish, released in April 1970 on the Vanguard label. It would be the first production with Tom Wilson and Country Joe & the Fish's last studio album for Vanguard Records. Recording took place at the Record Plant in Los Angeles, California.
Woodstock 40 Years On: Back to Yasgur's Farm is a six-CD live box-set album of the 1969 Woodstock Festival in Bethel, New York. Its release marked the 40th Anniversary of the festival.
Woodstock: Three Days of Peace and Music is a 4-CD live box-set album of the 1969 Woodstock Festival in Bethel, New York. Its release marked the 25th anniversary of the festival. The box set contains tracks from Woodstock: Music from the Original Soundtrack and More, Woodstock 2, and numerous additional, previously unreleased performances from the festival as well as the stage announcements and crowd noises. Just prior to the box set's release, Atlantic Records released a much shorter 1-CD version entitled The Best of Woodstock. In 2019, Rhino Records issued a 38-CD box set called Woodstock – Back to the Garden: The Definitive 50th Anniversary Archive which includes every musical performance as well as stage announcements and other ancillary material.
The Best of Woodstock is a 1-CD live compilation album of the 1969 Woodstock Festival in Bethel, New York. Its release marked the 25th anniversary of the festival. It contains tracks which were already released on the original Woodstock: Music from the Original Soundtrack and More album. Shortly after the album's release, Atlantic Records released a much longer 4-CD box set entitled Woodstock: Three Days of Peace and Music, which contained tracks from the original album, Woodstock 2, and numerous additional, previously unreleased performances from the festival, but not the stage announcements and crowd noises.
Here We Are Again is the fourth album by the psychedelic rock band Country Joe and the Fish. It was released in 1969 with the US catalog number Vanguard VSD 79299. It peaked on the Billboard 200 at number 48, and stayed on the charts for eleven weeks. Only "Country Joe" McDonald and Barry "The Fish" Melton remained from the original lineup, which had begun breaking up since the previous album. The past members would appear as guest musicians though. The songs were composed by McDonald and Melton.
The Life and Times of Country Joe and the Fish is a compilation album by the American psychedelic rock band Country Joe and the Fish and was released on Vanguard Records in September 1971. The album provides a summary of Country Joe and the Fish's history from their formation in 1965 to their disbandment in 1970, and also serves as a survey of their recording career during that span. Although the track listing is not in a specified chronological order, it does encompass a mixture of their most celebrated experimental and traditionally-structured compositions. All of the songs included on the original The Life and Times of Country Joe and the Fish album can all be found on the band's first five albums, Electric Music for the Mind and Body, I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die, Together, Here We Are Again, and CJ Fish.
Woodstock – Back to the Garden: 50th Anniversary Collection is a live album by various artists. It was recorded at the Woodstock music festival, which took place on August 15–18, 1969, in Bethel, New York. It includes 30 songs by 21 different musical artists, in order of performance, along with a number of stage announcements. It was released as a three-disc CD and as a five-disc LP on June 28, 2019.