Together (Country Joe and the Fish album)

Together
Studio album by Country Joe and the Fish
Released	July 1968
Recorded	November 1967
Studio	Sierra Sound Laboratories, Berkeley, California and February 1968 Vanguard Studios, 71 West 23rd Street, New York City, NY
Genre	Psychedelic rock folk rock
Length	34:31
Label	Vanguard VSD-79277 [1]
Producer	Samuel Charters
Country Joe and the Fish chronology
I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die (1967) Together (1968) Here We Are Again (1969)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide	[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[5]

Together is the third album by the American psychedelic rock band Country Joe and the Fish, released in 1968. ^{[6] [7]} Country Joe McDonald had briefly left the band prior to the recording sessions. ^[8] All of the band members contributed to the songwriting. ^[8] Together is the band's the most commercially successful album. ^[2]

The original lineup of the band broke up after the release of Together. ^{[9] [10]}

Critical reception

AllMusic wrote that "McDonald tended to favor droning mantras like the album-closing 'An Untitled Protest', which worked better when contrasted with the likes of Melton's catchy anti-New York diatribe, 'The Streets of Your Town', and the group-written 'Rock and Soul Music'." ^[2]

Track listing

1. "Rock and Soul Music" (McDonald, Melton, Cohen, Barthol, Hirsh) – 6:51
2. "Susan" (Hirsh) – 3:28
3. "Mojo Navigator" (Denson, Melton, McDonald) – 2:23
4. "Bright Suburban Mr. & Mrs. Clean Machine" (Hirsh, Melton) – 2:19
5. "Good Guys/Bad Guys Cheer / The Streets of Your Town" (Melton) – 3:43
6. "The Fish Moan" – 0:27
7. "The Harlem Song" (McDonald) – 4:19
8. "Waltzing in the Moonlight" (Hirsh, Melton) – 2:13
9. "Away Bounce My Bubbles" (Hirsh) – 2:25
10. "Cetacean" (Barthol) – 3:38
11. "An Untitled Protest" (McDonald) – 2:45

Personnel

Country Joe and the Fish

• Country Joe McDonald – lead vocals (tracks 1, 7–11), rap (track 7), acoustic 12-string guitar (track 7), electric 12-string guitar (tracks 9, 10), noises (track 10)
• Barry Melton – lead guitar (tracks 1, 5, 10), lead vocals (tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 7), rhythm guitar (tracks 2, 3, 8), acoustic guitar (track 4), noises (track 10)
• David Cohen – organ (tracks 1–5, 9, 10), rhythm guitar (track 1), lead guitar (tracks 2, 3, 7, 8), piano (track 4), backing vocals (track 4), spoken word (track 7), bells (track 9), harpsichord (track 10), noises (track 10)
• Bruce Barthol – bass (tracks 1–3, 5, 7–10), backing vocals (tracks 4, 7), acoustic guitar (track 10), organ (track 11), noises (track 10)
• Gary "Chicken" Hirsh – drums (tracks 1–3, 5, 8, 10), lead vocals (tracks 2, 9, 10), backing vocals (tracks 4, 7), percussion (track 4), bells (track 5), sand blocks (track 7), harmony vocals (track 8), castanets (track 8), noises (track 10), music box (track 10)

Additional personnel

• Robin McDonald – finger cymbals (track 11)

Chart positions

Billboard 200 – No. 23 ^[11]

References

1. Popoff, Martin (2009). Goldmine Record Album Price Guide. Penguin.
2. "AllMusic Review by William Ruhlmann". AllMusic. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
3. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 2. MUZE. p. 576.
4. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 279.
5. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 164.
6. "Artist Biography by Bruce Eder". AllMusic. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
7. Oberman, Michael (2020). Fast Forward, Play, and Rewind. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 124.
8. Harkins, Thomas (2019). Woodstock FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Fabled Garden. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 211.
9. The Rough Guide to Rock (2nd ed.). Rough Guides Ltd. 1999. p. 219.
10. Taylor, Steven (2006). The A to X of Alternative Music. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 75.
11. Whitburn, Joel (2001). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums, 1955-2001. Record Research. p. 193.