I could probably keep
pulling singles off
Moby Grape's
1967 debut and be perfectly satisfied--it was just that great--but that would require me to ignore the fact that the band continued to make some really terrific music after that much-ballyhooed initial launch. And "I Am Not Willing," off their third studio LP,
Moby Grape '69, is a minor miracle. It's just a slow, steady cosmic American country ballad, 3 chords, mournful and longing and gently psychedelic without much variation--it sounds like it's the final two bars of another song's chorus, played repeatedly, a never-ending fade-out. Which should absolutely
not work, yet it absolutely does. Just a beautiful track--no bells and whistles, nothing fancy, yet inexplicably haunting.
It's always been unfairly obscure, though in recent years has been revived by a surprising number of indie bands, including a gorgeous take from Wilco.
Live (audio only):
Wilco with Syd Straw:
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club:
Really pretty unplugged cover by Lloyd Cole:
Shoegaze version by Lavender Flu:
Pretty dream pop take by k.:
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