What Are We Fighting For ?

The Collected Country Joe and the Fish. I never saw the band live but judging from the way that English bands such as the original Fleetwood Mac never succeeded in transferring the electricity of their stage act onto record, I'm willing to believe that Country Joe and the Fish must have been a blast. This "best of" cd has five or six standout tracks, including probably the best known Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine and the ubiquitous Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag, amongst some pretty disposable stuff. A certain nostalgic charm though and a political establishment bashing approach that seems sadly lacking these days with young bands. Also Barry Melton has that curious trembly San Francisco guitar sound that was also displayed by Jorma Kaukkonen with the Jefferson Airplane and John Cippolina with the Quicksilver Messenger Service. Be the first one on your block to have your boy come home in a box.