By simple virtue of the band's ridiculous moniker it would be safe to say that some have disregarded Country Joe and the Fish as some sort of throw away '60s group. And even if listeners are familiar with the rag that not only brought the group fame at Woodstock, but a law suit from the daughter of Kid Ory, it isn't really representative of what Country Joe and the Fish were able to do as an electrified psych band.

When the group began, the mid '60s hadn't given away to the latter portion of the decade's radical politics. But since the band was based in Berekely, Ca it seemed that the ensemble were at least a step ahead of everyone else politically.

Country Joe McDonald, who was raised in a rather left of center family, was apparently named after Stalin. 'The Fish' portion of the band's name was derived from some revolutionary clap trap loosed from Mao's little book. And with the rhetoric of the left firmly in hand, Country Joe and the Fish set about working out some pretty exemplary psych tunes.

Their debut album, being released via folk stalwart Vanguard in 1967, beat some other records of the genre to the market place. And apparently, where the Dead and other's have had their early studio recordings maligned as unfocused and not representative of what the band was like live, Electric Music for the Mind and Body is generally regarded as a unified effort.

The inclusion of some pretty gritty keyboard on top of the already twangy and distorted guitar work makes a few of the tracks - even on just the first side - text book psych rave ups. The side one closer - "Section 43" - while not the discs longest track, doesn't have a melodic phrase you might be able to recall, but each disparate and tripped out section probably worked over audiences pretty well in a live setting. There's even a bit of a waltz in the middle of it all.

There's a recognizable Bob Dylan influence on the band's  "Superbird." Both in its vocal phrasing and the twisting lead guitar easily recalls the first few electric events of the folk guitarist's career. But since the track is obviously long on aped stylings, it doesn't come off as well as when the Fish just works out some improvs.

This first full length didn't really feature any huge radio hits, but in addition to that side one instrumental, a few songs from the second side served to enliven the album with as many indulgent psych excursions as any other album from this early period in Northern Californian psych.

Album closer and a track written specifically for Grace Slick from the Jefferson Airplane, "Grace" might have a bit more of a laid back approach to psych when compared to "Section 43." But the bizarre, supplemental production and weird noises included here by Country Joe and his troupe easily presage an era in American music when a disconcerting racket ends up being perceived as art.