Together - COUNTRY JOE & THE FISH***

Rock & Soul Music/Susan/Mojo Navigator/Bright Suburban Mr & Mrs Clean Machine/Good Guys-Bad Guys Cheer-The Streets Of Your Town/The Fish Moan/The Harlem Song/Waltzing In The Moonlight/Away Bounce My Bubbles/Cetacean/An Untitled Protest

Country Joe & The Fish's third album Together is something of a disappointment as the backing band takes a greater share in the songwriting. Gone also are the psychedelic album covers, replaced with an utterly mundane image. (US:23)

"This one has more Fish than usual. Possessing no less than two gifted guitarists Barry Melton and David Cohen their opportunity to shine is occasionally realized. There are a few eccentric songs like The Harlem Song that are necessary for the atmosphere, but they don't negate the stronger songs like Mojo Navigator and The Streets of Your Town."

"Recorded amidst growing personnel conflicts, Together came off as the band's first major misstep. Artistically disappointing, since McDonald's creative presence was largely absent. Given he'd served as chief songwriter on the first two LPs, the impact was nothing less than profound. Unfortunately, the democratic approach to creativity did little for musical quality."

"A mixture of some pretty good rock and roll songs and some less strong. But overall Country Joe and the Fish show their strong rock roots, with all the antiwar fervour of the late 60s, the counterculture opprobrious view of the older generation and its bourgeois values, plus all the humour and eclecticism that marked the late 60s counterculture and its music. So the album exceeds the sum of its parts and is a testament to those times and the music thereof."

"On first listen, this appears to be quite a disappointment. But repeated plays reveal it to be better than first impressions. They seem to be clinging to their artistic integrity by their fingernails, but still produce enough quality material to save the day. Perhaps a little too diverse for it's own good, it offers up Vaudeville rags, soft ballads, hard rock and soul but with very little psych influences. Still, an enjoyable listen overall."

"This is an essential record for every CJ & the Fish's fan out there. Might not be their best of all time but a very balanced and strong disc anyway."