MABY GRAPE

Never officially released at the time it was recorded by the band some 11 years later in their career. This was a demo tape that was available at Grape shows whenever they made appearances at that time in their career. They took the pseudonym of The Melvilles obviously as a play on the Moby Grape|Dick thing. They also used the name Maby Grope during this time also. All because of the infamous Matthew Katz and his constant legal pressure over the band, their name, and their music. This tape has been released along with some other tunes as Legendary Grape and if you are a Truly Fine Citizen you will pick it up on CD. It really is the second best set of music the band ever put together."Bitter Wind In Tanganika" Words and Music by Bob Mosley

Legendary Grape (2003) Released 1989 as a cassette (500 copies)


The original album was issued in 1989 as a five hundred copy, cassette-only release on Herman Records. The album was at the time credited to The Melvilles, being one of the names used by Moby Grape during the course of their protracted dispute with former manager Matthew Katz over ownership of the band name and related royalties. The tapes were remastered by Dig Music, and eight additional songs were added for the release of Legendary Grape.

The album was recorded by original Moby Grape members Peter Lewis, Jerry Miller, Bob Mosley and Don Stevenson. All group members contributed songs, as had been the case during all of the band's history. However, whereas in the past Jerry Miller and Don Stevenson had generally written together, including some of Moby Grape's best known songs, both were now writing exclusively separately. Founding member Skip Spence was not well enough to perform, though one of his songs was included on the recording. It was the practice of Spence's bandmates to try to include at least one of his songs on every Moby Grape recording, irrespective of Spence's ability to participate in the recording.

Shortly after the album's original release, Bob Mosley, who was subject to the challenges of schizophrenia, as was Spence, commenced a period of homelessness that lasted approximately five years, until recovering through the assistance of bandmate Peter Lewis, among others.