The Moray Eels Eat The Holy Modal Rounders
The Moray Eels Eat the Holy Modal Rounders is the fourth studio album by the New York psychedelic folk band the Holy Modal Rounders, released in 1968 through Elektra Records. Although Peter Stampfel does not regard the album highly, it has received positive reviews and its opener, "Bird Song," was notably included in the 1969 film Easy Rider. Recording

Before the album's recording, the Holy Modal Rounders were effectively broken up. After their brief stint with the Fugs in 1965, Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber worked separately and had only reunited for the recording of Indian War Whoop and two gigs. Stampfel himself was working with a new band The Moray Eels, which ultimately inspired the name of the album. Despite the band's lack of activity, Elektra producer Frazier Mohawk, a fan of the group, approached the duo to record a new album. The album's recording took place in California, where Sam Shepard also happened to be, leading to his involvement in the project. Although Stampfel emphasized to Mohawk the need to force Weber to practice beforehand, the band ultimately entered the studio without a clear idea of what songs they were going to record. Sessions quickly became unorganized and both the band and Mohawk used an excessive amount of drugs throughout the album's recording. The album was mixed without Stampfel in attendance. The engineers decided to make the album more "psychedelic" by not including grooves in between songs, much to the chagrin of Stampfel, who noted the songs would no longer have radio potential. Reception

Ritchie Unterberger, who wrote the liner notes for the 2002 reissue, regarded "Half a Mind" as rivaling "some of Syd Barrett's solo work" as well as describing the album as "a triumph, a melange of mind-melting acid folk that might have hung together by a thread, but was usually exhilarating, with a cracked, brain-damaged mystique all its own." Al Campbell of AllMusic positively reviewed the album's highlights as "otherworldly compositions" and that the album was "unabashed in its own eccentricity." Stampfel himself does not regard the album in the highest esteem. He noted it reflected the music taste of Mohawk more so than of the Holy Modal Rounders and that the excessive drug use and Weber's refusal to rehearse led to the album being a mixed bag. Popular culture

"Bird Song" was featured in the 1969 film Easy Rider directed by Dennis Hopper. The song caught the attention of Peter Fonda who heard it on the radio and thought it would be a perfect fit for the movie. The melody is lifted from Ray Price's "You Done Me Wrong" from 1956. Track listing

Personnel

The Holy Modal Rounders
Sam Shepard – percussion
Peter Stampfel – banjo, electric violin, vocals
Richard Tyler – piano
Steve Weber – guitar, vocals

Additional musicians and production
William S. Harvey – art direction
Bob Labla – engineering
Robin Labla – engineering
Frazier Mohawk – production
John Wesley Annis – bass guitar & drums

Release history 

This release includes extensive liner notes, including interviews and photographs

References

External links

1968 albums
Elektra Records albums
The Holy Modal Rounders albums