Country Joe is best known for his rallying cry to his audience ...
"Gimme an F" ..
"gimme an I" ..
"gimme an S" ..
"gimme an H" ..
"what's that spell?"
or if you were at Woodstock
"Gimme an F" ..
"gimme a U" ..
"gimme a C" ..
"gimme a K" ..
"what's that spell?"
This album though is NOT Country Joe and the Fish, it's just Joe flying solo, recorded live at the famous NYC Bitter End where Dylan used to play pool and occasionally perform in the very early 60's. The nearest he gets to the 'FISH" cheer on this album is the first track on side 2, 'You Know What I Mean'. It's not actually a song, just a short story of the Boston police making sure they didn't call out the Woodstock version.
Joe's 'occupation' is shown as musician / political activist and that gets reflected in many of his songs. The FISH cheer started as the intro to the 1965 song 'I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag' condemning the Vietnam War and he hasn't mellowed on this album.
After a couple of startup songs, 'Entertainment is my Business' and 'Sweet Marie' he launches into a scathing attack on the army. The song title gives a clue as to the attitude he holds. It's called 'Kiss My Ass' and after a few blistering verses (with a few 4-letter words) he sings ..
"I done my duty and I fought my fight
And I thought I knew I was doing right,
But that's all over, I'm free at last,
If they want any more, they can kiss my ass."
He has a crack at environmental and life-style choices with 'Living in the Future in a Plastic Dome' then after a gentle instrumental launches into his put down of Richard Nixon, with the catchy line "He's Tricky Dicky from Yorba Linda, he's the genuine plastic man."
There's a singalong bouncy audience participation song 'Deep Down in our Hearts' where the repetitious verses just change the subject from one controversial person or thing to another, "We love the Vietcong" / "Che Guevarra" / "the Pathet Lao" / "Chairman Mao" etc., tongue in cheek with the tag "deep down in our hearts".
On a gentler note he's written earlier songs about a couple of famous ladies. At one point Janis Joplin was his girlfriend and after they split she asked him to write a song about her. 'Janis' appeared on the Country Joe and the Fish 1967 album 'I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die' and 'Grace', a tribute to Grace Slick, was on 'Electric Music for the Mind and Body' from the same year.
This isn't a great album, but it's historically significant, a sign of the times with one of the figures of the times. Cheers Joe.
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