"Wow," recorded mainly at Columbia's New York studios in late 1967-early 1968, represents the beginning of the left turn that Moby Grape would take for the remainder of their career. Like other reviewers, I had not heard the album in its entirety before now--listening only to the relevant tracks contained on Vintage--and am now hearing it with "fresh ears," so to speak. The above rating may change in the near future, somewhere in the range of a 3.5 or 3.75, after giving it several listening experiences.
So what's different from the first album? For one, there's the post-Pepper syndrome, the tendency to layer strings, horns, and assorted sound effects over a set of otherwise strong songs. This works wonderfully at times, as with the string section on "He," but can result in sophmoric comedy at others: do we really need to hear the lead singer's voice distorted to sound like Dondald Duck on "Funky Tunk"? And what the heck is that psychedelic middle section doing on "Bitter Wind," a plaintive ballad meriting a stripped, low-key production? This tendency to include everything but the kitchen sink places the album squarely within its era--and indeed the album needs to be taken seriously, not relegated to obscurity--as a minor masterpiece of late psychedelia. In this sense, it leans toward the "After Bathing at Baxter's" end of the scale, a group let loose in the studio to indulge their every whim, with fascinating, if flawed, results.
Thus, what's ultimately frustrating about this one is its departures from the group's strengths in country, roots rock, and a three guitar attack, strengths to which it would return to in another interesting, if equally flawed, album, Moby Grape '69.
Highly recommended to fans of the group, as well as those who like '67-'69 excess, and just plain weirdness--(added later)in fact, after repeated listening, I will amend my original assessment to a 3.5, as the strengths outweigh the flaws.