Have A Marijuana

Spawned by the same anarcho-street-folk-punk movement that gave rise to such colorful personalities as the Fugs and Holy Modal Rounders, David Peel has been singing songs and politically agitating on the streets of lower New York for over 45 years (he recently was a fixture at the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations). This album marked his debut; recorded with his band The Lower East Side on the streets of New York for Elektra in 1968, it scraped the lower reaches of the charts in 1969 and brought Peel no small measure of notoriety, which culminated with his being signed to Apple Records and produced by John Lennon (the infamous The Pope Smokes Dope) in the early '70s. Have a Marijuana took no prisoners then and still doesn't now; such songs as "Up Against the Wall" (you can supply the next four-syllable word), "I Like Marijuana" and "Here Comes a Cop" may embody for some the worst excesses of the hippie movement while reminding others of the enduring struggle for social justice and personal freedom. Or they might just provoke a guffaw or two; for when it comes to politically-minded, pie-in-the-face provocation, David Peel is the time-tested genuine article. Have a Marijuana makes its domestic stand-alone CD debut here, with original album art and new liner notes featuring quotes and photos from Peel himself.