Delightful! Sort of a precursor to his Elvis, Buddy Holly, and Merle Haggard covers on Gunfight at Carnegie Hall.
I own the Broadside album, but never really got into it. Must dig it out and give it another try one of these days. Ochs is one of those artists whose best work takes a while to grow on you. I do remember "The Ballad of Alferd Packer" because after visiting a friend at CU-Boulder, I told my dad about how they have a grill there named after Packer. For those of you who don't know, Packer was the only American ever convicted of cannibalism. Dad said, "Oh, I've heard about that - they ate the Democrat." Since no one else I've ever compared notes with has heard that, I always wondered if Dad got it from the song. Which would be odd, since as far as I know he's never even heard of Ochs. (Which is also odd, since he and Mom were/are both big fans of the Greenwich Village folk scene - they even lived there, albeit several years later.)
It was part of the legend that Phil stuck into the song. "This county had six democrats before he did arrive But only one lives on today, he ate the other five"
On the Beatle cover, I Should Have Known Better. Phil announces that he is Phil(Everly) and Eric Andersen is Don(Everly). Phil was always funny and entertaining in his concerts. Also, it is interesting that Phil is hip to the importance of The Beatles at this point in 1964. Many of the folkies looked down upon The Beatles at this point, but Phil seems to get them.
Phil wrote hundreds of songs, most of which were perhaps performed once for a specific rally or cause. or never at all. He wrote about history, he wrote about current events(obviously), and he wrote songs just about lyrics and melody. These are on full display here. Even Phil understood that events moved way too fast to get some of these songs recorded, and songs about scandals in other countries were not going to be a hit with anybody outside his small circle of friends. I mean most Americans had no clue who Lord Profumo WAS, let alone that he had compromised his position in the British government with a hooker(Christine Keeler) who was also sleeping with a soviet agent. Between the Broadside album and the On My Way demo tape we have about 25 totally unheard songs, and a number of early versions of recorded songs, sometimes with much different lyrics. These albums amaze me. They are a treasure trove. I wish that some of these songs HAD been given a decent recording, Phil seemed to have a lot of fun with writing them. Next we will start the biggest run of Phil's career with his final Elektra album "Phil Ochs In Concert".
Before we get there though, we need to talk about management. Phil's manager at the time was Albert Grossman, and if that name sounds familiar it should. Grossman was Dylan's manager as well as a number of other folk artists. But while Dylan's songs were pushed hard by management, Phil was pretty much on his own. He finally decided that enough was enough, and decided to leave Grossman, who never seemed to push Phil nearly enough for him. But who to sign with? Phil chose a student organizer who had worked on the civil rights movement, Arthur Gorson(who later went into films including the excellent Bob Marley documentary). Grossman famously said "It's the right move, but its a mistake". Gorson and Phil set up Barricade as their publishing and promotion company. Jim and Jean were also clients, as well as a young Canadian lady who was an excellent songwriter. Phil drew the line and told Gorson to dump her and she was given back her publishing. Her name? Joni Mitchell. Gorson's first task was getting Phil a gig at Carnegie Hall to be recorded for an album. The powers that be were disinclined and tried to send Phil to Town Hall, but Phil would have none of it. Carnegie Hall was the place, and tickets were priced affordably. A complete sell out.......
Phil Ochs in Concert From Wiki Phil Ochs in Concert is Phil Ochs' third long player, released in 1966 on Elektra Records. Despite its title, it was not entirely live, as several tracks were actually recorded in the studio, owing to flaws in the live recordings made in Boston and New York City in late 1965 and early 1966, but it still retained the feel of a live album, including song patter and audience reactions. Featuring several of Ochs' most enduring songs, it represents the culmination of Ochs' folk career, the last of his original albums to be all-acoustic. Songs "There but for Fortune", which opens side two of the LP, is perhaps the best-known track. A minor hit for Joan Baez (whom Ochs jokingly credits with its authoring), this song encourages people to count themselves as fortunate, as fate takes its toll on those with broken lives who might have turned out differently under other circumstances, and makes the point that negative things can happen to anyone. Perhaps the second most known track, "Love Me, I'm a Liberal", is a sarcastic take on the fair-weather politics of mainstream American liberals. It has been covered (often with updated lyrics) many times since its initial release. The album features one of Ochs' few love songs, "Changes", an image-filled, impressionistic ballad lamenting the loss of his life with someone he loves. "Bracero" is a scathing attack on the plight of migrant workers who cross the border from Mexico to work for a pittance. "Cannons of Christianity" attacks the hypocrisy of church teachings and leaders. "Cops of the World" paints a portrait of America as invaders who want to impose their values and ways of life on the world, doing anything they please, expecting everybody else to comply. "Santo Domingo" depicts the 1965-66 U.S. occupation of the Dominican Republic as a ruthless imperialist adventure. "Ringing of Revolution" presents a utopian vision of proletarian conquest and marks one of the earliest recorded political references to Ronald Reagan in music. The album opener, "I'm Gonna Say It Now", is in the voice of an idealistic college student towards the adults running the school, forcefully but respectfully asserting his right to speak his mind. The final song on the album, "When I'm Gone," is a prescient, sad ode to the shortness of life and the pressing need to fight for social justice while you can. Track listing All tracks composed by Phil Ochs The time listings for the original LP release of Phil Ochs in Concert were shorter than those shown on the CD reissue. In some instances, the CD includes additional patter between Ochs and the audience. The timings listed on the LP are wrong. Shown below are the actual times on the original release and the CD reissue. LP side A "I'm Going To Say It Now" (LP-3:10; CD-3:10) "Bracero" (LP-4:05; CD-4:07) "Ringing of Revolution" (LP-7:10; CD-7:19) "Is There Anybody Here?" (LP-3:41; CD-3:27) "Cannons of Christianity" (LP-5:47; CD-6:02) LP side B "There but for Fortune" (LP-2:47; CD-2:52) "Cops of the World" (LP-4:48; CD-5:04) "(The Marines Have Landed on the Shores of) Santo Domingo" (LP-5:55; CD-5:58) (listed on LP as simply "Santo Domingo") "Changes" (LP-4:36; CD-4:45) "Love Me, I'm a Liberal" (LP-4:33; CD-4:37) "When I'm Gone" (LP-4:15; CD-4:19) Personnel Phil Ochs - guitar, vocals Jac Holzman and Mark Abramson - producers Arthur Gorson - concert producer
"Cops of the World" sent shivers up my spine listening as a kid on my FM radio, and I resolved to get me some Phil Ochs records ASAP.
His best album in my opinion. I think "When I'm Gone" might be my favorite Ochs song, and it's one I've used for things like my e-mail sig-line more than once. "Love Me, I'm A Liberal" is one of those songs I can play for people who've never even heard of Ochs and they're instant fans, all but begging to hear more. (Indeed, it was my introduction to Ochs, playing at a record shop in Iowa City while I was browsing there. I didn't get around to buying any of his stuff until a couple of years later, but in that interim I never forgot that song!) "I'm Going to Say It Now", "Is there Anybody Here," "There But for Fortune" and "Changes" round out my favorites, but there isn't a weak song on the album. The only one I usually skip is "Ringing of Revolution", but even that is not without its charms. I just think it goes on a bit long. It's startling how quickly he changed gears after this, but that just makes it all the more fitting that his last album before that switch is perhaps the ultimate protest album (not necessarily the best, but quite possibly the single purest distillation of that subgenre).
Any opinions on the differences between stereo and mono mixes on his early albums? All my pressings are stereo, except In Concert, which I have in mono.
Since I have been camping with the kids this week, I'll frame some comments soon. Continue to talk amongst yourselves.
OK I am back. After the family camping trip, and the family reunion its taken me a little time to get back down to business. Phil Ochs In Concert Phil eschews the shorter songs for longer narratives, and poetry comes more to the fore. The concert was a success, although they made little money because the ticket prices were kept low and he filled Carnegie. Regardless, Gorson continued to put up posters for the concert with a large "SOLD OUT" banner. Backstage Phil's nerves got the best of him resulting in an anxiety attack, which constricted his throat and he nervously kept tuning his guitar, which left it out of tune several times. But the audience was with him and didn't care. The recording was effectively shot. So what to do? Rerecord the entire concerts musical portion the next afternoon at the theater across the street without the stress of the audience and time to make sure the tuning was correct. These recordings were then dropped together with Phil's between song patter to recreate the concert. I'm Gonna Say It Now- Phil gives a voice to college students, and insists that they stop being condescendingly treated like spoiled children, and more like the young adults they were. Bracero- The Bracero program was to allow foreign workers into the US as cheap farm labor. The workers were exploited, abused, used, injured, and eventually disposed of back to Mexico. Woody Guthrie wrote of these same workers from a generation before in his song Deportees. Ringing Of Revolution- The one percent makes a final stand against the 99. And as the walls close in around them they still don't understand why. Phil later changed the title to Rhythm Of Revolution because he thought it sounded better. Love Me I'm A Liberal- Hoo boy. To this day so many do not get the joke. Some liberals bristled at the lyrics, and conservatives just see the surface and completely miss the irony. A commentary on armchair liberals who read all the right magazines, go to the concerts, but owned stock in IBM and Lockheed. Public persona Vs private prejudice. Changes- Up to this point, his most covered song. The poetry has evolved into this love song. When I'm Gone- Phil finishes by musing for the first time about his own death, and making a mark before it comes. A very consistent album that balanced poetry and politics.
