Review: Phil Ochs

Subject: Review: Phil Ochs
From: olddude
Date: 04 Apr 08 - 11:48 PM

I just heard a 20 something doing some great old Phil Ochs music. How cool is that. Brings back memories to this old picker for sure! Any other Phil Ochs fans who want to comment on Phil Ochs you are most welcome to share memories

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: GUEST,Neil D
Date: 05 Apr 08 - 03:51 AM

I love Phil Ochs. My brother turned me on to his music in the 70's after Phil was, sadly, already gone. I always liked his concise, insightful protests songs, sometimes witty, sometimes biting: "Draft Dodger Rag"; "I Ain't Marching". Or piercing social commentary: "Close Circle Of Friends". But I really came to love beautiful atmospheric ballads like "Pleasures Of The Harbor"and my favorite, "Flower Lady".
   A diehard force for social justice who never compromised his principals one iota, he is certainly still sorely missed. We could use such a brilliant voice for peace and justice in this time as we did in his.

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 05 Apr 08 - 05:29 AM

As good a song writer a Bob Dylan, too many good songs to mention but should be remembered for ' There But For Fortune ' if nowt else.

If he was alive today he would be having a ball with these so called politicians of all persuasions.

He never knowingly turned down a good cause.

eric

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: alanabit
Date: 05 Apr 08 - 06:00 AM

I think he was a very good songwriter and an excellent singer. However, I would hesitate to put him in Dylan's class. As songwriters go, Dylan has to be a virtuoso, whose work has straddled many different genres. His apothegms are legendary and he has been conceptually adventurous over the years. Ground breaking songs like "It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding" or "Ballad of a Thin Man" could not have come from anyone else. Before Dylan, there was simply no one in popular music, who attempted the complex and detailed character sketch/psychological profile. Excuse the thread drift!
For all that, I am a huge admirer of Ochs for all the reasons given by Neil D and many more. I loved the wit of "Love Me I'm A Liberal" and the sombre meditation of "The Crucifiction". He did indeed produce some magical songs.

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: oldhippie
Date: 05 Apr 08 - 08:45 AM

A few of the better contemporary remakes of Phil Ochs songs are:

Cops of the World - Bev Grant
Cops of the World - Ryan Harvey
Love Me I'm A Liberal - Evan Greer

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: Phil Cooper
Date: 05 Apr 08 - 09:56 AM

I learned to play guitar from a page of xeroxed chords and Phil Ochs' songbook, The War is Over. Played many of his Elektra and A & M albums over and over.

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: Arkie
Date: 05 Apr 08 - 10:35 AM

I am not sure where I first became acquainted with Phil Ochs but I think it may have been in the pages of Sing Out magazine. Pleasures of the Harbor was the first album I purchased of Ochs' music and the title song, The Flower Lady, and the Party have remained favorite songs. Others I really liked are Outside a Small Circle of Friends, I've Had Her, Miranda, James Dean of Indiana, and the Highwayman. Also enjoyed Gas Station Women from his country phase. Great writer who left songs of a timeless quality as well as songs that help to define a cultural era and a fine singer.

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: topical tom
Date: 05 Apr 08 - 01:11 PM

I didn't really hear of Phil Ochs until the 1980's but ,upon listening to a few of his songs, I realized that here was a man with a clear, steadfast sense of social and political justice.He was truly a conscience of his time.Some of my favourite songs are:

   Outside of a Small Circle of friends
   When I'm Gone
   The Power and the Glory

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: Little Hawk
Date: 05 Apr 08 - 01:25 PM

Phil Ochs was a true social/political idealist...to the point that it broke his heart when what happened at Chicago in '68 happened. I don't think he was ever the same after that.

He wrote a few truly brilliant songs, but I would not put him as an equal to Bob Dylan...nor, I think, would Ochs himself have done so. I think it's pretty clear from the record that Phil Ochs considered Bob Dylan to be far and away the best songwriter of that era. He felt that Dylan was leading the way in that regard, and he defended Dylan tenaciously when much of the folkie old guard was attacking Dylan for "abandoning protest". (Actually, Dylan's new work that bothered those people so much was a far deeper form of protest than what he'd written before...it was protest of everything that is taken for granted in society...not just protest around specific political issues such as racism or war.........and Ochs could see that. He admired Dylan for it. He used to quote lines out of "It's Allright, Ma - I'm Only Bleeding" when illustrating this or that point he was making. "It's Allright, Ma" is probably the greatest single protest song of all time, in my opinion.)

Like I said, though, Ochs wrote a few songs that were simply masterpieces...and they stand as high as anyone's work.

"Changes" was one of them. (that's why everyone and his kid brother recorded a cover of it back then) In fact, that song was so good that it probably got OVER-covered...and people may have gotten tired of it as a consequence. That can happen with truly great songs.

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: Bill Hahn//\\
Date: 05 Apr 08 - 04:36 PM

Alanabit: I would humbly suggest in comparing Dylan and Ochs you have forgotten that Ochs died at a very young age. Do we know how he would stack up against Dylan? Surely not since he is not here.

Given what he did leave us with from those short years I would say he does not take any backseat in the creativity, performance, and composing department to Dylan.

As to your comments re: Dylan "....His apothegms are legendary and he has been conceptually adventurous over the years. Ground breaking songs like "It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding" or "Ballad of a Thin Man" could not have come from anyone else. Before Dylan, there was simply no one in popular music, who attempted the complex and detailed character sketch/psychological profile.

Let us not forget the "novellas" in 5 minutes with great character study and story lines of HARRY CHAPIN

Bill Hahn

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: GUEST,30_button
Date: 05 Apr 08 - 06:24 PM

I learned to play guitar thru a TV course, and the first song was one of Phil's.

During the summer of 68 I worked for the National Mobilization Committee in Chicago, and Phil periodically turned up at our offices on S. Dearborn Street. I was just a flunky, but he was very pleasant to me.

During the Convention demonstrations, I held one of the speakers when Phil sang in front of the Conrad Hilton Hotel. I seem to remember he sang "The War is over," and maybe "I Ain't Marching." Until that moment, I never really understood the potential music has to impel action; it was amazing to see.

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: Bill Hahn//\\
Date: 05 Apr 08 - 06:59 PM

Guest 30---music is a powerful thing but will not solve any problems. It will make us aware of them and organize people to to solve them----hopefully.   And it takes much time.

Bill Hahn

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: alanabit
Date: 06 Apr 08 - 05:38 PM

Bill, sadly Phil Ochs ended his life far too early. I doubt whether he would ever have achieved the volume or the range of Dylan's work. I admit freely it is a shame we will never know. I tend more to take the view of LH on this one.
I don't know enough of Harry Chapin's work, but if you are only half right, it will be well worth my while checking him out. Personally, I think Dylan was a revolutionary and unique songwriter in terms of range, depth and technique. Still, I will happily concede that my ignorance of anyone better does not prove that they don't exist. The fact that I do not personally rate Ochs as highly does not obscure the fact that I still appreciate that he was very, very good.

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 06 Apr 08 - 07:33 PM

I agree with NeilD's comments about Ochs.
My favorite from him (perhaps not surprisingly) is "Love Me I'm A Liberal." Sez it all for me.
Another favorite, somewhat dated now, but certainly relevant then, is "Here's to the State of Mississippi."

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: Bill Hahn//\\
Date: 06 Apr 08 - 08:18 PM

Alanabit: So well put.   We may differ on Dylan but, as in many things, there is not right or wrong.

Do, however, check Harry Chapin---his portraits of people like "Mr. Tanner", the DJ in "WOLD", the relationships of parents in children in "Cats in The Cradle" among other is truly a monumental achievment.    Sadly, the only things that ever get air-play on radio station (other than mine---WFDU--and on our Traditions program) are the pop ones---Taxi and (happily) Cats in the Cradle. One has also recall that he wrote a wonderful musical that premiered after his untimely demise---Cotton Patch Gospel.


Bill Hahn

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: Little Hawk
Date: 06 Apr 08 - 08:35 PM

Here's a question for you, Bill. Is Mary Chapin-Carpenter related to Tom Chapin in any way? Just wondering. I know I could look it up online, but it's more fun to ask someone here.

I think she's about as good a songwriter as you can get.

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: Peace
Date: 06 Apr 08 - 08:50 PM

Ditto what LH jsut said.

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: Bill Hahn//\\
Date: 06 Apr 08 - 11:32 PM

No relation whatsoever, folks.   

Harry (and Tom's) father is a rather famous drummer--speaking of relations.

Bill Hahn

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: Little Hawk
Date: 07 Apr 08 - 01:43 PM

Hmm. Okay, well then, I think she might be a better songwriter than all the other Chapins put together. ;-)

But not that I'm saying they aren't damn good...

I don't think there's anyone who's a better songwriter than Mary Chapin-Carpenter. However, there's a certain level people get to where you can't choose between them as to who is "better"...because they are all so good that it's simply no use trying to decide. And besides, they are each the very best at their own style of songwriting.

Different styles cannot necessarily be judged against one another, but simply must stand on their own.

I think that's true of Mary Chapin-Carpenter. It's true of Bob Dylan. It's true of Joni Mitchell. It's true of Al Stewart. It's true of Van Morrison. It's true of Leonard Cohen. It's true of Buffy Sainte-Marie. It's true of Gordon Lightfoot. It's true of David Bowie.

And I'm sure there are some others like that too... ;-)

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: GUEST,HiLo
Date: 07 Apr 08 - 02:21 PM

I just don't get the Phil Ochs thing. I don't doubt that he was dedicated and sicere but he was also, IMHO, a bit sophmoric and over simplistic and not a terribly good musician. I heard a lot of his stuff in the sixties and just could not figure why he was popular. What am I missing about him ?

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 07 Apr 08 - 02:59 PM

HiLo - I would strongly disagree with your assessment of Phil Ochs.
His lyrics were not sophmoric; some were sophisticated satire, others projected wonderful imagery, and the topics were nearly always current, and often specific. I am not qualified to assess his instumentality, tho' it sounded pretty good to me, but I feel that he was a much better singer than some of his contempories, better known singer/song writers.

If I could have music of only one singer/songwriter of the '60s, I think I would choose his.

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: GUEST,Guest JB
Date: 07 Apr 08 - 04:32 PM

To Guest HiLo,

I take it you meant to say "sophomoric" and not "sophmoric".

Have to reject the claim that his lyrics were over-simplistic. On the contrary, I would say that Phil wrote some very good lyrics and he definitely had a way with words.

You sound to me like a "hurler on the ditch". That`s a term we use in Ireland to describe someone who watches our national game from the sidelines and is permanently criticizing because obviously he can do everything so much better himself. The only pity is that he hasn`t been picked for the team.

As for the comment about him not being a very good musician-one should also be slightly more exact here. Do this mean not a very good singer or guitar player or what?

JB

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: Ref
Date: 07 Apr 08 - 07:21 PM

I've heard and read a lot of Ochs' stuff. It's uneven, but remember the man was battling some demons for a while. He should be judged on his best work, which has stood the test of time. Dylan, etc., have written some awful crap as well!

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 07 Apr 08 - 07:44 PM

De gustibus non disputandum est. HiLo, if you were there during the 60s, and you gave him a fair chance, and you weren't impressed, while I was very impressed, that's just a difference between your taste and mine. You may even have been in the majority - I thought Ochs was one of the biggest stars (for want of a better term) at the time, but I was in New York City, and as I learned many years later from one of his biographies, he was much bigger on the East Coast than anywhere else.

Some criticism is surely justified. You didn't go to a Phil Ochs concert to be dazzled by his guitar work. There were lots of more impressive guitarists around - but Ochs was good enough. Similarly, there were lots of people with more pleasant voices, better-trained voices, etc., but his voice was good enough. I had reason recently to listen again to his recording of What's That I Hear - it sounds like a first take on a song that needed some thinking through and a few more rehearsals. But in the 60s I was happy to overlook that and see what a terrific song it was (and still is) even if the recording leaves something to be desired.

HiLo, I don't know what you're missing, I can only tell you what I liked - still like - about him. He had a sense of humor, even when writing about stuff like Vietnam. He had a sense of poetry. He wrote about things that were, and are, important, and he wrote well. He had great stage presence, and interacted well with audiences. He had his shortcomings & faults, but he left behind some fine music and some great memories.

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: Stephen L. Rich
Date: 07 Apr 08 - 08:25 PM

People have been comparing Ochs to Dylan for decades. Talk about apples and oranges. One of the primary reasons that we remember Och's work so well is that he was one of the few songwriters working at the time who did NOT try to imitate Dylan. Yes, he felt a strong rivalry with Dylan and most of the earliest comparison of his work to Dylan's came from him. But, the truth is that while he always wanted to show up Dylan he did so by seeking out his own voice and his own style.
    It's true that Ochs could not have written "Subterranean Homesick Blues" or "It's Allright Ma. I'm only Bleeding". By the same token, Dylan could not have written "Chords of Fame" or "No More Songs".

    They are two entirely different types of artists with two entirely different approaches to the work. To compare them is unfair and unkind to both.

Stephen Lee

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: Little Hawk
Date: 07 Apr 08 - 08:38 PM

Most of Phil Och's writing seemed a bit too literal to me...but some of it was brilliant. As to his singing and performing style...hmmm. Well, I was not hugely impressed with that for some reason, but it might just be that I didn't hear him often enough to get a proper feel for what he was doing. You need some time to get to know an artist's body of work in order to fully appreciate it, and I never got to know Phil Och's material very well nor did I get to know him very well as a person. I just wasn't drawn to him for some reason...whereas I was very much drawn to various other folksingers at the time.

There might be no real reason for it at all...it might just be happenstance. I mean, heck, I never really "got" Lightfoot either until some time in the mid to late 70's. Why that was, I don't know, but I eventually grew to love the guy's songs after I finally familiarized myself with his amazing song catalog and got to hear all the brilliant early stuff he recorded that had gone by at the time without me giving it much (if any) notice.

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: Clipper
Date: 07 Apr 08 - 08:56 PM

There But For Fortune....one of the few songs I get chills playing... every time. I wasn't a fan until recently, but hooked now for sure.
btw, I'm new here, so hello to everyone..this great site was recommended to me by a good friend Adrien. I'm glad he did....

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: GUEST,HiLo
Date: 08 Apr 08 - 10:14 AM

When I read Guest JB's response to my posting of an opinion of Phil Ochs, I decided to ignore it as I thought it rather rude.But the more I thought about it the more I realized that it is comments like this that make me less and less inclined to state an opinion on Mudcat. All I was trying to say is that I do not care much for Phil Ochs on the grounds that I dislike his lyrics, not his sentiments. And that I find his musianship a bit wobbly.
   I don't think that expressing this view ought to rate me as a "hurler on the ditch", should it ?

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: Little Hawk
Date: 08 Apr 08 - 01:32 PM

No, it shouldn't, HiLo. I tend to share your general reaction to Phil Ochs and see it about the same way...although, as I've said, I do think that some of his songs are very, very good, even brilliant. I'm just not that impressed by a good deal of his other work in a general sense, that's all, and for the same basic reasons you have expressed.

Stating an opinion about anything on Mudcat is a bit like stating an opinion on a microphone in front of 500 people who are idly gathered on a street corner somewhere. Many jeers, sneers, and catcalls will be heard coming from those of a different opinion. The internet is not a terribly nice place in that respect. If people generally acted as badly in 3-D life as they do here on the Net, life would be an experience not really worth having, seems to me.

Go look at the comments posted under videos on YouTube. It's way worse than it is here. There seem to be a lot of people out there for whom ill will and total disrespect for others is a fulltime way of life.

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: GUEST,30_button
Date: 08 Apr 08 - 03:37 PM

Phil was a topical singer/songwriter; it's hard to evaluate his work without putting it in context.

"Love me I'm a liberal" might not be the greatest song in the world, but when he sang it in front of the Conrad Hilton Hotel in downtown Chicago on a hot summer night in 1968, it crystallized the feelings and views of that huge protest crowd. He was a powerful force in a political movement.

It's hard for me to evaluate his music as MUSIC for that reason; when I hear it, it brings all that back to me. "Here's to the state of Mississippi" may have been sophomoric, but it distilled the anger and disillusionment of the era down to something raw and incredibly powerful.

But I can easily see how those who didn't experience his music in context might be unimpressed.

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: Doc John
Date: 08 Apr 08 - 03:44 PM

John on the Sunset Coast. I thoroughly agree with your assessment of Phil Ochs. IMHO he was far, far superior to Dylan, some of whose stuff sounds pretty naive these days. OK, if you want good guitar work, try somebody like Doc Watson; a good voice, someone like Cisco. Much of Phil Ochs's stuff still sounds fresh today: he doesn't whinge like a lot of the so called protest singers of the 60's but has the bitter humour and satire rather like much of Woody Guthrie's work. Good ballads too - like 'Joe Hill'; the lovely song 'Celia'; a fine song about Woody Guthrie; and he was one of the few who could succesfully put poems to music. Some of his songs needed a bit of fine tuning perhaps but this often happens. I never did get on with his later material but his early work was superb.
Doc John

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: GUEST,Joseph de Culver City
Date: 08 Apr 08 - 05:48 PM

Guest Gerry- Well said. John on the West Coast- Right you are                                                                   I was on the west coast (US) back in the 60's and right you are Phil Ochs was not as well known, even after he started making all his recordings in LA. He is a somewhat problemmatic figure in popular culture, and I think at least some of that is due to things which have nothing to do with his music. Many felt that he was beyond the pale for wearing a gold lame suit on the cover of his 'Greatest Hits' record. Let's just say he had a sense of humor that was not always shared by members of the general public.

I think that most will agree that he wrote eloquently about matters of concern to all at a time when many who spoke out were punished for doing so. I was a young man at the time, and perhaps my perception of his work is skewed by my youthful memories, but I found him riveting and fearless as a live performer. Seeing videos of him in the present time only reinforces my feelings.

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 08 Apr 08 - 07:07 PM

Guest, Joseph de Culver City-
Thanks for affirmation. When you were in Culver City did you listen to John Davis, Les Claypool, Jr. and/or Skip Weshner? They knew the music knew the well! In those days we were almost neighbors, as I lived across Venice Blvd. in Palms.

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: GUEST,DonMeixner
Date: 08 Apr 08 - 09:32 PM

I recently heard a song from Bob Dylan that I liked. On the other hand I've been listening to Phil Ochs song I have loved for years. Is one better than the other? Maybe, maybe not. Thats only an opinion of course.

The singer songwriter's job is to communicate. And if you can't understand the words the singer is singing then communication ain't happening.

With Phil I always felt I was getting the heart and soul of the man. With Dylan, not on every song but on many, I felt he was making fun of my lack of social sophistication by being cryptic and marble-mouthed. That all being said I felt that Nashville Skyline was brilliant and 50 Phil Ochs fans was not.

Oh well.

Don

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: Karin
Date: 08 Apr 08 - 10:54 PM

Phil was a great political voice, not as poetic as Dylan in my mind. Still, I can remember all the words to draft dodger's rag. ha ha. Phil had a style and subtle stage charisma that captivated. I remember him well.
That time in history is so easily relived through the music because people were actively voicing their stand/feelings ... we can still feel the world of that period through their lyrics. Musicians like Dylan and Ochs were masters of voicing thoughts that encumbered us all at that point.
This weekend I was at the crossroads film festival in Jackson,MS and I saw the film about B. Dylan 'Im Not There' its kind of an unconventional journey into the life and times of Dylan...six actors play Dylan. You might find it entertaining, see it if you can. I loved it and so did my 17 year old daughter.

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 09 Apr 08 - 04:40 AM

The poignancy of 'Celia' contrasted with the bitter cynicism of 'William Worthy', and the sheer and utter despair of 'The Thresher', all live in my mind as songs that say it like no other medium can.
Hadn't thought of Phil for a long time, then his setting of 'The Bells' came up as a question on a music quiz last Monday lunchtime, and 'I Ain't Marching Anymore' is being played in the background of a BBC programme trail at the moment.
I guess it's like buses, none come for ages, then two or three come along together.

Must get my Phil Ochs vinyl out I guess.

Giok

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: olddude
Date: 09 Apr 08 - 07:26 AM

I love this forum, you meet the nicest people who appreciate and understand the best that music can bring. "Outside a Small Circle of Friends"

Thanks so much for sharing

Dan

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: M.Ted
Date: 09 Apr 08 - 09:24 PM

If you haven't listened to anything by Phil in a long time, you should--everything that he did is even better than you remember--

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: GUEST,Chicken Charlie
Date: 10 Apr 08 - 10:45 AM

"Art is long. Life is short." Hippokrates.

I think what the doc was tryin' to say there is that there is to much to any art or science that the allotted three-score and ten is not enough time to do it all, or even get close. The oft-invoked, "If I had just one song to listen to for the rest of my life ..." scenario is, thank Gawd, hypothetical. There's plenty of time to enjoy Phil Och's take on things, and Tom Paxton's, and Blind Lemon Zimmerman's, and a whole lot of other people's. I'd rather discuss things along the line of "Well, I like THIS about Ochs and THAT about Dylan," rather than deciding who gets the 9.8 and who the 9.75. But then, my wife keeps telling me that I'm strange.

Did Phil Ochs write "Changes?" If he did, I'm surprised no one has mentioned it. If he didn't, pray tell me who did.

As long as we're re-living The Protest Years, I just saw this at another site I visit daily, and will pass it on, as it fits as well as anything ever does this far down a Mudcat thread.

Frick: "How many Viet Nam veterans does it take to change a light bulb?"

Frack: "I don't know."

Frick: "YOU CAN'T KNOW! YOU WEREN'T THERE!"

(As a VNV, I thought that was hysterical.)

CC
Going back to his room

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 10 Apr 08 - 08:14 PM

Little Hawk mentioned Changes several posts up.

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: GUEST,woodsie
Date: 10 Apr 08 - 08:22 PM

Yes Phil wrote "Changes"

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: Little Hawk
Date: 10 Apr 08 - 10:25 PM

And it's his masterpiece, in my opinion.

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: olddude
Date: 10 Apr 08 - 11:21 PM

It is my favorite also, I love the song

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: olddude
Date: 13 Apr 08 - 08:33 AM

Answer to the Light Bulb Question:
I was there, the correct answer is NONE
LT is still waiting for the BLUE STREAK MANUAL TO ARRIVE

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: M.Ted
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 12:06 AM

The music that he did later-- on "Pleasures of the Harbor", "Rehearsals for Retirement", "Tape from California", "Greatest Hits"(which was all new material), is really great--he took the "folksinger" to the LA studio and paved the way for the likes of Jim Croce, Dan Fogelberg, the Burritos, even the Eagles, etc--but with the social/politic /ronic edge that was only Phil Ochs.

Keep in mind that only a few years after Phil bewildered the New York Folk world with his Gold Nudie Suit, everybody had to have one. He was ahead of his time--too bad he didn't stay around for it--

Subject: RE: Review: Phil Ochs
From: Folk Bloke
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 06:54 AM

Pleasures Of The Harbour is a fantastic song - I used to do it years ago.