The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #14233   Message #333215
Posted By: Art Thieme
02-Nov-00 - 09:57 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: Songs by Bruce 'Utah' Phillips
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Songs by Bruce 'Utah' Phillips
Bruce is working on a new book I do believe. All of his albums are on CD now. A few were only available on CD.

Utah Phillips--The Moscow Hold and other stories--not music but fine tales (Red Hopuse Records CD RHR-118)

Making Speech Free---a CD--pretty heavy political songs and polemics---distributed by The Pittsburgh General Membership Branch of the I.W.W.--- P.O.Box 42777---Philadelphia, PA 19101

Utah Phillips--ONE BIG UNION--a CD----I.W.W. union songs (Philo PH-1076)

The Long Memory--Utah Phillips and Rosalie Sorrels--a CD from Red House Records--P.O. Box 4044--St. Paul, MN 55104

The Past Didn't Go Anywhere--Utah Phillips with Ani Difranco---Utah doing recitations and tales from his concerts and writings over the years with Ani Difranco doing the instrumental background to this CD which is pretty much a WORD JAZZ type of production. It's an attempt to bridge the gap between Ani's audience and Utah's---between then and now and to show that what went down then isn't so alien after all. Ani produced this CD because she wanted her audience to find Bruce Phillips and his valuable view of the U.S.A. and its past -- I.E. the title The Past Didn't go anywhere -- it's still here with us RIGHT NOW.

Loafer's Glory---U. Utah Phillips and Mark Ross--Red House Records CD-103 -- songs of the hobo road... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bruce's first LPs are also available on CD---probably from Philo who issued the LPs back in the early 1970s. These have great versions of so many fine Phillips songs that I'm probably too tired to type 'em out.

Utah Phillips--GOOD THOUGH is probably my favorite of all his recordings. It contains his famous story "Moose Turd Pie". (The LP was Philo-1004 ) Also: Queen Of The Rails, Going Away, Frisco Road, Tolono, Wabash Cannonball, Old Buddy Goodnight, Daddy What's A Train and two thoroughly amazing songs--Starlight On The Rails and Phoebe Snow. These are all songs of the "shiny irons".

Utah Phillips--El Capitan---was also a Philo LP with songs like The Telling Takes Me Home, The Goodnight-Loving Trail, Old Dolores, Rock Me To Sleep, The Star Of Bannock, Larimer Street, Enola Gay and Yuba City---ALL are awesome songs.

There was another LP that, for fear of incurring his wrath. I hesitate to mention. It was simply titled U. Utah Phillips----It was on Prestige Records and came out in the '60s. The unique paean to the actual first man to orbit the earth, the Soviet Union's Yuri Gagarin, was on this album that Utah has been trying to live down ever since. The song was called, simply Yuri Gagarin. In recent times, whenever Bruce mentions it he calls it "Gargle Your Urine".

All of these are wonderful records for all kinds of diffent reasons. Still, I do love some live tapes I've got that we made of Bruce at the old Chicago folk bar THE EARL OF OLD TOWN back in those halcyon days of the folk scare---circa early 70s. I wish you folks could've been there...

Art Thieme