Farewells and Fantasies!

Phil Ochs fit no mold. He was a folky protest singer in the early sixties, but he didn't sing, look, or act like Bob Dylan. In the last few years of that decade Ochs tried his hand at electrified melodies and intellectual lyrics. Many of his fans deserted him for the prettier folk-rockers who wrote catchy hooks and covered Bob Dylan songs (yes, I'm talking about the Byrds). It didn't help that Ochs seemed to simultaneously develop writer's block, alcoholism, and a unique variety of schizophrenia. He lost his recording contract to the studio hit-mongers. He lost his voice to an African mugger. He lost his life to himself. He committed suicide in his sister's Far Rockaway, N.Y. home in 1976.

Now that I've managed to brighten the mood a bit (that's heavy sarcasm, by the way), let me get down to reviewing Farewell and Fantasies, the three-disc compilation released in 1997. This collection contains 53 songs from Ochs earliest albums (the singing journalist phase) to his last recorded efforts (the under appreciated folk-rocker phase). The collection is certainly representative of his career, that is, it is inspired, inspiring, uneven, lovely, humane, at times naïve, and deeply moving.

It would be nearly impossible to provide a comprehensive review of all three discs in one Epinions review. Therefore, begging your pardon, I plan to write a separate piece for each. Since the discs are arranged according to the phases of Ochs' career, this seems to make the most sense.

Disc One

1. What's That I Hear? (Ochs)

What's that I hear now ringing in my ear
I hear it more and more
It's the sound of freedom calling
Ringing up to the sky
It's the sound of the old ways falling
You can hear it if you try
You can hear it if you try

This song is definitely early sixties material. It's still optimistic, almost patriotic. We had Kennedy. Vietnam was still a little Asian country that most people had never heard of. Ochs guitar work here is almost two fast. As if he were compelled to get the message across before you left to go watch Dobie Gillis or something

2. Bells (Ochs/Poe)

The Poe listed here as the co-writer is Edgar Allen. Ochs felt that Poe's poem was actually a song, so he set it to music.

3. Morning (Ochs)

Drinks are done, daylight's come
It's morning
Crowd's moved on, everybody's gone
It's morning

One of the reasons for buying a boxed set is to discover hidden, previously unreleased material. Such is the case with this song, written shortly after Ochs arrived in Greenwich Village to play in the coffee houses with the likes of Dylan, Tom Paxton, and Eric Anderson.

4. Bound for Glory (Ochs)

Now they sing out his praises on every distant shore
But so few remember what he was fightin' for
Oh why sing the songs and forget about the aim?
He wrote them for a reason, why not sing them for the same

This is the best tribute song ever written to Woodie Guthrie. Its lyrics are powerful and they still resonate today with the success of Billy Bragg's Mermaid Avenue recordings and the Ani Difranco produced 'til we outnumber them concert.

5. Highwayman (Noyes/Ochs)

This is yet another traditional poem, set to music and performed by Ochs.

6. Power and the Glory (Ochs)

Yet she's only as rich as the poorest of her poor
Only as free as the padlocked prison door
Only as strong as our love for this land
Only as tall as we stand

Ochs performed this song, which he considered the best thing he ever wrote at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival, a breakthrough for him. It is pure passion for an America that is difficult to love but worth the continued effort.

7. That's What I Want to Hear (Ochs)

Woodie Guthrie and Pete Seeger sang songs to organize workers to fight for their rights. This Ochs song urges Americans to band together to fight for the rights of others. It's a great example of the singer as activist model that Phil really never totally abandoned.

8. Links on the Chain (Ochs)

When Ochs, accompanied by Arlo, went to visit Woodie in the hospital, this is the song Phil played for him. When he heard it, Woodie spoke the only word he could during the entirety of the visit. The word was "Good".

9. Love Me, I'm a Liberal (Ochs)

I vote for the democratic party
They want the U.N. to be strong
I go to all the Pete Seeger concerts
He sure gets me singing those songs
I'll send all the money you ask for
But don't ask me to come on along
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

Just to prove that he was an equal opportunity judgmentalist, Ochs wrote a scathing but hilarious attack on his core group of fans. I'm about as left wing as your likely to find in these Clinton-hating days, but I still wish this song could be played at the next Democratic convention.

10. Too Many Martyrs (Gibson/Ochs)

Written with fellow folk legend, Bob Gibson, this is a tribute to the likes of Medgar Evers and Emmet Till, black men (actually Till was only 14) murdered by cowardly whites during the Civil Rights movement.

11. In the Heat of the Summer (Ochs)

Remember, these tunes are from Ochs singing journalist phase. This particular song is about the riots that swept Harlem in 1964.

12. Here's to the State of Mississippi (Ochs)

I think I'll let Phil himself introduce this one "This song might be subtitled Farewell to Mississippi, for in order to write a few more songs like this, it might be wiser for me to stay away for a while. I was down there last summer and must admit that I met some nice people and that the state isn't as bad as my song implies, unless you are a Negro who has forgotten his place, or unless your last name was Chaney, Goodman, or Schwerner."
Phil Ochs, liner notes for I Ain't Marching Anymore (Elektra EKS-7287), 1964

13. I'm Going to Say It Now (Ochs)

And things they might be different if I was here alone
But I've got a friend or two who no longer live at home
And we'll respect our elders just as long as they allow
That when I've got something to say, sir, I'm gonna say it now

This was the first Phil Ochs song I ever heard. It's the opening tune on the In Concert album. Its cockiness is a little disconcerting when I realize that a young man was singing it to someone my age.

14. One More Parade (Gibson/Ochs)

Another collaboration with Gibson, this is a satirical look at a Veteran's Day parade.

15. Draft Dodger Rag (Ochs)

I've got a dislocated disc and a racked up back
I'm allergic to flowers and bugs
And when the bombshell hits, I get epileptic fits
And I'm addicted to a thousand drugs
I got the weakness woes, and I can't touch my toes
I can hardly reach my knees
And if the enemy came close to me
I'd probably start to sneeze

This oft covered Ochs composition once again kind of spits in the face of some of his loyal fans, the draft resisters. I think Phil kind of figured out that not all of then were motivated by high idealism. Some might actually be shirkers and cowards.

16. I Ain't Marching Anymore (Ochs)

This is the acoustic version of one of his best-known tunes. An electric version is on Disc 2.

17. We Seek No Wider War (Ochs)

Here, Ochs lets LBJ hear how stupid he sounds with his bland denials of the ever-growing horror in Vietnam.

18. Ringing of Revolution (Ochs)

Sadly they stared and sank in their chairs
and searched for a comforting notion.
And the rich silver walls looked ready to fall
As they shook in doubtful devotion.
The ice cubes would clink as they freshened their drinks,
wet their minds in bitter emotion.
And they talked about the ringing of revolution

To me, this is the most poetic of all of Ochs' songs.

19. When I'm Gone (Ochs)

And I won't feel the flowing of the time when I'm gone
All the pleasures of love will not be mine when I'm gone
My pen won't pour out a lyric line when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here

This is an eerily prophetic song written by a man destined to die young.

20. Song of My Returning (Ochs)

This song was a sign that Ochs was finally able to start looking within himself for inspiration. The singing journalist writes his first feature story so to speak.

21. There But for Fortune (Ochs)

Many feel that this tune, which Joan Baez took to the pop charts, is one of Ochs greatest. Personally, I don't quite get it.

I hope some of this intrigues you enough to make you want to learn more about the man and his music. Stay tuned for Disc 2.







Recommended
Yes

Gord