Gunfight at Carnegie Hall

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Gunfight At Carnegie Hall

Studio album by Phil Ochs
Released	1975
Recorded	March 27, 1970
Genre	Folk, Rock, Country
Length	47:19
Label	A&M
Producer(s)	Unknown
All Music Guide link
Phil Ochs chronology
Greatest Hits (1970)	Gunfight At Carnegie Hall (1975)

Gunfight At Carnegie Hall was Phil Ochs' final album, supposedly comprising songs recorded at his infamous second show at Carnegie Hall in New York City on March 27, 1970, but actually containing less than half of the actual concert. The shows recorded that day served to surprise Ochs' fans, from his gold lamé Nudie suit modeled after Elvis Presley's to his covers of Presley, Conway Twitty, Buddy Holly and Merle Haggard songs, to his own re-arranged songs. Some attendees at the first show were unhappy with the music he was playing, wanting only to hear "old" Ochs, but before he had a chance to convince them, the concert was cut short by a telephone bomb threat. Some angry fans - who had paid for a full concert - confronted Phil at a between-show dinner, and he took their names, promising to get them into the second show for free. But the box office was locked - Ochs smashed the glass, severely cutting his thumb. Breaking into the lockbox was the last straw. While they let Ochs perform the second show, he was immediately afterwards banned from performing at the venue permanently. He appeared onstage at the second show with a bandaged hand, telling the audience the story.

Before performing a medley of Buddy Holly songs, Ochs gave an introduction where he described Holly's influence on the songs he would become famous for, like "I Ain't Marching Anymore." Ochs said that these songs were "just as much Phil Ochs as anything else." When some of the audience shouted and booed after this set, Ochs admonished them to "not be like Spiro Agnew." He said that their prejudice against certain forms of music was bigotry, saying that "You can be a bigot from all sides. You can be a bigot against Blacks; you can be a bigot against music." Many in the audience cheered this sentiment, and wanted Ochs to perform however he chose. Eventually the cheers, and Ochs' persuasive powers, were victorious, and the show went on. This second show, starting at midnight, went on for over three hours - when Carnegie Hall cut the power to the mics while Ochs was performing a medley of Elvis songs, Ochs shouted out and the remaining audience started chanting "We want power!" until the mics were turned back on. Many loyal fans remained to the very end of the concert, cheering and dancing, enjoying this chance to share what was felt to be an historic moment with Ochs.

Ochs begged his then-label, A&M to release the concert in late 1970. They refused, and it languished for four years in the vaults until A&M relented, releasing fifty minutes of the concert, mostly the covers (four of sixteen originals performed were released, compared to five of seven covers). The album's release, however, came with a catch. It was only released in Canada, and Americans had to wait twenty-plus years to see an American release. It appeared on compact disc in 2000, strangely packaged with Rehearsals For Retirement in a two-disc set. There is no talk of a release of the entire concert, though an additional cover, Chuck Berry's "School Days" appeared on the 1997 British anthology, American Troubadour and the acoustic concert version of "Crucifixion" was released on the 1976 compilation Chords Of Fame and later on the 1997 box set Farewells & Fantasies. Bootleg copies, however, of the entire second show have been known to be traded among fans.

[edit] Track listing

"Mona Lisa" (R. Evans-J. Livingston, – 3:49)
"I Ain't Marching Anymore" (P. Ochs, – 4:23)
"Okie From Muskogee" (R. Burris-M. Haggard, – 2:49)
"Chords of Fame" (P. Ochs, – 4:49)
"Buddy Holly Medley : Not Fade Away / I'm Gonna Love You Too / Think It Over / Oh Boy / It's So Easy / Not Fade Away" (C. Hardin-N. Petty-J. Maudlin-N. Sullivan-S. West-B. Tilghman-J. Allison, – 7:18)
"Pleasures Of The Harbor" (P. Ochs, – 5:59)
"Tape From California" (P. Ochs, – 5:09)
"Elvis Medley : My Baby Left Me / Ready Teddy / Heartbreak Hotel / All Shook Up / Are You Lonesome Tonight? / My Baby Left Me" (A. Crudup-R. Maralasco-R. Blackwell-J. Leiber-M. Stoller-O. Blackwell-R. Turk-L. Handman, – 10:12)
"A Fool Such As I" (B. Trader, – 2:00)