Phil Ochs in Concert

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Phil Ochs In Concert
Phil Ochs In Concert cover
Live album by Phil Ochs
Released March 1966
Recorded 1965 - 1966
Genre Folk
Length 51:36
Label Elektra
Producer(s) Mark Abramson and Jac Holzman
Professional reviews
Phil Ochs chronology
I Ain't Marching Anymore
(1965)
Phil Ochs In Concert
(1966)
Pleasures Of The Harbor
(1967)


Phil Ochs In Concert was Phil Ochs' third long player, released in 1966 on Elektra Records. Contrary to 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 was the culmination of Ochs' folk career, the last of his original albums to be all-acoustic.

"There But For Fortune", which originally opened side two of the LP set, is perhaps the best-known track. Already having been a minor hit for Joan Baez (whom Ochs jokingly credits with its authoring), the tale of fate is an ode to count one's self as fortunate should their placement be better than that of the types mentioned in the track.

The album featured one of Ochs' few love songs, "Changes", an ode pining for the life with his wife and daughter from which he had taken himself out of. "Bracero" was a scathing attack on the practice that let immigrants to come from Mexico to work for a pittance. "Canons of Christianity" attacked the somewhat hypocritical nature of churches and their leaders. "Cops of the World" painted a portrait of America as a nation builder that would do anything they pleased, expecting everybody else to comply. "I'm Gonna Say It Now", a tale told through the eyes of a young college student towards the adults running the college, was the humorous opener to the first side.

[edit] Track listing

  1. "I'm Gonna Say It Now" (P. Ochs, – 3:10)
  2. "Bracero" (P. Ochs, – 4:07)
  3. "Ringing of Revolution" (P. Ochs, – 7:19)
  4. "Is There Anybody Here" (P. Ochs, – 3:27)
  5. "Canons of Christianity" (P. Ochs, – 6:02)
  6. "There But For Fortune" (P. Ochs, – 2:52)
  7. "Cops of the World" (P. Ochs, – 5:04)
  8. "(The Marines Have Landed on the Shores of) Santo Domingo" (P. Ochs, – 5:58)
  9. "Changes" (P. Ochs, – 4:41)
  10. "Love Me, I'm A Liberal" (P. Ochs, – 4:37)
  11. "When I'm Gone" (P. Ochs, – 4:19)

[edit] Participants

  • Phil Ochs - guitar, vocals
  • Jac Holzman and Mark Abramson - producers
  • Arthur Gorson - concert producer