Customer Reviews

I Ain't Marching Anymore

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4 star:		(1)
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This is one of Phil's best. If you're not interested in the sixties, just listen to The Highwayman, or Hills of West Virginia. However, the Hannibal CD is wretched. The sound is often clipped and garbled. You can sometimes even hear people talking in the background. These noises are *not* on my 35 year old LP. Very sad.

Ochs with his education in Journalism makes his second album the one he is most regognizable for. It is true "raw" lyrics and,(after listening to it for a while) poetry. Too bad (or good) Ochs had to make this album the less commercial possible. "Here's to the state of Mississippi", "I Ain't Marchin Anymore", "Iron Lady", "That was the President" and "The Links on the Chain" are true classics. Begin or end your Folk collection with this album, just buy it and see the world from a different angle forever!

Phil Ochs, in his open and triuphantly victorious album, "I Ain't Marching Anymore", influences our minds, energizes our bodies, and aids our souls in the never-ending, human quest for truth. Phil Och's music is truth, and that's the only way to describe it. It's not exactly folk music, with its tragic, painfull, though, allbeit, common songs about the depth of humanity's suffering, but something greater. Something not limited to the suffering of poor people and indegents, but of the human condition in general. The infinite human compassion, and the violent, terrible human history; two parts of humanity, both seperate and precious, and both necessary. Violence, in its past tense, is useful: without it, no one could learn from it. With it, however, humanity can expand and progress. This is what Phil Ochs was trying to communicate with his music.

Phil Ochs does not have the lasting fame he deserves. The topics of his songs may be aged, but, in one way or another, they're still revelant. "I Ain't Marching Anymore" is an excellent, timeless tribute to nonviolence. "The Draft Dodger Rag" is great (even catchy), and his version of Noyes' poem "The Highway Man" shows off his excellent ballad-singing voice, as accompanied by beautiful acoustic guitar. These are indeed the "Days of Decision." Decide to buy this album today.

I bought this record when it came out which must have been around 1965. I only had to listen to it once to know I ain't marching anymore either. The title song played over and over again in my head as I made my way through the act of refusing the draft at Fort Holabird, Maryland in 1967.
Phil Ochs had guts and he told it like it was. His songs inspired us, spoke for us, and urged us on. He was one of many musicians invited to sing at the 1968 Chicago Democratic convention protests. But as the protests drew near, it became obvious to all this would be bare knuckles going up against a wild and poorly trained right wing police force. One by one all those musicians except Phil Ochs and MC-5 got scared and dropped out. And that's just one or two reasons Phil Ochs was our troubadour. Now 40 years later he's as relevant as ever and discerning kids are still listening to him.
This I believe was his very first album and one of his best. The other one I'd recommend is "Then and Now: Live in Vancouver," which is a reprise of some of his best work. It was recorded in a club in Vancouver just weeks after the Chicago protests and you'll have no problem feeling the electricity in the air.

You cannot believe how wonderful the sound is on this CD. I have all of Phil's albums and the CD is SO much better. I love Phil Ochs. So sorry he had to leave us so soon....

Phil Ochs/ I Ain't Marching Anymore: This album (along with his "All the news that's fit to sing" album) is the very definition of the "protest song". The subject matter is certainly rooted in the 1960's but that does not mean that the songs are no longer relevant. Some of these songs are universal. Others, though dated, remain important even today. Beyond that, this album is inspiring, encouraging, and entertaining. This is a Great album that deserves to be made available on a continual basis and not just once every five years.

How could I have missed out reviewing this album, my chance first meeting with it at university as Phil met his roommate Jim Glover? Try and read if you can, Phil's elegantly written liner notes, his life's statement.

The title track is Phil's signature tune as 'Blowing in the Wind" is Dylan's with its sharply observed history lesson. Phil the poet and artist mingles with Phil the agitator with his call to action songs, most noticable Hills of West Virginia and The Highwayman alongside Links on the Chain (about union passivity) Days of Decision (civil rights) while I've heard Here's to the State of Mississippi be updated by Phil to refer to Nixon and most recently to Sarah Palin. This album majorly affected my politics and life at an early age. What more could I say?