Customer Reviews

There & Now: Live in Vancouver 1968

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Great acoustic versions of some of Phil's best songs. "The Scorpion Departs But Never Returns", Pleasures of the Harbor" and my favorite Phil Ochs song, "William Butler Yeats Visits Lincoln Park and Escapes Unscathed". Sounding just great all stripped down with just Phil and his guitar. True, Ochs does forget some words here and there making him almost...human. I saw Dylan twice(so far) and he forgot the words to some things too. One thing I really like about Ochs is the amazing things he says between songs. Really great observations of life in America that ring just as true today. How'd he do that? The much underated guitar playing just shines here. This guy had talent. And don't ever forget the songs. I won't.

It is extremely frustrating to see poor reviews of this album. I believe this is by far Phil Ochs's best album. Phil was extremely affected by the events in Chicago, and this heartfelt album demonstrates the emotions that he was feeling. He put every ounce of energy into his songs, with every bit of anger or depressed feelings that could to win over the audience and get them to take an even stronger stand against injustices and lack of freedom. In other albums, in contrast, he sang songs with a mood of passive acceptance and hoped the audience would leave having learning something positive. While in this album he consistently said at the beginning of songs "I don't remember the words [or the lyrics] to this song," it takes a closed-minded critic to mock that instead of simply enjoying the messages that he had to offer.

I just had to write this review to counter-act the bad review above. This concert was recorded at an important time in American history and Phil Ochs captures the feeling of the time so eloquently. Phil's performance of the Highwayman is stunning, as well as this versions of most of the songs from his Rehearsals LP. To quote his brother Phil "Phil has just returned from the Chicago Democratic convention, where he had witnessed the death of democracy as he had known it. He claims to be down throughout this performance, but I've seldom heard him more focused". If you are a folk music fan, you must own this record.

This is definitly Phil Ochs at his best, at least as far as his live stuff goes. If you compare the versions of There but for Fortune and I Ain't Marchin Anymore to others versions, they blow them out of the water. Sure a few of the songs work way better in the studio (Pleasures of the Harbour, the Chicago song), but the added stage intros make up for it. The version of the Highwayman is intensly great.

Perhaps you are someone who has only marginally heard of Phil Ochs. Maybe you've heard he was a topical songwriter who later suffered from writer's block and manic depression. The critics said: "the words just wouldn't come anymore." Well, there is a lot more to the story and this CD tells some of it. Phil did indeed write some of the greatest "rebel" songs in American musical history. But as this album documents, Phil, like Dylan, made a transition to writing more personal songs - songs that later would have been heralded as stylistically, singer-songwriter. Songs performed here such as "Pleasures of The Harbor," "Changes," "Small Circle of Friends," "The Doll House," etc. - all are far more poetic, lyrical, and musically melodic than Phil's original Folk songs. What I think newcomers will like and benefit from with these performances is hearing Phil explains much of the backgrounds that led to the crafting of the songs. Certainly, the studio performances of many of these songs are richer in terms of music, but Phil (coming of the tragic events of the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago) speaks his mind, the prophet in him understood what had happened in Chicago (he was there) and what it would mean for the future. Listen to his words, spoken 40 years ago, it is startling that Phil had the vision to see exactly how America would forever lose her innocence, decency, and sense of morality. Phil saw the forces of crushing greed striking irreparable blows to the psyche and reality of America. Phil sings many songs from his then new "Rehearsals for Retirement" album, some are political, some very personal - that was the thing with Phil - although his music expanded into more complex areas, he never was afraid to sing a song of significance whenever he wanted - he never was the least bit concerned about doing what was politically correct. Phil was touched by a spirit that still burns today, this CD will take you there, if you want; we sure need Phil now.

There is no point in saying which is the "best" Phil Ochs album. Personally, I enjoy listening to his acoustic solo albums and his highly arranged pop-rock recordings as well. But this recording of a live concert in Vancouver is highly recommended, both to intense Ochs fans as well as others just discovering him.


I've been listening to music for nearly 50 years (ever since I was a young tyke digging Elvis) and IMO Phil Ochs had one of the most beautiful and haunting voices of any singer ever, in any genre. In this live concert, the beauty of his voice is still present but you can also hear the anger as his early idealism was becoming embittered. Many people think of Phil Ochs as primarily a "protest singer" but he was also a poet of the human soul, including of his own tormented soul. During this concert, you hear a good range of his more personal as well as his political works. All sung and played in straight-ahead, unadorned fashion.

A truely honest and edgy performance from a singer-songwriter battling his demons and the contradictions of the 60s. He may humm some of the words, but "There But for Fortune" and "Pleasures of the Harbour" cut to the soul. This music is not wallpaper ... it demands attention.

Though known best as a political singer, Phil Ochs was really a Romantic at heart. He believed more deeply in the causes of the 1960s than 99% of his contemporaries, and he felt the Chicago police beatings of the anti-war protesters at the Democratic Convention both physically and spiritually.
This recently un-earthed recording was his first after the Chicago riots and conveys his sadness and the death of his hope. When he tells his Vancouver audience, "Something extraordinary died there [Chicago], and that was America," you can feel the silence that follows in your gut.
Neither the recording nor the performance is up to standard, but Phil's renditions and his stage comments are precious.
I recently ranked this among the 10 CDs I would want to have with me if I were stranded on a desert island.
I am grateful that it is still available.

It has to be said; Phil Ochs' aspirations exceeded his talents. He was good, but Bob Dylan he wasn't. For that matter, Tim Buckley and Arthur Lee wrote circles around Ochs whenever he'd try to wax poetic. But he still left several songs that stand with the best of the Sixties and this live album catches him at his solo best. His greatest song, "Crucifixion," is given here in a chilling rendition that reeks of sorrow and rage; this was, after all, the year that Robert Kennedy joined his older brother as an assassin's victim. And so many others on here--"There But For Fortune," "The Scorpion Departs But Never Returns" and the masterly "Pleasures Of The Harbor"--roll off Och's tongue with an ease and grace seldom displayed in his studio work. He was a troubled man with more than a few pretentions, but this album does prove that he was also a very powerful artist on several occasions.

Amazing album. Phil Ochs is truly one of the most important musicians of all time- his talent for playing the guitar pailed in comparison to his talent for writing eloquent, meaningful, hard-hitting topical songs. Despite being effectively black-balled by the entertainment industry/socio-political powers that were, Ochs' songs, whether political, social, or personal, have deeply influenced all those who listen to his music and take his words to heart. This album is an excellent example of his live shows which he was (limitedly) famous for.