A Toast to Those Who Are Gone

Phil Ochs

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 12, 1989)
• Original Release Date: 1987
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B0000032AM
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #244,516 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is pure Ochs., July 10, 1999

By A Customer

This CD is one of my greatest treasures. I had not heard any of these songs before this CD, Ochs' wit, outrage, and sentimentality can be heard. This CD is vintage Phil Ochs. The songs I enjoy the most are the sentimental ones such as "I'm Tired" and "Song of My Returning". These show the vunerable side of Phil, whereas the humorous songs are upbeat and the songs of political discontent are direct and to the point. If I had heard someone else sing these songs, I could have ventured to believe that Phil Ochs had written them. I basically listen to Phil Ochs for the lyrics and most times I am rewarded by great melodies. This CD did not disappoint me.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Soulful Sound of Phil Ochs, July 28, 2005

By	Derek D (Edinburgh, UK) - See all my reviews

A Toast To Those Who Are Gone is a collection of demos recorded during 1963/4 and 1965/6. The songs are a wonderful reminder of the importance of Phil Ochs as a songwriter and performer in the 1960s. Many of the songs focus on themes of racial segregation and civil rights with Ochs passionately highlighting the brutality of American society on songs like William Moore, Colored Town, Ballad of Oxford and Going Down To Mississipi.

Phil's compassion, and wit are to the fore on the tale of the rise and fall of an entrepeneur, Billy Sol;in the beautiful song supporting the striking Hazard miners, No Christmas In Kentucky, and in the classic anti- death penalty song of Paul Crump.

Amidst songs of genuine social significance there are pop gems like the Song of My Returning and the Trial.The cd also contains arguably the saddest song in the world, I'm Tired.

Most of this cd is upbeat, at times full of a spirit of crusade. While many of his contemporaries wrote abstract songs relating to the sixties quest for personal enlightenment, Ochs mostly focussed on contemporary social issues and he remains arguably the most important political/social voice of his generation.

This cd also contains some of the most beautiful singing ever to be found in a 'folk/protest/pop'genre.

A Toast is a very fine introduction to the early period songs of the brilliant Phil Ochs.