any phil ochs fans??

early in his career, gordon lightfoot covered "changes", a phil ochs song.
ochs was a protest-singer and activist from the 1960s. He also wrote some beautiful, introspective songs. a manic-depressive, his suicide in 1976 only ended what had become a hellish existence for him.
my question to anyone reading this is, have you heard of phil ochs, and if so, are you a fan??
gord was, indeed, a fan of phil's music, hence the cover. their styles are different, but they come from the same era...the '60s folk explosion.
any takers??

[Westernstar9]

Yes, I bought a 2 record LP of him in the late 70s/early 80's. I think part of the reason for his frustration (I can't comment on his manic/depressive state) was that during the 1960's Phil largely painted himself into a corner. Vietnam and Civil Rights seemed to be at the center of most of his music. I am still impressed how he could take a dead-on harsh view of war ("Santo Domingo") and a lighthearted one ("Draft Dodger Rag") and make valid points with both. I don't remember if "Santo Domingo" was the full title of the tune or just part of it. Anyhow, as the 60's turned into the 70's, the Civil Rights movement seemed to lose momentum with the death of Dr. King in 1968, the Kent State shootings in 1970, and the American withdrawl from Vietnam beginning in 1973. It seems that Phil had nothing to write about from there. That positive view of Phil is tempered by.....

His suicide in 1976. He hung himself in his sister's bathroom, and if I'm not mistaken one of her children found him that way. Maybe he wasn't rational (I don't know of any rational suicide, save for terminally ill patients in pain), but if he was going to do it, I wish he would have gone out in the woods somewhere, where his family will not have to live forever with that memory.

All in all, Phil was a very talented guy, and if he could have found a new cause to champion, he may still be alive today.

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[iamjohnne]

quote:Originally posted by jbt:
early in his career, gordon lightfoot covered "changes", a phil ochs song.
ochs was a protest-singer and activist from the 1960s. He also wrote some beautiful, introspective songs. a manic-depressive, his suicide in 1976 only ended what had become a hellish existence for him.
my question to anyone reading this is, have you heard of phil ochs, and if so, are you a fan??
gord was, indeed, a fan of phil's music, hence the cover. their styles are different, but they come from the same era...the '60s folk explosion.
any takers??

man o man gordon lightfoot's cover of "changes" just happens to be one of my favorite of all times songs. I first heard it back in the day when i was 16 and in love for the first time. and i am also an ochs fan from back in the day too-----remember pleasures of the harbor? or how about draft dodger rag?

westernstar9,
you make a very good point. when only 5,000 or so people showed up to protest at the democratic convention in chicage in '68 and about 300,000 were expected, it crushed ochs...he was never quite the same after that. as the integrity of the nation began to fade away, as ochs would have said, so did he.
the title of the song you referred to is "the marines have landed on the shores of santo domingo".
and you're correct about his suicide. his nephew, i think 14 at the time, found him. his nephew really looked up to him too.
the nephew had actually left the house at the time, but returned much sooner than expected. who knows?? what is someone in that state really thinking?? tough subject.
--"pleasures of the harbor" is one of my favorite ochs' songs. how about "crucifixion", or "when i'm gone"? there are so many that deserve recognition for what they are: classics.

[Westernstar9]

Since he passed at age 36, "When I'm Gone" seemed to be rather prophetic, if not an early warning sign that all was not well with Phil. Also, for a folkie of his time, he had a rather pleasant voice. I've heard the rumor that Phil was unhappy at not being recognized commercially more than he was. His appearance in a gold lame suit looked like not only a mockery of commercialism, but yet another early warning that he was not well, since gold lame suits were quite out of character for him.

Mike

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[Eddiefitz]

Apart from Harry Chapin's "The Parade's Still Passing By" I didn't know anything about Ochs. After hearing that song I read a little bit about him, and apparently he was the victim of an assault in the early 70s that damaged his vocal chords so badly he could barely talk, let alone sing, which contributed considerably to someone who was already depressed. I haven't heard Gord's version of "Changes" but Ian and Sylvia do it on the "Play One More" album, so I know it's a good song.


Brett.

[ordinaryman]

phil was an absoute genius! just listen to songs like 'tape from california', or my favourite, 'the party' and see what i mean.

[ordinaryman]

phil was an absoute genius! just listen to songs like 'tape from california', or my favourite, 'the party' and see what i mean.

glad you agree, ordinary man. i've tried to spread the word, but perhaps it's enough knowing myself the gems that i have in my cd case.

jbt

[joe markley]

Great topic. What a damn shame and what a great song writer. I've never read about the arrack or his vocal chords. He did a guest appearance on Wolfman Jacks "Midnight Special" not roo long before he died. Melanie did a cover of his "Chords of Fame" what a classic song.
"Play the chords of love my friend
Play the chords of pain
But if you want to keep your song
Don't play the chords of fame"

[wattsdmatter]

There are some names here I have not come across before. Are you still out there?
"Changes" is one of my favourite songs. When I encountered it on the first Lightfoot album and saw that it was a Phil Ochs song, I sought it out in my local record shop, and picked up the album 'Chords of Fame' I also have the CD 'Phil Ochs in concert'. Yes I am a fan. Talking of cover versions. Way back in the 60's we had , here in Britain, a singer/songwriter named Crispian St. Peters. He had a couple of hits one of which was the Sylvia Fricker (Ian & Sylvia) song 'You Were On My Mind'. However this guy did an abominable version of 'Changes' I have never forgiven him and said as much on his web site. It was removed the next day. Do not criticize Crispian.

wow, i haven't checked this forum in, honestly, about six months. i just did tonight, and so happy i did.
you must have posted a few days ago, waddsdmatter. i do recognize your name from the gord discussion site.
and i can tell you're english- you spelled favourite...
i cant' stay long now, but will reply a bit more in depth soon.
i will say, though, that phil has been a favourite (ha ha) of mine for quite some time, and i do look forward to continuing this discussion.
again, sorry for the lack of response time

jbt

[wattsdmatter]

jbt, thank you for responding to my post. It is interesting that you have 'sussed' my origin via my spelling. It was once said that Britain and America are divided by a common language. I think I have got that right. Oddly enough I was recently contemplating the fact that Gordon's newest CD is titled 'A Painter Passing Through' and not 'A Painter Passing Thru'

that's great. i'm so happy to hear you're an ochs fan. not many around i'm afraid.
gord's version of "changes" was the first i heard. i'm also a harry chapin fan, and he wrote a tribute song for phil (the parade's still passing by). a great tune. i put two and two together, and since then have become a huge ochs fan. i've gone to a few tribute concerts held by his sister sonny, and have recently began purchasing some phil items via ebay.
a few of my favorites:
changes
crucifixion
doesn't lenny live here anymore
the highwayman
i'm going to say it now

the list goes on...

jbt

sorry, i meant favorite songs, not items purchased. it doesn't read that way

[BILLW]

jbt,
When I was 17 or 18 I used to sit for my friend's sister's damn kids. The only album in the house worth taking out of the cardboard was "Pleasures of the Harbor" I think?? I played the grooves out of that thing, that was Phil Ochs if I remember correctly. I remember a line: "and I'll send you a tape from California" that was pretty cool. God, I'm gettin' old!
Bill

hey bill,
the line you recall, and recall correctly i might add, is from the song "tape from california". in fact, it is the title song from the album of the same name.
was that redundant?
"pleasures of the harbor" happens to be one of my favorite ochs songs, and, again, is the title song from one of his albums. in fact, "pleasures..." is regarded as one of his finer efforts.
a great quote from "pleasures":

"in the bar
hangs a cloud
the whiskey's loud
with laughter in their eyes
the lonely in disguise
are clinging to the crowd.

and the bottle
fills the glass
the haze is fast
he's longing for the taste
of passions gone to waste
in memories of the past

oh soon your sailing will be over
come and take the pleasures of the harbor."

phil did

do we have the courage??

[BILLW]

jbt,

thanks, i guess my memory isn't quite shot yet. didn't i see that they had reissued a whole lot of po's stuff on CD in the last few years. Are they worth buying?

Bill

yes, bill, definitely worth buying. in '97 they released a three cd compilation entitled "farewells and fantasies". it's truly priceless and a must have for even the slightest phil fan.
just this year they released a millenium compilation of 12 songs or so. also worth buying

on it is a live version of "i ain't marching anymore".

[notsocooldude]

I have just catalogued my entire vinyl collection, it took me ten minutes. I uncovered a Phil Ochs album I forgot I had. 'Interviews with Phil Ochs' I noticed on the back of the cover ads. for other albums. One of which is "Sundown" And other Songs by SIS CUNNINGHAM. The album I have is (C) 1976. Which begs the question, is this the "Sundown" and who the heck is Sis Cunningham?

hey notsocool,
agnes "sis" cunningham and her husband gordon friesen founded Broadside magazine in Greenwich Village in the early sixties.
Broadside published the topical songs of the day. phil recorded many, many songs for the publication.
both sis and gordon were good friends of phil, even to the gloomy end.
i haven't heard of that album; it must have come out after his death in april of that year.
and i didn't know sis cunningham recorded "sundown". maybe she was a recording artist too. but i do assume it's the same "sundown" that we are so familiar with.

[notsocooldude]

Further to my last post on 'Phil' I have discovered in the album sleeve (Interviews with Phil Ochs), a copy of 'Broadside' specially reproduced for this album. It is the entire transcript of an interview between Phil and Israel "Izzy" Young. The interview was conducted on September 6th 1968. It seems that Phil had just returned from the 1968 Democratic National Convention, which had been held in Chicago. Phil was not in the least bit impressed with certain things that happened there.
However there is one part of the interview that caught my 'grey matter'. I will reproduce the part here. During the interview a situation which had occured in Czechoslovakia In the then recent past, was being discussed.

IZZY: So Dubcek didn't have a chance from the start then?

PHIL: He had much less of a chance with a crazy America running around. You Know, from the Russian point of view, America is a mad dog loose around the world. What it will lead to is lots more assassination; terror will start in Europe against American business. I mean America is buying Europe. Economic brutality, you know, comes before police brutality.

IZZY: I agree with you completely on that. I've been saying for two years-- my friends say I'm crazy--- that America is going to be destroyed from the outside, not from the inside.
PHIL: From both. End of quote.

Food for thought.

indeed
thanks so much for posting it