Audio Cassette review:
Phil Ochs - There and Now: Live in Vancouver

Phil Ochs - There and Now: Live in Vancouver

Band: Phil Ochs Title: There and Now: Live in Vancouver Rating: Release Date: 01 May, 1992 Media: Audio Cassette Tracks: 1: There But for Fortune 2: Outside of a Small Circle of Friends 3: William Butler Yeats Visits Lincoln Park and Escapes Unscathed 4: Scorpion Departs But Never Returns 5: Pleasures of the Harbor 6: World Began in Eden and Ended in Los Angeles 7: Bells 8: Highwayman 9: I Kill Therefore I Am 10: Doll House 11: Another Age 12: Changes 13: Crucifixion 14: I Ain't Marching Anymore

Customer Reviews Powerful, poignant, beautiful Personally, I enjoy listening to his acoustic solo albums and his highly arranged pop-rock recordings as well. There is no point in saying which is the "best" Phil Ochs album. 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. . Heartfelt, moving, compelling, and tragic 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. Though known best as a political singer, Phil Ochs was really a Romantic at heart. 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. . Phil Ochs rules. 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. Amazing album. 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. . You can see a complete list of all Phil Ochs discography, or go back to the Phil Ochs tabs