Ochs, Phil - Live Again! (Mega Blowout Sale)
SKU
23-Float 6269
"By most accounts, 1973 was not a good time for Phil Ochs; it had been three years since his last album arrived to indifferent reviews and dismal sales, and his drinking and creative lethargy took a heavy toll as the great protest singer of the '60s was trying to find a new voice in the '70s. But you wouldn't guess any of that to listen to this recording of Ochs playing a club date that year in the Midwest; Live Again! captures Ochs on a night when he was in good voice and good spirits, playing songs from his catalog for an audience clearly happy to be hearing them.
While there are a few songs from Ochs' later albums, including "Pretty Smart on My Part" and "Chord of Fame," for the most part this set is devoted to material from his years as a "singing journalist," and he performs "I Ain't Marching Anymore," "Santo Domingo," and "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends" with genuine commitment and strength. Significantly, the biggest hand of the night goes to "Here's to the State of Richard Nixon," a then-topical rewrite of "Here's to the State of Mississippi," preceded by a fiery speech from Ochs calling for the president's impeachment that brings the crowd to their feet.
The show took place at the Stables, a folk and blues club near the campus of Michigan State University, and it's likely Ochs was playing for a crowd of old college-town lefties, but they were clearly happy to see the folk icon up close and personal, and Live Again! makes it clear Ochs was not a spent force as a performer.
This concert was also recorded at a fortuitous time; later in the year, Ochs would be mugged during a visit to Africa, causing his vocal cords to be damaged and sending him on a downward spiral that would end with his suicide in 1976. Live Again! documents Ochs at one of the last shows where he was performing at full power."-AllMusic
- LabelFloating World
- UPC0805772626928