''American Troubadour'' is a 1997 British 2-CD set that presented a portrait of singer-songwriter
Phil Ochs
Philip David Ochs (; December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American songwriter and protest singer (or, as he preferred, a topical singer). Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, political activism, often alliterative lyrics, and ...
' later career, featuring selections from each of the five albums he recorded for
A&M Records
A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...
, from various non-album single sides and from a performance Ochs gave on March 13, 1969, in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
. It is notable for the inclusion of Ochs' post-1970 single sides, otherwise unavailable on compact disc and for the inclusion of a cover of Chuck Berry's "School Days", a previously unavailable outtake from Ochs' infamous March 27, 1970, concert at Carnegie Hall.
Track listing
Disc One
* All songs by Phil Ochs.
#
Cross My Heart
# Flower Lady
#
Outside of a Small Circle of Friends
__NOTOC__
"Outside of a Small Circle of Friends" is a song by Phil Ochs, a U.S. protest singer from the 1960s. "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends", which was originally released on Ochs' 1967 album ''Pleasures of the Harbor'', became one of Och ...
# Pleasures of the Harbor (live)
#
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...
# Tape From California
# White Boots Marching in a Yellow Land
# Half A Century High
# Joe Hill
#
The War Is Over
# William Butler Yeats Visits Lincoln Park And Escapes Unscathed
# Here's to the State of Richard Nixon (live)
# The Scorpion Departs But Never Returns
# Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore
# Rehearsals for Retirement
Disc Two
* All songs by Phil Ochs, except where noted.
# I Kill Therefore I Am
# The Bells (
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...
and Phil Ochs)
# The Highwayman (
Alfred Noyes
Alfred Noyes CBE (16 September 188025 June 1958) was an English poet, short-story writer and playwright.
Early years
Noyes was born in Wolverhampton, England the son of Alfred and Amelia Adams Noyes. When he was four, the family moved to Abe ...
and Phil Ochs)
# Another Age
#
There But For Fortune
#
One Way Ticket Home
"One Way Ticket Home" is a 1970 song by Phil Ochs, an American singer-songwriter best known for the protest songs he wrote in the 1960s.
"One Way Ticket Home" is the first song on ''Greatest Hits'', which—despite its title—was a collection o ...
# Jim Dean of Indiana
# My Kingdom For A Car
# Gas Station Women
# Chords of Fame
# No More Songs
# Mona Lisa (live) (
Jay Livingston
Jay Livingston (born Jacob Harold Levison, March 28, 1915 – October 17, 2001) was an American composer best known as half of a song-writing duo with Ray Evans that specialized in songs composed for films. Livingston wrote music and Evans t ...
and
Ray Evans
Raymond Bernard Evans (February 4, 1915 – February 15, 2007) was an American songwriter. He was a partner in a composing and song-writing duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films. Evans wrote the lyrics and Living ...
)
#
I Ain't Marching Anymore
''I Ain't Marching Any More'' is Phil Ochs' second LP, released on Elektra Records in 1965.
History
Ochs performs alone on twelve original songs, an interpretation of Alfred Noyes' " The Highwayman" set to music (much as Poe's "The Bells" had be ...
(live)
# School Days (live) (
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...
)
#
The Power and the Glory
''The Power and the Glory'' is a 1940 novel by British author Graham Greene. The title is an allusion to the doxology often recited at the end of the Lord's Prayer: "For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever, amen." ...
#
Kansas City Bomber
''Kansas City Bomber'' is a 1972 American sports drama film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Jerrold Freedman and starring Raquel Welch. It also marks one of the earliest film appearances of Jodie Foster.
Plot
The film is an ins ...
#
Bwatue
"Bwatue" is a song by Phil Ochs, a US singer-songwriter best known for the protest songs he wrote in the 1960s. He co-wrote the song with two African musicians named Dijiba and Bukasa. "Bwatue" was written and recorded in 1973.
"Bwatue" was writt ...
(Phil Ochs and Dijiba-Bukasa)
#
Niko Mchumba Ngombe
"Bwatue" is a song by Phil Ochs, a US singer-songwriter best known for the protest songs he wrote in the 1960s. He co-wrote the song with two African musicians named Dijiba and Bukasa. "Bwatue" was written and recorded in 1973.
"Bwatue" was writt ...
(Phil Ochs and Dijiba-Bukasa)
# Changes (live)
Sources
Disc One
* Tracks 1-3 and 5 from ''
Pleasures of the Harbor
''Pleasures of the Harbor'' is Phil Ochs' fourth full-length album and his first for A&M Records, released in 1967. It is one of Ochs's most somber albums. In stark contrast to his three albums for Elektra Records which had all been folk music, ...
'' (1967)
* Track 4 from ''
Gunfight at Carnegie Hall
''Gunfight At Carnegie Hall'' is the final album by Phil Ochs released during his lifetime, comprising songs recorded at the infamous, gold-suited, bomb-threat shortened first show at Carnegie Hall in New York City on March 27, 1970, though it cont ...
'' (recorded 1970, released 1975)
* Tracks 6-10 from ''
Tape from California
''Tape from California'' is Phil Ochs' fifth album, released in mid-1968 on A&M Records. It continues Ochs' musical shift away from straight-ahead protest songwriting toward more orchestral and baroque arrangements.
Track listing
All songs by Ph ...
'' (1968)
* Tracks 11 and 13-15 from ''
Rehearsals for Retirement
''Rehearsals for Retirement'' is Phil Ochs's sixth album, released in 1969 on A&M Records.
Background
Recorded in the aftermath of Ochs's presence at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago (where Ochs claimed to have witnessed the symb ...
'' (1969)
* Track 12 from the 1974 single.
Disc Two
* Track 1 from ''Rehearsals for Retirement'' (1969)
* Tracks 2-5 and 19 from ''
There and Now: Live in Vancouver 1968'' (sic) (recorded March 13, 1969, released 1991)
* Tracks 6-11 from ''
Greatest Hits
A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...
'' (1970)
* Tracks 12-13 from ''Gunfight at Carnegie Hall'' (recorded 1970, released 1975)
* Track 14 previously unreleased.
* Track 15 from the 1974 single.
* Track 16 from the 1973 single.
* Tracks 17-18 from the 1973 single.
References
Phil Ochs compilation albums
1997 compilation albums
Albums produced by Van Dyke Parks
A&M Records compilation albums
{{1990s-folk-album-stub