Phil Ochs - The Party

[Illuminatta]

This is brilliant. I adore him. So sad he went and killed himself. For some reason this just reminds me of the Capitol in The Hunger Games.

[Thetitwrench]

Some of the best lyrics I've encountered. I don't know what a contemporary Phil Ochs would sound like, but he's clearly missed and has not been replaced.

[MrDavidFeldmann]

I forgot how much I love this song. His A&M releases are incredibly underrated. They show such growth and depth. His lyrics become more layered and scathing (despite what some fans say). The sarcasm in this song is very clever.

[pickpjh]

I always thought that the Piano Man by Billy Joel was a direct rip off of this better song.

[flippikat]

Bob Dylan never did lounge-with-attitude! Good stuff, Phil. :-)

[dpgjmg]

Does anyone know who the pianist is on this song?  Thanks

[saintyclaws]

The piano was played by Lincoln Mayorga.

[dpgjmg]

Thanks, saintyclaws.

[msbfd]

@dpgjmg

Lincoln Mayorga.

Google him. He's amazing, and he's still performing.

[prominantfrontman]

Oh, he was my soul mate. Lol

[1946don]

For the past 40 years or so, since I first heard this song, I have not been able to attend a "dinner party" without thinking of several of the verses.

It is tragic to think of the inner pain Phil Ochs must have suffered with - causing his mucy too early demise.

RIP

[autodelete66]

Phil was invited

(from what I remember back then)

to a Leonard Bernstein party where

Black Panthers were also invited,

(The Rich & The Rebels mingling was considered "tres cool")

as detailed in an article titled

"Mau - Mauing the Flack catchers"

from that era.

No wonder his brilliant cynicism

spills out all over in this piece!

[msbfd]

@autodelete66

Yep. This song is basically a true story, tarted up to sing better.  That's what Phil Ochs did best, but when he stopped reading the news and started looking at Americans, he got really depressed.

[plett410]

Funny that there have been no responses since my, "Hello Sittler", post

Write a new book, buddy. Use me as the boogie man if you must and it makes you feel better.

Stop being so petty.

Phil would have not liked this use of his song(s).

[plett410]

Hello Sittler.

[plett410]

Why aren't my posts showing up?

[Shapelander]

I can see your posts O_o

I'm actually waiting to get a hold of a Phil Ochs vinyl that my friend has, but he's in Oklahoma, coming back tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get to see him.

I still don't have Ochs on this computer though, which sucks. My CD drive won't even open now. I need to figs it. I mean, fix it.

[plett410]

Any more Ochs you'd like to post?

[plett410]

I wouldn't call "Nixon" a bad ass name (The claiming is appreciated though lol He was a 120 lb choclate lab), but I did get some interesting looks when I called out his name in front of folks on the street over the years.

I hunt pheasants, and my more liberal friends always laughed and made kindly meant comments when I shouted out commands to him.

"Nixon, heel", "Nixon, get over here".

"GOD DAMNIT NIXON!", LOL

[Shapelander]

I think it's a cool name all around, although I tend to think that of a lot of names with X's in them.

Dixon. Wexford. Alexandra. Dexter.

"Sit" is actually okay. One-word names I dig because they're almost like alien names. There aren't enough syllables to really wrap your mind around what it's supposed to mean. Even the words "dog" or "ox" or "horse" are like that. They seem not of this earth.

[plett410]

Well, that's interesting thinking regarding the x's.

No x involved, but, shit may be a good name for a dog too?

Even Nixon for that matter. lol

[spacepatrolman]

@plett410 The searchers had a song called tricky dicky but it doeesnt relate to nixon

[plett410]

In that sense, "Global cooling" would be a good name. lol

I'm a dog guy, but I've always thought that "Sit" would be a good name.

[plett410]

In the interest of full disclosure, my last dog was named "Nixon". His AKC legal name was "Nixon, now more than ever". lol I'm not kidding.

I don't care for commies, but I respect and appreciate folks that think, and are willing to take an informed stand.

Ochs and I likely had little commonality in politics and policy, but I miss his opinions and songs every day.

Phil's heart and caring were in the right place. For that alone he should be respected.

He was a hell of an artist to boot.

[Shapelander]

Hahaha. That's a badass name for a dog. I was actually helping my friend name her new cat earlier today and eventually ended up coming to that idea of naming a pet an IDEA, and not just like "Chester" or something.

I kept thinking of naming the cat, "Everyone be still." I think it has a really cool understated desperation to it.

I'm going to try and post some more Phil Ochs stuff, I just need to get it all back on my computer.

[plett410]

I listened to the whole song again. The vocal pacing is off. Though it does sound like Phil's voice, it's been manipulated, IMO.

Like I said before, please post more Phil!

[plett410]

This version is bullshit.

BTW, I still hate commies.

[Shapelander]

Haha. All right, well there's one man's opinion. I happen to love this recording, but if it's not to your liking, what can be done? ::shrug::

But that second statement has nothing to do with me. That's like hearing a chick say she likes to suck dick. Unless you're about to blow me, what does that shit have to do with me?

[plett410]

I just like the original version a lot. Not an attack on you. I praise you for posting Phil's music. He is so very under appreciated, IMO.

The second comment was a throw away line. It was a poorly worded word play on "Love Me I'm A Liberal". No offense was meant.

Keep posting Ochs songs!

[plett410]

This is not original Phil.

[Shapelander]

Really? Shit, I didn't know that. Who is it?

[plett410]

I've never heard that version before. It sounds like Phil's voice slowed down and dubbed over a separate piano piece.

It's one of my favorite songs, but unless Phil did a show in some Las Vegas club with Liberace, this isn't original.

[plevyman]

Which album was this from? Poor Phil, he didn't really adapt to recording with instrumental arrangements. It's typical Phil Ochs wit, but his singing's off.

[nancyzeetoo]

Pleasures of the Harbor.

I think his voice is supposed to be a bit "off", in keeping with his character here. And you try singing this!

[plevyman]

I've got the compilation double cd, American Troubadour and I've got his two first albums, plus Rehearsals for Retirement. His singing was fine in the earlier ones but on some of the later recordings like Crucifixion and Flower Lady, he's not quite on the note. I presume it's something to do with the studio - maybe it's Larry Marks's fault, I dunno.

There's a live performance of Crucifixion somewhere on youtube and he sings it much better than on the recorded version, which is way over the top.

[nancyzeetoo]

There are a few live versions of Cruxifiction, and all of them are better than the studio version, IMO. It's a messy cachophony that obscures the brilliance of the lyrics. Ochs wasn't all that great a singer. He had a sweet voice, but his range was very limited. Critics at the time sometimes said his vocals were a little too sweet for his rather biting material, but I think the contrast works very well and is one reason why Ochs can be so compelling when someone hears him for the first time.

[andyochs]

This is the first time iv heard the piano version. Iv got the live version, just on acoustic, and equally beautiful.

[mrmarks65]

Thanks for the post, I love Phil and have trouble finding his albums.