Phil Ochs

Of all the major figures of the early-'60s folk boom, Phil Ochs adhered longest to Woody Guthrie's tradition of songs fired by social activism. Dylan moved toward more idiosyncratic poetry; Eric Andersen and others shifted their emphasis toward love songs and the softer singer/songwriter material; Joan Baez kept pace with Ochs in terms of political engagement, but the material she chose to cover lacked the edge of topicality that sharpened the typical Ochs protest song. Like Guthrie himself, a patriot of the most optimistic kind, his righteousness fueled by a populist faith, Ochs in time became a tragic hero -- a seer ignored, his idealism shaken by the long agony of Vietnam and America's internal dissension. Not long before his 1976 suicide at age 35, Ochs was attacked myste-riously while traveling in Africa, and with bizarre, metaphoric appropriateness, his vocals cords were damaged. He sang again, but his spirit was shot.

All the News That's Fit to Sing, I Ain't Marching Anymore, and In Concert present Ochs' definitive protest songs. Lean, graceful acoustic guitar carries the simple melodies; Ochs's voice is strong; and his delivery is sharp, witty, and precise. "Talking Cuban Crisis," "The Ballad of Oxford (Jimmy Meredith)," "A.M.A. Song," and "Draft Dodger Rag" are aimed at specific targets, which he assails with zest and sardonic wit. Pleasures of the Harbor is introspec-tive Ochs. No longer relying upon the three-chord melodies of classic folk, the orchestrated song arrangements on Pleasures recall 19th-century Impressionism. "Cross My Heart," "I've Had Her," and the title track are brooding elegies; "Crucifixion" is a remarkable treatise on martyrdom; "The Party" and "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends" feature Ochs' typical satiric sneer.

With Van Dyke Parks turning in an atypically straightforward production, Tape From California stands as Ochs's most solid set, even if, at the time, it continued his descent into relative obscurity. "When in Rome" masterfully delineates American history as an epic of conquest; "The War Is Over" is strange, bitter, and moving; the title track is almost pop. While the songcraft reaches new levels of skill, the record's tone of melancholy and defeat came to overpower its followup, Rehearsals for Retirement. Greatest Hits has always been derided by fans of the singer's activist music, but it sounds riveting today. Van Dyke Parks provides strange, almost saccharine string arrangements, but nostalgic songs like "Jim Dean of Indiana," "Chords of Fame," "No More Song," and "One-Way Ticket Home" show profound soul racked with anguish. With its cover picturing the singer tricked out in gold lamé in some inscrutable Elvis homage/parody, Gunfight at Carnegie Hall ends the story on a painful note of confusion: Covering "Okie from Muskogee," oldies, and his own "best hits," Ochs reveals nothing but desperation.

There but for Fortune and Chords of Fame generously cover Ochs' entire career; The War Is Over concentrates on the more difficult later period. The Fantasies & Farewells box set gives you the whole picture in four CDs. A Toast to Those Who Are Gone presents strong material recorded before 1964; the cuts are demos, but they're excellent. Live at Newport is early, protest-folk Phil in concert, passionate and committed. (PAUL EVANS)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide