All the News That's Fit to Sing
As one of the greatest protest folksingers of the 1960s, Phil Ochs sang with a strong sense of purpose and an even stronger sense for melody. His songs, which champion the rights of the downtrodden, promote world peace, and memorialize the lives of great men, are among the most memorable of the genre. This is his first album and while in many ways a young man's record--Ochs redefines the term "earnest"--it is also steeped in the folk tradition. Danny Kalb of theBlues Projectaccompanies Ochs on second guitar, adding quick bursts of color. "Talking Cuban Crisis" and "Talking Vietnam" are now dated, but "Bound for Glory" (his tribute toWoody Guthrie), "One More Parade," and "Too Many Martyrs" are human rights songs always in fashion.--Rob O'Connor