Difficult Listening 24 - Phil Ochs

Bob Dylan may have been the voice of my generation but Phil Ochs was the conscience - that nagging voice reminding us that we, as humans, were behaving poorly. Ochs is often thought of as a folk singer - he thought of himself as a journalist reporting on oppression and other quirks of society. He recorded eight albums while he was still alive. A sufferer of bipolar disorder, Phil Ochs couldn't take it any longer and hung himself at just 35 years of age.

ALL THE NEWS THAT'S FIT TO SING - Phil Ochs' first album, released in 1964. Not only did this album have the first specifically anti-Vietnam War song but it also addressed world peace, the Cuban missile crisis, the trend toward automation, the Thresher disaster among others and still finds a place for a musical adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Bells".

TAPE FROM CALIFORNIA - Released in 1968, TFC followed themes explored in his previous album (Pleasures of the Harbor) addressing apathy and conformity along with the continued call to end the Vietnam War.

REHEARSALS FOR RETIREMENT (1969) - By this time, things have gotten pretty grim. The war is still raging, there has been another submarine disaster, and then there was that convention in Chicago. Ochs' disillusionment with the humanity of humans is very apparent - this album is full of despair.

GREATEST HITS (1970) - His last studio album, satirically titled, it is all original material. Much of the anger is gone and the songs are often nostalgic. Phil Ochs knew the end was coming - he was running out of words.