Phil Ochs – Rehearsals For Retirement

Note to self listen to more Phil Ochs. No but actually I love this album, I’ve heard of people that say it’s hard to listen as he sounds so sad and I don’t know if I’d go that far but it is really gloomy there is not a lot of hope in this album but the music is still as bright and listenable as always.

While I disagree with Ochs biographer Marc Eliot that 'My Life' (a schmaltzy, over-baked cabaret number) is the greatest performance of Ochs' career, there's no doubt that the doomed singer-songwriter's finest moments are to be found in the grooves of this album. Early on, the eerie tinkling piano that opens 'The Doll House' gives some indication of the heartbreak and despair to come, but Ochs isn't really firing on all cylinders until the last three songs...and, believe it or not, that's more than enough. Those songs constitute a grand artistic and emotional statement, eclipsing everything else that Phil Ochs recorded and a goodly portion of Bob Dylan's catalog, too.
But when I said "heartbreak and despair" a moment ago, I wasn't kidding. It sounds like Ochs is holding back tears during the slow acoustic burn of 'Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore' (his greatest song, IMO), and he probably was. The tension is barely relieved on 'Another Age,' a furiously-paced folk rock tune that seems to anticipate punk both musically and lyrically (listen to it back to back with 'Nostalgia' by Buzzcocks or 'We Who Wait' by the Adverts). But by the time pianist Lincoln Mayorga commences the title track, Ochs' anger has been snuffed out: he's accepting the hopelessness that would eventually drive him to suicide. When he sings "The days grow longer for smaller prizes," it is quite literally the sound of his life crumbling to dust. "Rehearsals for Retirement" is a masterpiece, but it's also an emotionally devastating listen. Handle it with care.
(Four and a half stars)

I have this Pickwick reissue (SPC-3707). For some unknown reason the track A4 'William Butler Yeats Visits Lincoln Park And Escapes Unscathed' is missing from this pressing/version. Strange. Anyone know why the track was omitted? I know Pickwick was a budget label but missing out tracks seems a very strange thing. I also have a Pickwick copy of the Ochs LP "Greatest Hits' which omits the track 'Ten Cents a Coup'. Maybe they were just cheapskates.