Best of the Rest: Rare and Unreleased Recordings

Phil Ochs revives rare major label demo recordings, which make their vinyl debut for this Record Store Day 2023 release. More than a torrent, less than a food, the songs of Phil’s early fledgling career poured out of him so quickly that not all were able to find their place on his albums, with some only emerging decades later. Demos submitted to Warner/ Chappell before Ochs’ rise to fame dominate this LP’s track listing. While he is known primarily as a songwriter, his talents extend to the creation of short stories, poetry and satire. This collection therefore, fascinatingly, depicts the evolution of Phil’s musical output to fuse the lyrical, the topical and the satirical. The set therefore reflects Ochs finding his unique lyrical tone, representing a time period spanning his last two albums for Elektra. Released on CD in April 2020, this 20-song set makes its vinyl debut on 2 LPs.

Tracks: In The Heat of Summer / That's What I Want To Hear / The Men Behind the Guns / Days of Decision / Here's to the State of Mississippi / Sailors and Soliders / City Boy / I'm Tired / I Wish I Could Have Been Along / I'm Gonna Say it Now / Canons of Christianity / Song of Soldier / Colored Town / The Confession / Love Me, I'm A Liberal / Take it Out of My Youth / Bracero / War is Over: 20 November 1967 / All Quiet on the Western Front / No More Songs