What's That I Hear?: The Songs Of Phil Ochs CD

2-CD set; 27 artists perform songs written by Phil Ochs inc. Arlo Guthrie, Tom Paxton, The Roches, John Wesley Harding, Magpie, Anne Hills, Greg Greenway, Dave Van Ronk & others

Includes liner notes by Michael Schumacher.
Adapter: Phil Ochs.
Personnel: Shane Faubert (vocals, whistling, keyboards); Sonia Rutstein, Terry Leonino (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Dave Rave, Dave Van Ronk, Eric Andersen, Greg Greenway, Ian Matthews, John Gorka, John Wesley Harding, Katy Moffatt, Nancy Tucker, Peter Yarrow, Reggie Harris, Rod MacDonald, Arlo Guthrie, Sid Griffin, Steve Gillette, Greg Artzner (vocals, guitar); Pat Humphries (vocals, acoustic guitar); Lauren Agnelli (vocals, 12-string guitar); David Massengill (vocals, dulcimer); Deni Bonet (vocals, violin, electric violin); David Buskin, Sammy Walker (vocals, piano); Anne Hills, Karen Savoca, Kim & Reggie Harris, Cindy Mangsen, Megon McDonough, Rex Fowler, Tom Paxton, The Roches , Billy Bragg (vocals); Marcy Marxer (guitar, mandolin); Jonas Fjeld (guitar, pump organ); Chris Von Sneidern (guitar, percussion); David Wolfert, Doug Larcey, Michael Mugrage, Pete Heitzman, Scott Petito (guitar); Steve Addabbo (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Pat McGarvey (acoustic guitar); Amos Garrett (electric guitar); Cathy Fink (banjo); Dee Carstensen (harp, background vocals); David Wilkie, Bill Walach (mandolin); Erik Frandsen (ukulele); Robin Batteau (violin, background vocals); Pete Sutherland (fiddle); Gideon Freudmann (cello); Trina Hamlin (harmonica, percussion); Jim Clark (tenor saxophone); Peter Ecklund (cornet); Keith Ingham (piano); Bob Stone (organ); Steve Gaspar (keyboards); Abraham Guthrie (keyboard bass); Dennis Diken, Jack Pedler, Steve Bowman, Frank Vilardi (drums); Phil Antoniades, Dean Sharp (percussion).
Audio Mixers: Chris Von Sneidern; Jimmy Parker; John Wesley Harding; Mark Dann; Reggie Harris; Skipp Tullen.
Audio Remixer: Michael Golub.
Director: Larry Cohen.
Photographers: David Gahr; Sherry Rayn Barnett; Robert Corwin .
Unknown Contributor Roles: David Cohen; Larry Cohen; Phil Antoniades; James Hinkle.
Arrangers: Chris Von Sneidern; John Wesley Harding; Rex Fowler; Sid Griffin.
Twenty-eight songs by Phil Ochs, covered by several generations of musicians, from Tom Paxton ("Draft Dodger Rag"), Peter Yarrow ("There But for Fortune"), Dave Van Ronk ("Outside of a Small Circle of Friends"), Eric Andersen ("When I'm Gone"), and Iain Matthews ("Flower Lady") to the Roches ("The Bells," which offers the best singing here), Agnelli-Rave and the Charmers ("Chords of Fame"), and Sid Griffin & Billy Bragg ("Sailors and Soldiers"). The quality of the performances is uniformly first-rate, and it's astonishing to discover the full range of admirers that Ochs' songs attract, as well as the sheer selection of songs, some of which Ochs never got to record officially -- few key bases are left untouched in the two-hour-plus collection, although it would have been nice if someone had covered released obscurities such as "Basket in the Pool." The notes are very thorough, personal, and affecting. ~ Bruce Eder
Well, if everybody else and their brother is getting a tribute album, Phil Ochs should certainly get his slice of the reverential pie. The late, great '60s folk/protest singer-songwriter, despite his early death, was around long enough to leave a substantial legacy of songs that mesh the political with the personal in a daring, innovative manner. Those songs are performed here by a wide-ranging crop of contemporary folkies, both well-known (at least for folkies) and obscure. Unsung legend/onetime Ochs protege Sammy Walker honors his mentor with a faithful take on the piano ballad "Jim Dean of Indiana." Ochs contemporary Dave Van Ronk weighs in with the classic "Oustide of a Small Circle of Friends." Elsewhere John Gorka, David Massengill, Steve Gillette and others lend their voices in serv