I'm Gonna Say It Now: The Writings of Phil Ochs Hardcover – December 1, 2020

Phil was an interesting dude. Good book to get to know him as a person. He was funny, tragic dude. Good and easy read.

Any one who’s a fan of Phil Ochs or folk music would really enjoy this book! A lot of insight into his songs and other great folk standards!

It is very interesting to see how Phil developed over the years.

The media could not be loaded.  I’ve been a huge fan of Phil Ochs since I first heard him on the Elektra Records LP – “All The News That’s Fit To Sing” – in 1964. I had a chance to see him play LIVE a few times in small clubs in Philadelphia. I’ve read all the biographies of Ochs and have the “songbooks” too. And- during the last few years his demos have been released (legally) on CDs and I’ve written reviews of them. . So, early this year when I heard about this book, I was of course excited. It was originally scheduled for publication in May (2020) but got delayed a few times. But NOW it is a reality! I want to share my thoughts on what this book is – and isn’t – hoping to guide both Ochs fans and those just learning of his music.First off, I’d like to explain what it ISN’T. It is NOT a biography (there are many of those out there) nor an autobiography. We can never hope for the latter in print. Ochs told his own story in his songs (and recordings), many quite personal.What it IS is what the title says: “The Writings of Phil Ochs”. These “documents” – both published and unpublished – are housed in the Phil Ochs Archives at the Woody Guthrie Center in Oklahoma. Ochs loved to write, but not just songs. The 304-page hardbound book begins with two short pieces he contributed to the school magazine at the Staunton Military Academy in 1958. Next we move to 1961, when Ochs was at Ohio State University and he wrote a “Letter To The Editor” of the school newspaper giving his political thoughts replying to an article on Barry Goldwater and Cuba. There are also some satirical pieces for the same publicationAs the “folk era” began in the 1960s Ochs was writing album reviews for the school paper – beginning with The Kingston Trio and the Limeliters (he liked them) and then Dylan and Baez.Next we follow Ochs to New York City and to his articles in publications like Broadside (where his songs first appeared) and Sing Out!. At this point we are presented with the album notes and “song notes” from his Elektra recordings. We also get his “reviews” of two Newport Folk Festivals (one in Paul Krassner’s Realist mag), a nice article on Gordon Lightfoot (from the Village Voice) and even an article on Tim Hardin for Hit Parader Magazine and a funny one on folk album titles for Cavilier (a men’s skin mag, similar to Playboy!). The next 50 pages or so are “Poems”, nearly all previously unpublished. These are mostly “free verse” and you need to read them a few times to get inside Ochs’ head.Next, it’s off to Los Angeles and his movie reviews for the LA Free Press. Ochs loved movies and readers may find themselves seeking out some of his recommendations. There are political views in some of the LA writing but we have to realize Ochs was getting paid to write and some folks looking for deeper content may be disappointed.The unique thing about the book is that each section (I won’t call them “Chapters”) ends with something called “Out of The Archives” These are scans (which, honestly, could have had better contrast) of the original documents with Ochs’ handwritten corrections and changes. It’s worth taking the time to read these (even though you read them a few pages earlier) to get inside Ochs’ mind.Yes, there are photos – about 24 in total – with many shots by Ochs’ wife Alice. They are nice but not really essential.The book is “Edited” by David Cohen who is a Philadelphia-based photographer. He writes a brief info and the requisite “Acknowledgement” page. For ten pages in the rear (just before the “Index”) Cohen added “Footnotes to History” where he comments on some of the pieces included and gives a bit of background. While this is sometimes helpful, it comes a bit late – after reading the preceding 278 pages - and lacks some important info to guide the reader not familiar with the folk scene or political world that Ochs’ life revolved around. The previously mentioned Cavalier magazine is never described and a few times Ochs refers to the small circulated folk music review magazine – Little Sandy Review – with no explanation by the Editor of what this was. This book calls out for informative footnotes for each chapter and I wish that either Cohen had gone the extra step of including them or added another co-editor to do this.So, in summary, this is a book that all Ochs fans (and there are many – despite Ochs’ own comment on his “Greatest Hits” album – all new songs – that “"50 Phil Ochs Fans Can't Be Wrong") but it can’t stand on it’s own, in my opinion. Before even attempting to read this book you need to have devoured at least one of the biographies on Ochs’ life.I’m giving this book five stars (though It’s closer to 4) because I want those anxious to read it to know there’s lots of meaty stuff here. But, since Ochs head was in many places during his all too short life (he died by his own hand in 1976 at age 35), there is what some might feel is “filler”.I hope one day to get to Oklahoma to visit the Guthrie Center and see the Ochs Archive and hear the audios and see the videos. But, meanwhile, though I have read the Broadside, Sing Out, and Realist essays (I subscribed to them all!) I’m glad to have been able to have read the unpublished work.Steve Ramm"Anything Phonographic"

Great material. The poems especially reminded me of this quote from PF Sloan circa 1967 from his bio about the time they were neighbors in LA : "....He had a disarming smile. When you saw him smile, you knew that something was happening in his brain. It was as if intellectually he was putting heaven and earth in a nice package that Phil Ochs, like Moses, could bring to the world..." Like PF, they are what make me want to "continue searching for words that will set me free of him and finally understand him and his deep longings for love and affection." On a somewhat more mundane level, is anyone sure that "I will not hurt you" wasn't indeed meant as a poem or liner note on the Tape for California album ? It doesn't have the structure of a song and fortunately wasn't used for that or would have deeply altered (at least confused) the meaning of both.

I know this book has already been reviewed, but it's such an interesting read, and since it takes those of us who were around then, back to a different time in the past, I just had to say something. But there are lessons still to be learned for those unfamiliar with Phil Ochs' views. Wow. What a look into Ochs' thoughts across a number of subjects. This book is a time machine back into a world that's basically now changed far from the period covered in the book, and Ochs' thoughts no matter if he's writing about America, the arts, politics, and (then) current music are still sometimes prescient. But to both enjoy and better understand Ochs' position on various topics, you should first have already read one of the biographies on Ochs. Plus if you're familiar with his music that too would be of great help in understanding his views and writings. For Ochs' fans this is a book worth reading and thinking about the various topics Ochs covered as he saw them at the time. There's insight into both Ochs and the world as he knew it.

David Cohen is a wonderful writer and this book might be his best yet. Loved every second of it!

Phil Ochs was a brilliant topical songwriter ("Draft Dodger Rag", "When I'm Gone" . This book is a collection of his poems, stories, reviews, assorted journalism, from his youth to near the end of his too-short life. It shows his bipolar mind, for good and bad. Very valuable is the "From the Archives" material, which shows the original works, handwritten and typescript, with marginal notes.

A very interesting book for fans of this great musician.