Rehearsals For Retirement

About

The 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago and the subsequent election of Richard Nixon as president sent leftist folk singer Phil Ochs into an emotional tailspin. The album cover claims he had died in Chicago, and his waning artistic output and then suicide seven years later makes it clear that Ochs wasn't exactly kidding. His tone on many of the songs is acerbic bordering on the grotesque, reflecting the desperation of the times. "Pretty Smart on My Part" is sung in the voice of a paranoid man who envisions running over hitchhikers, killing the president, and taking over the government to void all perceived threats to his security. "William Butler Yeats Visits Lincoln Park and Escapes Unscathed" speaks of the confrontation between police and demonstrators as a "dark was turning" in the Chicago park. "My Life" sounds like resignation with the final lines: "Take your tap from my phone and leave my life alone." The only solace is that it ended Side One and left an entire side of music for Ochs to deal with his demons, which include the touching "Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore," for Lenny Bruce, and his own "Rehearsals for Retirement."

via Apple Music

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