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News 6- Reviews.

Of Note ... New On CD

It was the late '60s, and like thou-
sands of other anti-war activists, I was
at Tiger Stadium attending a rally with
a long list of nationally prominent
speakers. A young man sat in front of
me, strumming his guitar.
"Excuse me," I said.
"Would you mind stop-
ping that? It's really hard to
hear what these people are
saying."
"Sorry," said the young
man, and he stopped his
playing. About 20 minutes
later, after a glowing intro-
duction by some bigwig
politico, the young man
stood up, shot me a shy
smile, took the stage and
Phil Ochs
started to sing "I Ain't
Marching Anymore." That was my
introduction to Phil Ochs.
Ochs, the grandson of Russian-
Polish immigrants, landed in New
York's Greenwich Village in the early
'60s, after a stint at Ohio State
University where he majored in jour-
nalism but came out singing the news,
a radicalized New Left musical reporter
in the Woody Guthrie/Pete Seeger tra-
dition.
He quickly became friends with Bob
Dylan, Joan Baez, Peter Paul & Mary
and other icons of the '60s folk boom,
and found fame with his powerful topi-
cal songs, among them "Love Me, I'm
A Liberal," "In the Heat of the
Summer" and "The Crucifixion," his
masterpiece inspired by the assassina-
tion of John E Kennedy. Joan Baez
earned her first Top-50 hit with Och's
"There But For Fortune."
In 1967, Ochs moved to California
and started to write more personal
songs that reflected his growing disillu-
sionment with society and countercul-
ture politics. They also sported rock,
country and orchestral backings.
In the early '70s he traveled the
world, and suffered an assault which

Farewells and Fantasies (suggest-
ed retail $49.98) is available in
stores or through RhinoDirect at
(800)-432-0020.

9/26
1997

92

severely damaged his vocal chords.
Back in the U.S. in 1974, Ochs put
out his protest song "Here's to the State
of Richard Nixon," and continued to
perform sporadically, though his pipes
were shot and he was drinking heavily.
On April 9, 1976, thinking
that his life, his songs and
the acts of his generation
had been futile, Ochs
hanged himself at his sis-
ter's house. He was 35.
2
Now, 21 years after
2 Och's premature death,
Rhino Records has
released a three-CD com-
pilation of 53 tracks taken
from his 11 albums
released by Elektra, A&M
and Rhino.
Titled Farewells and
Fantasies: The Phil Ochs
Collection, the set includes four previ-
ously unreleased tracks, a CD booklet
interspersed with numerous original
photographs from the Michael Ochs
(Phil's brother) Archives, a history of
the "troubled troubadour" by Rolling
Stone's Mark Kemp plus Ben Edmond's
track-by-track description of the times
in which the songs were written.
"His clear, boyish voice challenged
the history of his time, or tried to,"
writes Michael Ventura in his introduc-
tion. "Songs like 'I Ain't Marching
Anymore' or 'The War Is Over' may
sound like bravado or even wishful
thinking now But in the context of
their time, these songs were fierce yet
buoyant statements made up of equal
parts defiance and faith, based on a
demand that the American ideal of
rebellious heroism be taken seriously."
It's true that today — at least to
some — many of Och's songs may
sound dated. But it's a pleasure to hear
them again. I can't imagine a song his-
torian whose repertoire is more evoca-
tive of an era.
Last week, my daughter, Julie, came
home from school and told me about a
unit.on prejudice she's studying in her
high-school comparative religions class.
"We heard a Phil Och's song ['Here's to
the State of Mississippi] in class today"
she said.
As Ventura writes, "If Ochs had

lived and matured, he might have seen
that his efforts, and those of his gener-
ation, weren't entirely fruitless. In any
case, the songs remain to bear witness
for him, and for us — and stand in
wait for when they're needed again."

— Gail Zimmerman

Between The Pages

Celebrated screen legend, producer
and author Kirk Douglas continues
his journey of self-discovery in a new
fictionalized Holocaust story for chil-
dren and adults titled The Broken
Mirror (Simon & Schuster, $13).
After the 1991 helicopter crash that
killed two young people and left him
seriously injured, Douglas continually
asked himself, "Why did I survive?"
This triggered a quest for spirituality
that led Douglas to an intense study
of the Torah and a renewed faith in
the teachings of Judaism.

KIRK
DOUGLAS

InI

M

IRROR

Holocaust," says Douglas. "What
interested me was how a person migi
come to deny his Jewishness."
The realities of the Holocaust, —`
Douglas believes, have been brought
light by Steven Spielberg's movie
Schindler's List and by the dramatic F
sentations in the Holocaust Museum
Washington, D.C. Proceeds from
sale of this book will be donated to \
Spielberg's Survivors of the Shoah
Visual History Foundation.

— Linda Bac-e7

Family Fun

Ladies and gentleman, welcome t
the Greatest Show on Earth. It's the)
one and only Ringling Bros. and
Barnum & Bailey Circus and the thii
ring extravaganza opens Oct. 1 (yes1
it's Rosh Hashanah, but there's a Firc )
day run) at Joe Louis Arena.
Circus memories are different for
each of us, and this year's big top off
riotous clowns, incredible animal act
masters of trapeze, high-wire won('
and awesome acrobats.
See the Human Arrow, Airiana,
flies from the world's largest crossboll
to the heights of fantasy. "When I'm
flying, I feel like I am the only per,,-
truly alive in the whole world," says'
Airiana. "I am gliding, acutely aware
everything. My concentration is
absolute. I wish I could take you wir
,,

me.

Witness the world's largest dispki
juggling when teen-ager Gena
Shvartsman debuts her amazing dext
ity. She juggles clubs, sticks, rings an
hula hoops while manipulating ei 1-/
balls simultaneously. Originally fro
Chechnya, Gena is a fourth-generate l
circus performer.
Clown College graduate Keland-2
Scher enjoys sharing the Jewish h__\
days with his fellow circus performer
"During Passover, I distributed mat/
and gefilte fish, and I made matzah
soup for everyone on the circus train
But performing is my favorite thirs
do," he said. "It's great to be able to
make people smile."
Linda Bac&

)

The Broken
Mirror shares
one boy's story
of regaining his
Kirk Douglas
lost faith after
the traumatic
deaths of his family during the
Holocaust. It's the tale of a young con-
centration camp survivor who, at liber-
ation, denies his Jewish identity and is
placed in an American Catholic
orphanage where he feels isolated and
confused. Distraught, he runs away and
only finds a real home when he at last
renews his faith in Judaism.
"I did not set out to write about the

—

Ringling Bros. and Barnum &
Bailey Circus runs Oct. 1-5 at Joe
Louis Arena. Tickets are $10.50-
$25, available through Ticketma
and the Joe Louis and Fox Theatre
box offices. Call (313) 983-6606
for more information.