What's That I Hear?: The Songs of Phil Ochs is a 1998 tribute compilation to the music of the late Phil Ochs. The various performers cover several generations of Ochs' admirers. All profits from the album's sales were divided equally between the non-profits, the ACLU Foundation of Southern California and Sing Out! Magazine.
Overview
Producer Gene Shay says that he never intended the project to be a tribute album: "It was coming up on the twentieth anniversary of Phil 's death. I always had loved his music and his politics and respected what he did. Then I happened to hear this group disappear fear—Sonia Rutstein and her sister Cindy—do the song 'Is There Anybody Here?' That just clicked the light on, you know, that here's a young group in their twenties, doing Phil Ochs material and doing it in a really dynamic way. I was really inspired. That demonstrated to me that the songs were still valid, still vigorous, and could be done in contemporary way."[2] A core group of the artists from the compilation were frequent participants in the "Phil Ochs Song Nights" that Phil's sister Sonny Ochs had been holding for the past 15 years. Five of these artist participated in a tour to support the album. They were Pat Humphries, Nancy Tucker, Kim and Reggie Harris, Magpie, and Greg Greenway.[2]
Three of the songs included were not recorded by Ochs in his lifetime: "Hands", "Freedom Riders", and "Sailors and Soldiers".[4] Some of the songs are performed in a style similar to Ochs's, but others are given new arrangements. For example, Rex Fowler of Aztec Two Step performs "There but for Fortune" with a reggae rhythm and updates the lyrics with references to the incident at Tiananmen Square.
Writing for Allmusic, Bruce Eder said of the compilation: "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."[1]
Track listing
Words and music by Phil Ochs except where noted [performers are also indicated]. Disc one:
