Phil Ochs - Greatest Hits

Despite its title, Greatest Hits is not a collection of Phil Ochs' "hits." It's his seventh and final studio album of new, original material, and it ranks among the best work he released. But when it was recorded in late 1969, mostly with producer Van Dyke Parks, Ochs was a broken man never to recover. His political will had been badly damaged by the violence and malfeasance of the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago and the subsequent election of Richard Nixon. Aside from "Ten Cents a Coup," the album's weakest song, Ochs trained his eye away from politics and toward himself. With a stellar cast of backing musicians—including James Burton, Clarence White, Chris Etheridge, Ry Cooder, and fiddle-man Don Rich—Greatest Hits is among Ochs' most musical albums. The clever country-western feel of "Gas Station Women" and "Chords of Fame" reflect his love for the music often considered to be that of conservatives. "Boy in Ohio" looks nostalgically back at his youth. "Jim Dean of Indiana" pays tribute to an early hero. "No More Songs" chillingly foretells his own fate. Ochs would never record another studio album and tragically would commit suicide in 1976.