Pleasures of the Harbor

Pleasures of the Harbor was Phil Ochs' fourth long player, and his first for A&M Records, released in 1967. In stark contrast to his three albums for Elektra Records which had all been basically folk music, Pleasures of the Harbor featured traces of classical, rock and roll, Dixieland jazz and experimental synthesized music crossing with folk, in hopes of producing a "folk-pop" croosover.

Related Topics:
Phil Ochs - A&M Records - 1967 - Elektra Records

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The best known track is "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends", a sarcastic jab at the apathetic nature of people in certain situations, at its base the story of the murder of Kitty Genovese in New York City (which numerous people witnessed, doing nothing to help), set to a Dixieland backing, inappropriate to all ends. Its mention of marijuana in one verse, however ironically intentioned, was misinterpreted, and its release as a single failed to do anything on the charts.

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"The Party" savaged high-class snobs, with Ochs taking the role of a singing (not playing) lounge pianist, observing the ridiculous nature of their gatherings. "Flower Lady" was a six-minute narrative about contrasting characters in the city, with only one thing in common, ignoring the woman trying to selling her flowers. The title track, an ode to escape, featured some of the most overblown orchestration (featuring a young Warren Zevon, by his word, somewhere in the mix), was an ode to sailors escaping.

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"Crucifixion", which closed the album, was deemed a failed experiment by Ochs. Featuring an avant-garde experiment by Joseph Byrd, its ten verses lionized John F. Kennedy, bringing Kennedy's brother Robert to tears when Ochs performed it for him a cappella in early 1968, months before the younger Kennedy's own assassination. All live versions of the song performed in concert featured Ochs alone, with just his guitar and voice.

Related Topics:
John F. Kennedy - Robert - 1968

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