Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune

I'm ashamed to confess that, despite name recognition, I knew little about Phil Ochs before watching Kenneth Bowser's surprisingly comprehensive new documentary "Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune." Considering that Ochs died in 1975, there are still plenty of people around to readily share his story as well as his legacy. And the documentary does an excellent job of balancing the story of the man with the story of his music--giving one of the most well rounded biographies that you might hope for. A contemporary of Baez and Dylan, Ochs was decidedly more pointed and politicized in his lyrics and defied categorization as a typical folk singer. From idealism, to a pursuit of fame, to an anger at the status quo, to utter despondency--Ochs' personal struggles often ran parallel to the times in which he lived. His remarkable journey is highlighted in vivid, and uncompromising, detail and the film showcases a true artist whose impact and relevancy are still felt.

Ochs truly saw song as a form of revolution and was inspired to write about contemporary news stories encompassing subjects as important as the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War. The film interviews family members, music scene contemporaries, political activists, and many more in detailing how important Ochs was to the emerging and changing musical scene of the sixties. These interviews are informative and enlightening and juxtaposed with plenty of archival footage that brings Ochs to the forefront. And through it all, the soundtrack is filled with recordings and concert performances that show Ochs' talent to maximum affect. In addition to the music and the contemporary interviews, Ochs' own words (through past interviews, etc) really make you understand the man--in all his glory and with all his foibles. Seriously, this is a very intimate portrait--remarkable in that it is more than 35 years after his death.

The film follows the real arc of Ochs' life, and consequently, it is not always a pleasant experience. But it is a strong, powerful, and unexpectedly moving look at one man's pursuit of meaning in a confused world. And despite Ochs' personal contradictions and demons, he did make a difference and influence a generation to social awareness. It's a noteworthy story told well in a very solidly constructed film! The film ends with a quote from Ochs' daughter which really encapsulates the surprising impact that this film had on me. It's a pitch perfect note to cap off the legacy of a musical pioneer. If you have any interest in Ochs, folk music, activism, the sixties, or just great documentaries--this is a strong and easy recommendation. KGHarris, 6/11.

I can only wonder what kinds of songs singer/songwriter (before that label was ever used) Phil Ochs would be writing today - or for the last 35 years - if he had not taken his own life, at age 35, in 1976. He was in Greenwich Village writing both protest songs and ballads BEFORE Bob Dylan arrived. For a short period they were "competitors" (at least in Ochs' eyes). I had the true please of seeing Ochs perform live twice in a small coffee house in Philadelphia and I was at Philly's Electric Factory when Ochs repeated his "gold lame'" show the night after what became known as the "The Gunfight at Carnegie Hall", an interesting even released by A&M on Lp. Ochs was a passionate and thoughtful man and yet he had to fight his own demons. But he wrote songs that are still sung today - "Changes", for instance - and many of the things Ochs wrote about - war, corrupt politics - are still with us.

Years ago there was talk about a film bio of Ochs which was to star Sean Penn (who I think would be perfect). This project never got off the ground but - in 2010 - documentary filmmaker Kenneth Bowser crafted this documentary about Ochs' life and it received limited National distribution. Now that it is out on home video DVD, it should reach a wider audience. While I know Ochs fans - who followed his career - will want to see the film (and it's GREAT!), I hope a younger generation - those born since Ochs' death - will seek it out.

There is really not a lot of performance footage of Ochs out there and I'm surprised that Bowser could dig up this much. (It might help that Phil's younger brother Michael, who became his manager, runs Michael Ochs Archive - one of the largest licensed image collections in the world. Bowser got a lot of cooperation from those in the folk music community like Pete Seeger and Joan Baez and there are interview with the non-singing activists of the period like Tom Hayden and Paul Krassner. There are interviews with siblings Michael and Sunny; Ochs' widow Alice and only daughter Meegan.

I see this film as a "living scrapbook" It ends with ultra rare - and very sad - final footage of Ochs by a New York filmmaker. The film runs 98 minutes and you'll wish there were more. There are excerpts of Ochs performing over 40 of his own songs. Sadly the DVD's only extras are the two-minute "trailer". It's wishful thinking, but I'd loved to see the outtakes of the interviews.

Watch this film and share it with your children. They need to know who Phil Ochs was, and what he stood for. And thank you Ken Bowser, for keeping his name alive and to First Run Features for making it available fist in theaters and now on home DVD.

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"

Finally out on DVD, this is a terrific account of Phil's life. My only regret is that there are really no extras on the disc - it would be great to see outtakes from the interviews and better still the whole live performances which go to make up the numerous clips shown in the documentary. I don't think that there is much unreleased studio material left at A&M or Elektra but there seems to be a wealth of live performances as shown tantalizingly in this movie and readily found on You Tube. It would be great if someone were to put together an archive release of his live work.

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