Best of the Rest: Rare and Unreleased Recordings

Phil Ochs is known primarily as a songwriter, but his talents extend far beyond that to short stories, poetry and satire. More than a torrent, less than a flood, the songs poured out of Phil so quickly that not all were able to find their place on his albums, with some of those songs only emerging decades later. The Warner/Chappell demos, which make up the main portion of this, release represent a period spanning Ochs' last two albums for Elektra, when he was finding his full strength as a songwriter and moving to include the lyrical in his repertoire, alongside the topical and satirical. Released on CD in April 2020 this 20-song set makes its vinyl debut on a 2xLP set, coming first to record stores for Record Store Day 2023. 1) In The Heat of The Summer 2) That’s What I Want to Hear 3) The Men Behind the Guns 4) Days of Decision 5) Here’s to the State of Mississippi 6) Sailors and Soldiers 7) City Boy 8) I’m Tired 9) I Wish I Could Have Been Along 10) I’m Gonna Say It Now 11) Canons of Christianity 12) Song of Soldier 13) Colored Town 14) The Confession 15) Love Me, I’m A Liberal 16) Take It Out of My Youth 17) Bracero 18) War Is Over: 20 November 1967 19) All Quiet on the Western Front 20) No More Songs