Pleasures Of The Harbor (Hol)

During his short life (1940-1976) Phil Ochs was known as much for his politics as his artistry, and he probably wouldn't have had it any other way. Phil Ochs, the so-called singing journalist, was always (to his frustration) compared to Bob Dylan. The songs on this album are mostly quite long and the style remains unreproduced by anyone else. Based solely on it's title song, 'Pleasure Of The Harbor", featuring some of the most breathtakingly poetic lyrics ever set to music, has to be considered one of the greatest albums of the 1960s. This is a truly extraordinary and unbelievably underrated album. It is Ochs' first album that is comprised mostly of popular rather than protest songs, and arguably his best.