Search - Various Artists :: Singing Through the Hard Times: A Tribute to Utah Phillips

Pleasing versions of a good songwriter's long career...

William E. Adams | Midland, Texas USA | 03/04/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bruce Phillips became known to me back in the late 1960's when I became friends with a New Jersey folk singer and newsman named Jim Labig. Jim has been dead quite awhile, but in his mostly amateur singing career he put out one record for a Vermont label. He was a friend of Utah's, and asked him to contribute the liner notes. Mr. Phillips turned in the funniest version of liner notes I have ever seen on an LP or in a CD booklet in my life. Reading that piece made me want to meet him and I got my chance at the 1969 Philly Folk Festival. If memory serves, he played before a small audience on a Sunday afternoon in a farm field, right after Jean Ritchie. I do not recall what songs Utah chose, but I have never forgotten his guitar, with "I.W.W." taped or painted on it, for Industrial Workers of the World, a.k.a. The Wobblies, one of the more radical labor unions ever created, and by that time, one with a tiny membership compared to most. Utah was known as a left-leaning social justice kind of guy, a fine storyteller, and better at writing songs than performing them. On this tribute two-CD set, you will find a variety of performers, a few famous, a few with "authentic" vocal talent rather than smooth, and a range of songs that reflect Utah's interests. He was anti-war, sometimes anti-clergy, occasionally anti-capitalism, anti-authoritarian, and anti-urban renewal projects which chased out the hoboes and down-and-outers and free spirits from city streets. While these songs are often interesting and clever, and less dated than I expected, his love songs, whether about people or places, are the ones I think will endure. Some of his early songs were championed by the likes of Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, John Denver and other artists with mass popularity. This category includes "Starlight on the Rails" and "The Telling Takes Me Home" and "Goodnight-Loving Trail" along with "I Remember Loving You" and "Hood River Roll On", "Rock Salt and Nails" and my favorite of all, "Daddy, What's a Train?" This set is worth the purchase just for those, but there are several other lesser-known compositions which are also quite nice. There are 39 songs on this set, and I will enjoy repeated plays of at least 30 of them. Other souls will have different favorites. This may not suit the tastes of the more conservative music fans, politically and socially, but sadly it can be hard to find a conservative with an appreciation for made-in-America folk-flavored writers. Even if one does not agree with Utah Phillips' political positions, this tribute shows off his talents with a phrase and a musical idea."

Wonderful Anthology of Utah Phillip's Songwriting

Mudcat Janie | Mebane, NC, USA | 12/18/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Singing Through the Hard Times" has been nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Traditional Folk Album. That nomination is well deserved. 29 songs, all but three written by Utah are sung by a variety of artists, some very famous, some known regionally, and some completely unknown to the general public, who collectively represent the many voices of American folk music. This tribute CD is a labor of love, and it shows in both the song selection and the voices of the singers. As others have noted already in their reviews, Utah was a songwriter of the people. Love songs. Labor songs. Hobo songs. Train songs. Social commentary. Simple, pithy, passionate and compassionate.



I don't get tired of listening to this CD. And the more I listen, the more I sing along."

A Celebration of Utah Phillips

James Morgan | Kitchener, Ontario, Canada | 04/12/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you haven't heard the music of Bruce "Utah" Phillips, this is a wonderful introduction. You won't hear his voice but rather the voices of others who clearly loved both the music and the man. Utah Phillips was a man of the common man. He understood living through hard times, life on the road and on the rails: the pleasures, hardships, sacrifices and losses. If you already know his music you will love this tribute. You'll hear a variety of interpretations from like-minded performers. It's a CD you will likely listen to many times.



James Morgan

an old activist, present musician and a friend of traditional folk music"