Gunfight At Carnegie Hall - Definition

Gunfight At Carnegie Hall was Phil Ochs' final album, comprised of songs recorded at his infamous second show at Carnegie Hall on March 27, 1970, containing less than half of the actual concert. The two concerts recorded that day served to bewilder Ochs' fans in nearly every way possible, from his Nudie suit modeled after Elvis Presley's to his covers of Presley, Conway Twitty, Buddy Holly and Merle Haggard songs, to his own dramatically rearranged songs. Breaking into the lockbox to give patrons of the first show their money back was the last straw. While they let Ochs perform the second show, he was immediately afterwards banned from performing at the venue permanently.

Ochs begged his then-label, A&M to release the concert in late 1970. They refused, and it languished for four years in the vaults until A&M relented, releasing fifty minutes of the concert, mostly the covers (four of sixteen originals performed were released, compared to five of seven covers). The album's release, however, came with a catch. It was only released in Canada, and Americans had to wait twenty-plus years to see an American release. It appeared on compact disc in 2000, strangely packaged with Rehearsals For Retirement in a two-disc set. There is no talk of a release of the entire concert, though an additional cover, Chuck Berry's "School Days" appeared on the 1997 British anthology, American Troubadour and the acoustic concert version of "Crucifixion" was released on the 1997 box set Farewells And Fantasies.

Track Listing

• 1. Mona Lisa (R. Evans-J. Livingston, 3:49)
  2. I Ain't Marching Anymore (P. Ochs, 4:23)
  3. Okie From Muskogee (R. Burris-M. Haggard, 2:49)
  4. Chords of Fame (P. Ochs, 4:49)
  5. Buddy Holly Medley : Not Fade Away / I'm Gonna Love You Too / Think It Over / Oh Boy / It's So Easy / Not Fade Away (C. Hardin-N. Petty-J. Maudlin-N. Sullivan-S. West-B. Tilghman-J. Allison, 7:18)
  6. Pleasures Of The Harbor (P. Ochs, 5:59)
  7. Tape From California (P. Ochs, 5:09)
  8. Elvis Medley : My Baby Left Me / Ready Teddy / Heartbreak Hotel / All Shook Up / Are You Lonesome Tonight? / My Baby Left Me (A. Crudup-R. Maralasco-R. Blackwell-J. Leiber-M. Stoller-O. Blackwell-R. Turk-L. Handman, 10:12)
  9. A Fool Such As I (B. Trader, 2:00)

Group Members

• Phil Ochs - guitar, vocals
• Bob Rafkin - guitar, backing vocals
• Lincoln Mayorga - piano
• Kenny Kaufman - bass, backing vocals
• Kevin Kelley - drums