Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – April 7, 2026: Songs of Phil Ochs

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/74828.html

Theme: Songs of Phil Ochs (1940-1976).

This week marks the 50th anniversary of Phil Ochs’s death by suicide at age 36 is this week on April 9. 

Phil – who struggled with bipolar disorder – was one of the greatest songwriters of the folk revival. He was particularly noted for his topical songs. And although Phil’s songs were all written more 50 years ago, and up to more than 60 years ago, one of the reasons that his songs are still sung today by so many artists is that so many of them are just as relevant now – or even more relevant now – as when they were written.

Phil Ochs- Links on the Chain

Farewells & Fantasies (Elektra/Rhino)

Magpie- One More Parade

Raise Your Voice (Sliced Bread)

Pete Seeger- The Draft Dodger Rag

Dangerous Songs (Columbia/Legacy)

Arlo Guthrie- I Ain’t Marching Anymore

What’s That I Hear: The Songs of Phil Ochs (Sliced Bread)

Disappear Fear- Is There Anybody Here

Get Your Phil (Disappear)

Phil Ochs- Song of a Soldier

Farewells & Fantasies (Elektra/Rhino)

Katy Moffatt- The Highwayman

Midnight Radio (True North)

The Roches- The Bells

What’s That I Hear: The Songs of Phil Ochs (Sliced Bread)

Ian & Sylvia- Changes

Play One More (Vanguard)

Garnet Rogers- Crucifixion

Speaking Softly in the Dark (Snow Goose Songs)

Judy Collins- In the Heat of the Summer

Fifth Album (Elektra)

Kim & Reggie Harris- What’s That I Hear

Let My People Go! A Jewish & African American Celebration of Freedom (Appleseed)

Phil Ochs- Too Many Martyrs

Farewells & Fantasies (Elektra/Rhino)

John Gorka- Bracero

What’s That I Hear: The Songs of Phil Ochs (Sliced Bread)

Sloan Wainwright- There but for Fortune

Rediscovery (Derby Disc Music)

Dave Van Ronk- Outside a Small Circle of Friends

To All My Friends in Far-Flung Places (Gazell)

Phil Ochs- Canons of Christianity

Farewells & Fantasies (Elektra/Rhino)

Phil Odgers & John Kettle- The Passing of My Life

Far Rockaway: The Songs of Phil Ochs (Vinyl Star)

Karen Savoca- No More Songs

What’s That I Hear: The Songs of Phil Ochs (Sliced Bread)

The David Amram Quintet- When I’m Gone

David Amram Honors Guthrie and Ochs: Old Souls (Guthrie Legacy)

Next week: Part 1 – Conversation and Songs with David Eisenstadt; Part 2 – Ruination Day.

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday May 11, 2021

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU in Ottawa on Tuesday afternoons from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

CKCU can be heard live at 93.1 FM in Ottawa and https://www.ckcufm.com/ on the web.

This episode of Stranger Songs was prerecorded at home and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/51907.html

 

Theme: Songs from the Pandemic, some of the songs inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic that have been written and recorded over the past 14 months.

Paul Kaplan- These Are the Days
We Shall Stay Here (Old Coat Music)

Danny Schmidt- 2020 Vision
2020 Vision – single (Danny Schmidt)
The Accidentals- Anyway
Time Out Session #1 (The Accidentals)
Crowes Pasture- Quarantine
Quarantine – single (Crowes Pasture)
Sloan Wainwright- In Times Like These
Red Maple Tree (Sloan Wainwright)

Paul Mills- 45 Weeks from Now
Unreleased parody of Stan Rogers’ “45 Years” with new words by Shelley Posen – used with permission
Shelley Posen- Long, Long Tunnel
Long, Long Tunnel – single (Well Done Music)

Tim Grimm- Gone
Gone (Vault)
Mike Goudreau Band- Isolation Blues
The Isolation Blues (Mike Goudreau)

Reggie Harris- My Working Bones
On Solid Ground (Reggie Harris Music)
John McCutcheon- Front Line
Cabin Fever: Songs from the Quarantine (Appalsongs)
Crys Matthews- Selfless
Changemakers (Crys Matthews)

Craig Werth- Things That Bring Hope
Things That Bring Hope – single (Craig Werth)
Emma's Revolution- Celebrate You (Happy Birthday)
Celebrate You (Happy Birthday) – single (Moving Forward Music)

Paul Kaplan- Little Boxes (2020)
We Shall Stay Here (Old Coat Music)
Skinner & T’witch- Working from Home
Working from Home – single (Skinner & T’witch)

Cliff Eberhardt- Mr. Lucky
Knew Things (Tin Pan Ally)
Jamie Anderson- Six Feet Away
Songs from Home (Jamie Anderson)
Anne Hills- Accidental August
Accidental August (Hand & Heart Music)

John McCutcheon- When All of This is Over
Cabin Fever: Songs from the Quarantine (Appalsongs)
Sloan Wainwright- Help Each Other Through
Red Maple Tree (Sloan Wainwright)
The Accidentals- All Shall Be Well
Time Out Session #1 (The Accidentals)

Next week – The Times They Are A-Changin': A Nod to Bob Dylan at 80, Part 1 (The Times They Are A-Changin': A Nod to Bob Dylan at 80, Part 2 will be heard on the Saturday Morning show on May 22; The Times They Are A-Changin': A Nod to Bob Dylan at 80, Part 3 will be heard on Stranger Songs on May 25)

Find me on Twitter. www.twitter.com/mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Loudon Wainwright III – Years in the Making

LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III

Years in the Making

StorySound Records

lw3.com

storysoundrecords.com

As I’ve noted before, I’ve known Loudon Wainwright III for a long time. I first met – and heard – him when he was married to my friend, the late Kate McGarrigle, in the early-to-mid-1970s. After the marriage broke up, I’d occasionally see him at folk festivals, at Kate’s when he’d come up to Montreal to see their children – Rufus Wainwright and Martha Wainwright – and booked him for a couple of concerts at the Golem when he’d come to town for those visits. In 2000, we sat down and did an extensive and very candid interview on the Folk Roots/Folk Branches radio show. Most recently, in 2015, we had a nice visit in Clearwater, Florida after a concert he did while Sylvie and I were on vacation there.

Years in the Making is “a comprehensive 2-CD audiobiography” of 45 years’ worth of outtakes, live recordings, radio performances and demos that comes beautifully packaged in a 64-page hardcover book featuring a lifetime’s memorabilia – from Loudon’s birth certificate to the cover page of his will. Among those making cameo appearances on some of the tracks are Kate, ex-partner Suzzy Roche, sister Sloan Wainwright, long-time collaborator Chaim Tannenbaum, Steve Goodman, and all four of his kids – Rufus, Martha, Lucy Wainwright Roche and Lexie Kelly Wainwright.

The songs are sequenced in seven thematic groupings beginning with “Folk.” This set includes some traditional songs, Woody Guthrie’s “Philadelphia Lawyer,” and “Love Gifts,” a Loudenesque parody of “I Gave My Love a Cherry.” My favorite tracks in this section are a sweet version of Bob Dylan’s “You Ain’t Going Nowhere,” recorded at home in 1974 with Kate on harmony vocals, and a duet with Chaim on “Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arms” from 2008 that I presume is an outtake from High Wide & Handsome, Loudon’s terrific Charlie Poole tribute.

The second section is “Rocking Out,” with most of the tracks dating from the 1970s after Loudon had a commercial hit with “Dead Skunk” (which is not on this album) and he went on the road with rock bands. But the best track in this section is “Cardboard Boxes,” a 1993 live cut about moving with just Loudon on guitar and lead vocals, Chaim on banjo and harmony vocals and David Mansfield on mandolin.

“Kids,” the final section on the first CD begins with a 1986 home recording of “Birthday Poem/Happy Birthday/Animal Song” on which children Rufus, 13, Martha, 10, and Lucy, 4, wish their father a happy 40th birthday. Lexie, Loudon’s youngest child, appears later in this section in a 1999 home recording singing his “Ballad of Famous & Harper,” a precious song about a pair of pet cats. More serious fare includes a 2003 live version of “Your Mother & I,” a song from the ‘80s in which Loudon tries to explain her parents’ breakup to his young daughter (Lucy).

The second CD begins with “Love Hurts,” six songs about love and/or lost love. The finest entry in this section is “Rowena,” which he based on courting letters written by his grandfather to his grandmother in 1918.

A section called “Miscellany” is grab-bag of tracks highlighted by a beautiful version of “Down Where the Drunkards Roll,” one of Richard Thompson’s most stunning songs. Greg Leisz’s pedal steel work on this track is lonesome and lovely; and by “Meet the Wainwrights,” that features Loudon with Lucy, Suzzy, Martha, Rufus and Sloan singing about their relationships with him.

Mike Regenstreif & Loudon Wainwright III (2015)

A short section called “Hollywood,” includes a snippet of an interview with Liza Minelli, in which she remembers “little Loudon, the kid next door,” her childhood neighbor, as well as “Hollywood Hopeful,” a 1975 song describing Loudon’s attempt to break in as an actor, and “Valley Morning,” a song he wrote from Judd Apatow’s film “Knocked Up.”

The final section, “The Big Picture,” kicks off with the hilarious “God’s Got a Shit List,” which you probably won’t be hearing in the radio anytime soon, and finishes with the equally hilarious and equally radio-inappropriate “Birthday Boy,” an a cappella song on which Loudon celebrates his birthday and himself.

Years in the Making might not be the best introduction for someone hearing Loudon for the first time. But it’s a terrific addition to his discography for those of us who have listened to and enjoyed his work over the past (almost) five decades (or parts thereof).

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Sing Me the Songs: Celebrating the Works of Kate McGarrigle

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Sing Me the Songs: Celebrating the Works of Kate McGarrigle
Nonesuch Records 
katemcgarriglefoundation.org

Since my friend Kate McGarrigle passed away in 2010 following a battle with sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, a series of concerts have been held to celebrate her life and works and to raise money for the Kate McGarrigle Fund in support of sarcoma care and research. The concerts have featured Kate’s kids, Rufus Wainwright and Martha Wainwright, Kate’s sister, Anna McGarrigle, other family members, longtime musical friends, peers and younger artists.

Sing Me the Songs: Celebrating the Works of Kate McGarrigle is a 2-CD collection drawing on concerts in 2010 at the Royal Festival Hall in London, 2011 at Town Hall in New York City, and 2012 at Massey Hall in Toronto during the Luminato Festival. Hometown concerts will be held in Montreal at the Outremont Theatre on August 8.

With a few exceptions, these songs were written or co-written by Kate, and many of the performances feature Rufus and/or Martha. Among their highlights is their duet on the soaring “First Born,” a song Kate wrote about Rufus when he was a small child. Rufus particularly shines in versions of “Southern Boys” and Walking Song,” two of my favourite songs from Dancer with Bruised Knees, and in a duet with Antony on the heartbreaking “I Cried for Us.”

Among Martha’s best performances is “Matapedia,” a song inspired by memories of an old boyfriend of Kate’s from when she was a teenager and Martha’s meeting him, many decades later when she was about the same age as Kate was then. She also does a lovely version of “Tell My Sister,” one of several poignant songs of separation Kate wrote during her rocky marriage to Loudon Wainwright III – Rufus and Martha’s father. The song dates from before Martha was born.

Anna, who so rarely sang in public without Kate at her side, is heard on a number of songs including a touching duet with her daughter, Lily Lanken, on “Jacques et Gilles,” Kate’s beautiful song about the French Canadian migration from Quebec to New England to work in the mills and lumber camps. The song was inspired by research Kate was did on the life of Jack Kerouac (Kerouac’s parents were part of that migration) and I’ve long felt it was one of Kate’s most important songs. Other of Anna’s highlights include a collaboration with her children, Sylvan Lanken and Lily, on “On My Way to Town,” one of Kate’s most folk-like songs, and a collaboration on “Heart Like a Wheel,” the first of Anna’s songs to bring her renown, with Emmylou Harris, Krystle Warren, Martha and Lily.

Almost all of the contributions from other artists are extraordinary. Norah Jones sings a beautiful version of “(Talk to Me of) Mendocino,” another of Kate’s very best songs. Justin Vivian Bond, who I’d never heard before, soars on “The Work Song,” Kate’s reminiscence of the songs she and her sisters were taught by their father as little girls,and Emmylou offers her own song, “Darlin’ Kate,” a touching elegy written for Kate after she died. Robert Charlebois, perhaps the most legendary of Quebec singers, teams with Anna for a tender duet on “Dans le silence,” with harmonies from Rufus and Martha.

Martha’s version of “Tell My Sister” mentioned earlier was from one of the New York concerts. A second, equally lovely version sung by Peggy Seeger at the Toronto concert is also included. I was especially happy to see Peggy taking part in the concert because I remember Kate citing Peggy when we talked about who her influences were back in the 1960s.

There are also two very special versions of “Go Leave,” perhaps the most heartbreaking of the songs Kate wrote about her relationship with Loudon: Antony’s, recorded in New York City, and Linda Thompson and Richard Thompson’s recorded in London. Richard and Linda, who were once a brilliant musical duo, had their own storied breakup 30-odd years ago and this may well be the only performance they have given together since.

I always loved hearing Kate and Anna sing traditional folk songs and there’s a beautiful version of “Dink’s Song,” with Anna, Chaim Tannenbaum, Lily, Rufus and Martha each taking a verse. Chaim also leads a rocking version of “Travelling on for Jesus,” the traditional Bahamian gospel song Kate arranged for the finale of the first Kate and Anna LP, and which was often the concert finale back in the 1970s when I worked with them (click here for background on the years I worked with Kate and Anna).

Each of the CDs ends with tracks featuring Kate’s own voice. The first disc finishes with “Proserpina,” the last song Kate wrote. A recording of Kate singing the opening lines of the song fades into a beautiful duet by Sloan Wainwright and her niece, Martha. At the end of the second disc, Kate is heard by herself singing “I Just Want to Make It Last,” in which she asks the powers that be to “make the earth slow down a bit/We’re going way too fast/And I just want to make it last.” As the song ends, the last thing we hear is Kate saying “thank you.”

No, Kate, thank you.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Sloan Wainwright – Upside Down & Under My Heart

SLOAN WAINWRIGHT

Upside Down & Under My Heart

Derby Disc Music

sloanwainwright.com

There were several poignant musical moments, almost two years ago, at the funeral service for beloved singer and songwriter, and old friend, Kate McGarrigle. Among the most profound, for me, came when Sloan Wainwright, Kate’s friend and ex-sister-in-law, sang “Today,” a beautiful song I’d never heard before.

It turned out to be a song that Sloan and Kate had co-written in 2009, sometime after Sloan’s husband, George McTavey, passed away following a long battle with leukaemia.

I told Sloan how moved I was by the song and she sent me an MP3 demo of “Today” recorded June 27, 2009 at Kate’s house in Montreal with Kate on piano, Chaim Tannenbaum on harmonica and mandolin and Joel Zifkin on viola. It was a song I listened to many times in the months that followed and which I’m pleased to report is included on Upside Down & Under My Heart, Sloan’s new album.

“Today” remains a profoundly moving song – a sad, quiet, dignified memorial to both George and Kate.

The sense of loss pervades several other songs including the haunting “I Wear the Ring,” a song to her late husband telling him that she wears his wedding ring and lets him know their children are all right.

Beyond loss and grief are songs like “I Can See Now” and “I Am Free” in which she affirms her continuing life and songs of hope like “Upside Down & Under My Heart,” which she sings as an expectant mother to a yet unborn child.

Musically, Sloan blends strains of folk, blues and pop into something of her own. Her greatest strength, perhaps, is her voice, a warm contralto marked by unique phrasing that brings each song to life, whether singing quietly and contemplatively or powerfully and forcefully.

--Mike Regenstreif