FEATURED CD - Arlo Guthrie : Alice's Restaurant

**Duncan Glenday** · 11-25-2015

Not prog - but for the Americans among us - a Thanksgiving gift. (You're welcome

). per Allmusic:

Although he'd been a fixture on the East Coast folk circuit for several years, Arlo Guthrie did not release his debut album until mid-1967. A majority of the attention directed at Alice's Restaurant focuses on the epic 18-plus-minute title track, which sprawled over the entire A-side of the long-player. However, it is the other half-dozen Guthrie compositions that provide an insight into his uniformly outstanding, yet astoundingly overlooked, early sides on Warner Bros. Although arguably not 100 percent factual, "Alice's Restaurant Massacree" -- which was recorded in front of a live audience -- is rooted in a series of real incidents. This decidedly anti-establishment saga of garbage dumps closed on Thanksgiving, good ol' Officer Obie, as well as Guthrie's experiences with the draft succeeds not only because of the unusual and outlandish situations that the hero finds himself in; it is also his underdog point of view and sardonic delivery that maximize the effect in the retelling. In terms of artistic merit, the studio side is an equally endowed effort containing six decidedly more traditional folk-rock compositions. Among the standouts are the haunting "Chilling of the Evening," which is given an arrangement perhaps more aptly suited to a Jimmy Webb/Glen Campbell collaboration. There is a somewhat dated charm in "Ring-Around-a-Rosy Rag," a sly, uptempo, and hippie-friendly bit of jug band nostalgia. "I'm Going Home" is an underrated minor-chord masterpiece that is not only reminiscent of Roger McGuinn's "Ballad of Easy Rider," but also spotlights a more sensitive and intricate nature to Guthrie's craftsmanship. Also worth mentioning is the first installment of "The Motorcycle Song" -- which was updated and discussed further on the live self-titled follow-up release Arlo (1968) -- notable for the extended discourse on the "significance of the pickle."

http://www.allmusic.com/album/alices...t-mw0000192979

**Sturgeon's Lawyer** · 11-25-2015

A Thanksgiving tradition in my house!

**NogbadTheBad** · 11-25-2015

Love this album, even as an Englishman it was seen as pure fun amongst my friends. Saw him live about a decade ago, the whole Alice's Restaurant was done done word perfect.

**100423** · 11-25-2015

Originally Posted by Sturgeon's Lawyer

A Thanksgiving tradition in my house!

Yep, ours too.

**Trane** · 11-25-2015

I've only heard the t:t a few times... But I have heard Booz's version a few (couple)more times , though I never owned acopy.

https://rateyourmusic.com/release/al...aurant_dalice/

**StevegSr** · 11-25-2015

One of the best 60's Vietnam War protest songs along with I Ain't Marching Anymore By Phil Ochs and I-Feel-Like- I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag by Country Joe and The Fish.

**Dave** · 11-25-2015

PBS will be airing an on stage performance for the 50th anniversary tomorrow. Don't miss it

http://video.pbs.org/video/2365615879/

**Baribrotzer** · 11-25-2015

"....And he took twenty-seven 8 X 10 color glossy pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was, to be used in evidence against us.... "

In the movie, "Officer Obie" was played by the real life Officer William Obanhein. He wasn't an actor at all, which explains why he didn't get very many lines. He also appeared in several Norman Rockwell paintings - Rockwell was a resident of Stockbridge, and frequently used local citizens as models for his Saturday Evening Post covers.

**Mister Triscuits** · 11-25-2015

He also did a remake of the entire album in the '90s, with an amusing update to the "Massacree":

**Scrotum Scissor** · 11-25-2015

Originally Posted by StevegSr

One of the best 60's Vietnam War protest songs along with I Ain't Marching Anymore By Phil Ochs and I-Feel-Like- I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag by Country Joe and The Fish.

All complete classics, though obviously very different from each other. Another thing they had in common was the fact that somehow those protest/anti-war tunes tended to overshadow their erstwhile VERY strong remaining stuff; Ochs - at his best - was a bonafide songwriter genius, CJ&tF were an awesome acid rock group (first two albums especially) and side 2 of Alice's Restaurant actually has some magnificent songs on it.

**Digital_Man** · 11-25-2015

Oh that's right. Because there's a 17 minute long song on here it must be prog.

An interesting side-note is that I once met a woman who claimed she was Arlo Guthrie's girlfriend at the time of the recording and co-wrote "Alice's Restaurant." I have no idea if she was telling the truth or not. However, the fact remains that she is not credited as co-writer on that song. That could be for publishing or copyright reasons for all I know though.

**Mick** · 11-25-2015

It has been the tradition to play it at Mid-day on a bunch of radio stations for a few years now... more added each year.
Who really gives a shoot about a genre when it is plain good patriotic listening, even for a Brit patriot.
Thanks for the thread Duncan.
Happy Thanksgetting everyone... Gobble gobble.

**The Dark Elf** · 11-25-2015

I don't want a pickle
Just wanna ride my motor-sickle.
And I don't wanna die --
Just wanna ride my motor...cy...cle.

**bob_32_116** · 11-26-2015

I think my favourite part of the title song is where he is seated on the bench wilth all the mother-rapers, father-stabbers... father-rapers even. When they learn that he was arrested for littering, they all move away from him.

**Vic2012** · 11-26-2015

My brother had this album when we were kids. Since I was too young to have my own record collection I had to make the best of it with whatever records my mom and older brother had. I remember this album mixed in among those early Grateful Dead, and Johnny Mathis albums. Besides the title track all I remember was (and I don't remember the titles of the songs) "well I wanna ride on my motor sickle" and "comin' into Loss Anja Leez." I remember playing this album a lot as a kid, but once I reached 12-13 I started buying my own shit, and it didn't include folk/rock.

**Mister Triscuits** · 11-26-2015

Originally Posted by Digital_Man

Oh that's right. Because there's a 17 minute long song on here it must be prog.

What classic Genesis song title is mentioned in the monologue? (Not looking for a one-word title like "It" or "Anyway.")

**tom unbound** · 11-26-2015

Absolute classic !

And only played by your favorite underground FM station back in the day.

**TheLoony** · 11-26-2015

Never heard this on the radio. Las Vegas is a anomaly in America though.

I've only heard it twice, about ten years ago. So I'm not really familiar with it. Why is it played on Thanksgiving?

**Mister Triscuits** · 11-27-2015

Originally Posted by TheLoony

Why is it played on Thanksgiving?

Because it's an invitation to Thanksgiving dinner that sets the whole story in motion.

**bob_32_116** · 11-27-2015

Originally Posted by Mister Triscuits

What classic Genesis song title is mentioned in the monologue? (Not looking for a one-word title like "It" or "Anyway.")

Supper's Ready?

**nosebone** · 11-27-2015

Originally Posted by Dave

PBS will be airing an on stage performance for the 50th anniversary tomorrow. Don't miss it

http://video.pbs.org/video/2365615879/

I luckily stumbled on that last night!

My sister and I would listen to it on the radio in the early 70s on Thanksgiving afternoon.

It was tradition!