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A review by leucocrystal
There But for Fortune: The Life of Phil Ochs by Michael Schumacher
5.0
This only took so long for me to read because apparently the mechanism that usually controls my ability to focus and read at my normal pace has been completely broken by quarantine, which has been absolutely maddening.
But then, of course, reaching the final chapters slowed me down anyway, because of the terribly sad end Phil came to, and knowing it was coming.
That said, it's a wonderfully comprehensive, even-handed account of his short but full life, and really gets into how and why he recorded what he did, when and why he released what he did and played for and with who he did, and all the ways the cruelties of the world and the slow march of undiagnosed mental illness ultimately destroyed arguably the greatest American folk singer, and also why his art still carries such weight and beauty to this day.
But then, of course, reaching the final chapters slowed me down anyway, because of the terribly sad end Phil came to, and knowing it was coming.
That said, it's a wonderfully comprehensive, even-handed account of his short but full life, and really gets into how and why he recorded what he did, when and why he released what he did and played for and with who he did, and all the ways the cruelties of the world and the slow march of undiagnosed mental illness ultimately destroyed arguably the greatest American folk singer, and also why his art still carries such weight and beauty to this day.