The Best of Arlo Guthrie (Vinyl record album review)

Album name: The Best of Arlo Guthrie

Artist name: Arlo Guthrie

Year: 1977

Number of discs: one

Label: Warner Brothers Records

Collection: Selman

Distinguishing characteristics:

Buy it:

Amazon (Vinyl): $28.65

Amazon (CD): $7.78

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve been to Los Angeles about five times, and listened to Coming Into Los Angeles on the airplane every time. I also know Alice’s Restaurant Massacree, but I don’t know the other songs.

What I expected

Joke-folk-rock.

What it was actually like

Alice’s Restaurant Massacree and Coming Into Los Angeles were just as I remembered. Most of the rest of the record was decent, but nothing special.

When City Of New Orleans came on, my first reaction was: I know this song! And my second reaction was: wait a second! I’d never heard City Of New Orleans before, but it took me just a minute to realize that Israeli folk music icon Yehoram Gaon used that melody for his song שלום לך ארץ נהדרת (music, lyrics), one of my favorites!

So that was pretty cool, and reminded me of a certain biographical detail of Arlo Guthrie’s Jewish education when he was a child, and I imagined him, his teacher and Yehoram Gaon all chilling in New York City in the early 1960s.

Grade

4/5: would listen again