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Album Details

• Artist: U. Utah Phillips
• Album: Starlight on the Rails: A Songbook
• Label: AK Press
• Year of Release: 2005
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2005-11-21

Utah Phillips has always been like the anti-folkie folkie. Somehow, you get the sense that despite the decades long activism of aging 60’s folk singers, there is always the stink of the privileged at work. There always seems to have been more protests at colleges than in the ghetto, yes? Phillips has walked and talked the Wobblie anarchism for over thirty years, living in the midst of what he writes about. This 4disc set highlights the best of all his years of sitting around working and listening. As storyteller supreme, he learned his stories from workers, Catholic anarchists, Mormon shop owners, hobos, and fellow vets in Korea. From these has grown a rich writing style that is moral but earthy, fearless and gentle. Generous portions of the set include Phillips talking about the songs, giving the history of their evolution, making them living words. “Talking NPR Blues�, “Yellow Ribbon�, “Old Buddy, Goodnight� and others are enriched by their birth stories. They seem deeper, given more power, with these introductions. Yet Phillips could stun a crowd by just walking into it. AK Press has done an amazing job of producing such music on top of their publication of anarchy-related titles. That plus his recent work with Ani Di Fanco may go a long way to getting him the recognition he deserves.

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