Amchitka (album) explained

Amchitka
Type:Live album
Artist:Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, and Phil Ochs
Cover:Amchitkaconcert.jpg
Released:November 2009
Recorded:October 16, 1970
Venue:Pacific Coliseum (Vancouver, British Columbia)
Genre:Folk
Label:Greenpeace
Chronology:Joni Mitchell
Prev Title:Shine
Prev Year:2007
Next Title:Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, a Ballet, Waiting to Be Danced
Next Year:2014

Amchitka is a 2009 two-CD release of a recording of Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Phil Ochs performing an October 16, 1970, benefit concert at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. The event funded Greenpeace's protests of 1971 nuclear weapons tests by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission at Amchitka, Alaska.[1]

Irving Stowe, one of Greenpeace's founding members, organized the benefit concert, with the assistance of Joan Baez. She could not appear, but she connected Stowe with Mitchell and Mitchell requested her boyfriend of the time, Taylor, join the concert. The Stowe family held on to tapes of the concert, but were not able to obtain the necessary clearances until John Timmins, brother of Cowboy Junkies members, became involved with Greenpeace. Timmins was instrumental in contacting Mitchell and Taylor's representatives and working out the necessary permissions.[2] The tapes had to be restored by Peter J. Moore, the producer of several Cowboy Junkies albums.

Track listing

Disc One

  1. Introduction Irving Stowe 1:38
  2. Introduction of Phil Ochs 0:11
  3. "The Bells" (Edgar Allan Poe, Phil Ochs) 3:09
  4. "Rhythms of Revolution" 4:25
  5. "Chords of Fame" 2:47
  6. "I Ain't Marching Anymore" 3:01
  7. "Joe Hill" 7:10
  8. "Changes" 3:36
  9. "I'm Gonna Say It Now" 2:57
  10. "No More Songs" 3:49
  11. Introduction of James Taylor 0:32
  12. "Something in the Way She Moves" 3:09
  13. "Fire and Rain" 3:52
  14. "Carolina in My Mind" 4:39
  15. "Blossom" 2:30
  16. "Riding On a Railroad" 3:04
  17. "Sweet Baby James" 3:27
  18. "You Can Close Your Eyes" 2:31

Disc Two

  1. Introduction of Joni Mitchell 0:17
  2. "Big Yellow Taxi"/"Bony Maroney" (Larry Williams) 4:00
  3. "Cactus Tree" 4:28
  4. "The Gallery" 4:26
  5. "Hunter" 2:36
  6. "My Old Man" 4:29
  7. "For Free" 5:08
  8. "Woodstock" 5:16
  9. "Carey"/"Mr. Tambourine Man" (Bob Dylan) 10:13 [duet with Taylor]
  10. "A Case of You" 4:44
  11. "The Circle Game" 2:38 [duet with Taylor]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Phil Ochs | The Amchitka CD . Amchitka-concert.com . 2012-01-14.
  2. https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2009/11/22/a-long-lost-1970-benefit-concert-featuring-joni-mitchell-and-james-taylor-surfaces/"Lost 1970 Amchitka Concert Featuring Joni Mitchell and James Taylor Surfaces," The Wall Street Journal, November 22, 2009