UTAH PHILLIPS & ROSALIE SORRELS: The Long Memory

Utah Phillips & Rosalie Sorrels

The Long Memory

© 1996 Red House Records (033651008323)

CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.

Stories and songs of days gone by.

notes

Utah Phillips has crafted a fascinating show out of his life. In the course of seventy years he has labored as a dishwasher, archivist, printer, and warehouseman; soldiered in the Korean War; lived as a tramp (he is still a Grand Duke of Hoboes), and for the past 36 years made his way telling stories and singing songs. He has the wit, humor, bite, and intelligence of a Mark Twain or a Will Rogers, and behind his "Everyman" appearance is a consummate artist. Peppered with one-liners and offhand philosophical commentary, Utah's revealing stories, about such spirited American characters as Charley Goodnight, Mother Jones, and Idaho Blackie, tell our true history and connect us to American traditions that are genuinely ours.
Utah Phillips is described as "a national treasure, a writer of haunting songs, a storyteller of hilarious presence and subtle depth, a union organizer, historian and scholar, a Celtic-Yiddish bard, a Pleistocene bon vivant, a post-modern ne'er-do-well, and a heck of an engineer." A 40-year member of the Industrial Workers of the World, he is the most entertaining labor troubadour of our time, leading his audience on an emotional rollercoaster with side-splitting storytelling and fire-breathing working class songs. According to one reviewer, "Phillips exemplifies some of the traits which Americans most value: an open and inquisitive mind, a daring heart, and a sharp but humorous tongue." The Boston Globe said, "Phillips above all is a consummate showman, a master of the theater...Phillips has a genius for making people laugh and care at the same time." He is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the North American Folk Alliance, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Western Labor Heritage Foundation, and the Joe Hill Award from the Labor Heritage Foundation-AFL-CIO, among many others.

reviews

Please log in to review this album.

  • Nice History
    author: Eclipse Girl

    The CD is a long dialogue between Utah and Rosalie. Its a great CD to learn some history about the labor movement. I liked it, but I like union/labor songs, and the history.

  • Two award-winning folk stars
    author: Adrien

    I never know which to appreciate the most, the music, the tradition, the wit, the voices, the humor or the underlying message of hope. Two great stars and "peoples' heros" together, it just doesn't get much better.

  • Rosalie Sorrels outshines Utah Phillips on this one.
    author: Zi

    I'm a big fan of both artists, but Rosalie Sorrels' voice and her choice of material is so strong on this particular cd, that she outshines him here -- would outshine most anybody! -- although the "Wobbly Doxology" is a winner too.

email

Please log in to email this artist.