by Jim Newsom
A typical Arlo Guthrie mix of contemporary folk songs and unexpected material from the past, with a little Bob Dylan and dad Woody Guthrie added for good measure. Arlo's cover of Dylan's &When the Ship Comes In& is superb, as is his slide guitar take on Hoyt Axton's &Lightning Bar Blues.& Also worth noting are renditions of Woody's sad ballad, &1913 Massacre,& Axton's &Somebody Turned on the Light,& and Arlo's own &Days Are Short.& And then there is his definitive cover of &The City of New Orleans,& Steve Goodman's ode to the vanishing railroads of middle America. &New Orleans& was Arlo's only real hit single, and its &Good morning, America, how are ya?& chorus echoed from AM radios throughout the land, making the song a folk music standard.