I was thinking about this song today, as I do every Thanksgiving. If you don't know why that is, you need professional help - the help of a professional CD retailer, that is. Alice's Restaurant is both a folk and a protest classic, and in many homes a Thanksgiving tradition.
The song is based on a true event in Arlo's life, and on real people and places as well. There was an Alice, she did live with her husband in an old church, and she did have a restaurant, although it wasn't called "Alice's Restaurant." Eighteen year old Arlo and his friend WERE busted for illegal dumping on Thanksgiving, 1965. While Arlo exaggerated liberally, the tale has still endured for 40 years as a folk favorite and anti-war anthem.
So I wasn't surprised to see a torrent available today that was entirely composed of underground versions of Alice's Restaurant. This torrent is a testimony to Arlo's uncanny ability to ramble on and on in the most entertaining manner, even when you can tell he really isn't rambling toward any particular destination. There were a total of four, ranging from 1966 to 1984, and there are two that I think you should hear this year. Don't worry - it won't be redundant. Not at all.
This is the church in Mass. where Alice lived with her husband. Note the bell tower to the left .
The song is based on a true event in Arlo's life, and on real people and places as well. There was an Alice, she did live with her husband in an old church, and she did have a restaurant, although it wasn't called "Alice's Restaurant." Eighteen year old Arlo and his friend WERE busted for illegal dumping on Thanksgiving, 1965. While Arlo exaggerated liberally, the tale has still endured for 40 years as a folk favorite and anti-war anthem.
So I wasn't surprised to see a torrent available today that was entirely composed of underground versions of Alice's Restaurant. This torrent is a testimony to Arlo's uncanny ability to ramble on and on in the most entertaining manner, even when you can tell he really isn't rambling toward any particular destination. There were a total of four, ranging from 1966 to 1984, and there are two that I think you should hear this year. Don't worry - it won't be redundant. Not at all.
This is the church in Mass. where Alice lived with her husband. Note the bell tower to the left .
I've chosen these two versions because they not only sound great, being FM versions, but also because each one will be a new listening experience for you no matter how many times you've listened to the album. And I mean a new experience.
The first comes from Gerde's Folk City in NYC (in fact, this might be a soundboard recording rather than an FM recording, I don't know) sometime in 1966. That puts it a year before the album was released, and it is very obvious that the song was still in the development stage. In fact, the elements that we would consider the main parts of the story are missing entirely. What the song consists of, mainly, is a far greater elaboration on another element that you will know from the album, and I think you'll be very surprised to hear what element it was that dominated the early version of the song. At a mere 13:33, it's about 5 minutes shorter than the studio version also. You can get it right here.
The second is from The Bob Fass radio show in May of 1967, just three months after Arlo played a more faithful rendering of the song on the same show. This is entirely different from the first or the official version. First, this version has piano accompaniment, which changes the entire texture of the song. With just a guitar, it is a very folksy song, but the jangly piano in the background brings an aura of New Orleans honky-tonk that changes the face of the familiar tune completely. Not only that, but the story is entirely different.This is, in fact, sort of a sequel to the original story. It's called Alice's Restaurant Multi-Colored Rainbow Roach Affair, and is a bizarre story involving the restaurant, brightly colored insects, and cold war espionage. It's only three seconds longer than the 1966 version. It has to be heard to be believed. Hear it here.
Of course, we know what Arlo was smoking when he came up with it, right?
The other two versions I downloaded were much more faithful to the album, although one has plenty of improv in it and comes in a almost 25 minutes. Maybe I'll post that one next year. For now, what do those of you who know the song think of these two alternate takes? You have the floor.
Arlo was John Travolta before being John Travolta was cool.
The first comes from Gerde's Folk City in NYC (in fact, this might be a soundboard recording rather than an FM recording, I don't know) sometime in 1966. That puts it a year before the album was released, and it is very obvious that the song was still in the development stage. In fact, the elements that we would consider the main parts of the story are missing entirely. What the song consists of, mainly, is a far greater elaboration on another element that you will know from the album, and I think you'll be very surprised to hear what element it was that dominated the early version of the song. At a mere 13:33, it's about 5 minutes shorter than the studio version also. You can get it right here.
The second is from The Bob Fass radio show in May of 1967, just three months after Arlo played a more faithful rendering of the song on the same show. This is entirely different from the first or the official version. First, this version has piano accompaniment, which changes the entire texture of the song. With just a guitar, it is a very folksy song, but the jangly piano in the background brings an aura of New Orleans honky-tonk that changes the face of the familiar tune completely. Not only that, but the story is entirely different.This is, in fact, sort of a sequel to the original story. It's called Alice's Restaurant Multi-Colored Rainbow Roach Affair, and is a bizarre story involving the restaurant, brightly colored insects, and cold war espionage. It's only three seconds longer than the 1966 version. It has to be heard to be believed. Hear it here.
Of course, we know what Arlo was smoking when he came up with it, right?
The other two versions I downloaded were much more faithful to the album, although one has plenty of improv in it and comes in a almost 25 minutes. Maybe I'll post that one next year. For now, what do those of you who know the song think of these two alternate takes? You have the floor.
Arlo was John Travolta before being John Travolta was cool.
