Arlo Guthrie: The Warner/Reprise Years

Abstract

Arlo Guthrie: The Warner/Reprise Years. by hank reineke. (lanham, mD: Scarecrow Press, 2012. Pp. xix + 327, series editor's foreword, preface, acknowledgments, discography, bibliography, index, 11 photographs, three illustrations.)readers of hank reineke's biography of Arlo Guthrie might contest reineke's claim that by 2002, Guthrie held uncontested status as the preeminent torchbearer of the Woody Guthrie, cisco houston, and Pete Seeger legacies (p. 246). even Arlo Guthrie's most ardent fans would likely concede that other musicians- perhaps bob Dylan, ramblin' Jack elliott, tom Paxton, Jean ritchie, Dave Van ronk, Dick Gaughan, Jean redpath, mike Seeger, ry cooder, eric Andersen, odetta, billy bragg, or even bruce Springsteen-have been, in their own ways, as important in carrying the repertoire and the spirit of the urban folk revival into the twenty-first century. That said, since his emergence in the public sphere with his delightfully quirky 1967 debut album Alice's Restaurant, Arlo Guthrie has been a significant figure in the post-revival singer-songwriter scene. his honest if occasionally cantankerous persona, charming and playful sense of humor, diverse repertoire of songs, and undeniable musical talent, as displayed in countless concerts and on many recordings, have attracted and maintained for Guthrie a rather broad-based and loyal audience.Arlo Guthrie has often been viewed as a folkie. For the most part, his music isn't traditional, and he has been influenced more by the music of the folk revival rather than by regional or ethnic folk traditions. Furthermore, as reineke points out, Guthrie generally performs many contemporary and self-penned songs and few traditional numbers. While not especially groundbreaking, Guthrie's music has been popular in the best sense of the term, as it spoke to a generation of Americans. nonetheless, the appeal of his recorded output as popular culture has faded somewhat over time. in this respect, Guthrie has been less a tradition-oriented folk musician and more of a contemporary-minded performer who grasped and embodied the counter-cultural values-values so prevalent at the time as to be mainstream-during the late 1960s and early 1970s.Serious fans of American popular music will enjoy reading this book whether or not they are interested in Guthrie's music. reineke is a skilled biographer who animates his chosen subjects, effectively balancing a wealth of details with a range of broader insights. his two published books have received recognition: Ramblin' Jack Elliott: The Never-Ending Highway (Scarecrow Press, 2010) was awarded a certificate of merit for best research in Folk, ethnic, or World music in 2010 from the Association for recorded Sound collections. Arlo Guthrie: The Warner/Reprise Years received a certificate of merit for best research in recorded Popular music in 2013 from that same organization. While exploring Guthrie's music, the latter biography illuminates post-urban folk revival music-business dynamics and societal attitudes.the Warner/reprise years in reineke's subtitle refers to the period (1967-1982) when Guthrie recorded a dozen albums for these two affiliated labels. …