Arlo Guthrie Interview
by Rick Landers, August 27, 2007
Arlo Guthrie. Photo by John Hancock Photos.Mention the name Arlo to most Boomers and immediately the song “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” comes to mind. That song alone would be a pretty darn good legacy. But Arlo Guthrie’s given us a lot more treasures over the years like “The Motorcycle Song,” “City of New Orleans,” “Deportee” and the counterculture tune "Coming into Los Angeles" he sang at Woodstock.
Most fans recall a young guy with wiley attitudinal humor and an ability to tell a tale with front porch charm. Today we all know when he fashions a story about the government, television evangelists or the price of gas there’s more than a smattering of critical analysis going on under that long silver mane. The end game for Guthrie seems to be targeted at making statements about life’s foibles and contradictions while he gathers up laughter from his fans.
As the son of the legendary songwriter and chronicler of American life, Woody Guthrie, Arlo’s talents and inspiration spring from a very deep well. He’s carried his father’s legacy along a straight and narrow path keeping ripe the elder Guthrie's spirited integrity while satirizing or poking fun at unbridled authority.
Landing on the music charts in 1967 with his debut album, Alice’s Restaurant, Guthrie quickly became a young icon of a turbulent decade. Nearly every year since Arlo's laid down tracks on a long list of memorable albums such as Washington County, Hobo’s Lullaby and his highly acclaimed Amigo.
Forty years later and Arlo's own Rising Sun record label has just released his twenty-fifth album titled In Times Like These.
The rest of the article at
http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/003640.html
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