Released in the mid-'80s, when the acoustic-based protest music of the '60s seemed a century away, A Toast to Those Who Are Gone was a gentle reminder that a man and his acoustic guitar could be a timeless approach. (The future "unplugged" and alt-country movements proved that notion right.) These outtakes from the early to mid-'60s, said to be mostly from between Ochs' contracts with Elektra and A&M Records, include the kind of leftist political viewpoints that made him the leading folk singer of his era. Bob Dylan had moved onto more personal and surrealist-type work, but Ochs spent a good amount of time writing about the topical. While "The Ballad of Billie Sol," "Going Down to Mississippi," and "Ballad of Oxford (Jimmy Meredith)" might require footnotes for modern listeners to fully appreciate them, they're examples of sharp, satirical songwriting. "A Toast to Those Who Are Gone" and especially "I'm Tired" point the camera at Ochs himself. Four additional demos have since been added to the collection, including "Morning" from a radio performance and the home tape for "We Seek No Wider War."