Alice's Restaurant (The Massacree Revisited)

The Original Massacree VS The Massacree Revisited

     

Alice's Restaurant is a family favorite to play around Thanksgiving, and it's a favorite for me to play anywhere anytime. Now when I was aware that he had revisited the Masssacree, I didn't pay much interest in the whole, thing, because I didn't show enough interest at the time. Now a couple years later, I own both albums, original and revisited, and both albums are great.

I will say there are songs that are better on the original, yet there are songs that are better when revisited. So I'll go ahead and compare the albums, track by track, and I'll let you decide if you need both.

Alice's Restaurant Massacree
I share the disappointment of iTunes users of this song not available for individual purchase (Not even $1.29). But I won't raise hell over it, as I see the album as worth having anyway. As in the original album, this track was recorded live, and is the longest track here. You start to see how Arlo has evolved more into Folk since 1967, the year the original album was released. The story hasn't changed, you still got the whole garbage incident, blind judge, 27-8-9-10, and his distaste for the draft. What I noticed from the revisited version is the fact, that Arlo didn't draw many laughs, though that could be because he hadn't performed it for a while. I personally enjoyed the background laughter in the original. But I enjoyed Arlo's discussion of Nixon near the end of the revisited version. And I was free enough to go test his theory on how his song fit the famous watergate 18.5 minute long gap. And yeah, it fit exactly. And now I'm a firm believer that Nixon was an Arlo fan. So both versions are very enjoyable, but if I had to choose one, I'd probably go with the original, as nothing really can beat the original over exaggerated story.

Chilling in the Evening
As far as songs are concerned, Chilling in the Evening is one of the most beautiful songs Arlo ever recorded. The original, was slow, and had feeling, but the revisited, is a little more upbeat, and I think that kinda killed some of the feeling that needed to be felt during this song. I will say the harmonica solo in the Revisited that wasn't present in the original, was pretty awesome, but the original version still remains more beautiful here.

Ring-Around-A-Rosy Rag
The introductions of both versions start rather similar. And both versions retain their goofy sounds, and funny feeling. It can be noted that the woodblock in the original is much louder, which at times, can be a little drowning. A what I believe is a banjo is also present in the original, but in the original, at times, it can be a bit of a mess, as compared to the cleaner Revisited. So I think the revisited wins here.

Now and Then
The original version for some strange reasons, makes me think of some Beatles music. I don't know, I think it's the electric keyboard. Now I respect the Beatles, but the keyboard is a little droning again. Which takes away some of my enjoyment. Revisited's keyboard isn't as droning, and the solo is cleaner. So the Revisited version also takes the cake here.

I'm Going Home
Another beautiful song by Arlo Guthrie, and there really isn't much of of a difference between the two. Each are calm and very melodically beautiful. The only difference really is the recording quality. So Revisited is probably the way to go, but I'd go for both of them.

The Motorcycle Song
There are some pretty decent changes between the original and revisited version. The revisited is once again a little faster, and it's also in a different key. Now once again the revisited is cleaner, as it most of the time always is. But the original's sound, key, and how he sings it is overall a bit better, so the original is the way to go.

Highway in the Wind
The biggest difference you'll see with the revisited version here is the difference in song length. Compared with the original 2:42 length, Arlo increaded it to 4:14. Now the original was good as it is, and the the revisited was good too. With an included harmonica solo, and cleaner guitar, it was a good wrap up to revisiting this masterpiece. However, it's like Chilling in the Evening. It's mood is better in the original.

So now we'll be waiting a few more months before we pull the albums out again, but both are great to play around Thanksgiving, or for pleasure in listening whenever you feel like listening. The original is probably the preference for most people (including myself), but the revisited version is nothing to put down. It's still good, and not at all bad.