Arlo Guthrie - Arlo (1968) Vinyl LP • Self Titled, The Motorcycle Song

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Condition Details:

Vinyl plays with occasional light-crackles (play-graded). Cover has a few creases near edges; scuffing, tiny surface abrasions, and surface impressions (front/back). Inner-sleeve is original (Reprise ads); two seams partially split. Spine is partly readable with moderate wear. Shelf-wear along top/bottom-edge and corners. Opening is crisp with signs of light use and name written inside. Reprise Steamboat label. (Not a cut-out.)

Tracks:

1. The Motorcycle Song
2. Wouldn't You Believe It
3. Try Me One More Time
4. John Looked Down
5. Meditation (Wave Upon Wave)
6. Standing At The Threshold
7. The Pause Of Mr. Claus

About The Record:

Arlo Guthrie was still prone to long story-songs and occasional humorous introductory monologues on his second outing. Three of the seven tracks last for longer than five minutes, though none remotely approach Alice's Restaurant in epic length. Recorded live at the Bitter End, it shows Guthrie starting to adapt more wholeheartedly to folk-rock instrumentation, with a full if subdued band including drums and keyboards. The Motorcycle Song should please those looking for more comic narratives, as should The Pause of Mr. Claus, most of which is actually a spoken monologue that does finally lead up to fairly funny punchlines. In a more purely musical vein, he touched (mildly) upon ragga-rock on Meditation (Wave Upon Wave), with tabla by Ed Shaughnessy. Arlo Guthrie was managing to establish himself as a folk-rock talent with an identity quite distinct from his famous father, not an easy feat.