Running Down The Road
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Album Summary
Cut in 1969 and released on Reprise Records, 'Running Down the Road' stands as Arlo Guthrie's third studio album — a record that caught him in full stride, stretching out and finding new ground beneath his feet. Produced by the gifted team of Lenny Waronker and Van Dyke Parks, the sessions captured Guthrie in a beautifully restless mood, weaving country, blues, and rock into the folk fabric he'd inherited from his father Woody. This was a time when American music was searching for itself, and Guthrie — already a counterculture hero on the strength of 'Alice's Restaurant Massacree' — answered that search with a road-worn, soulful collection that felt as wide open as the American highway itself.
Reception
- The album earned warm and appreciative notices from both folk and rock audiences, who responded to Guthrie's unhurried, conversational delivery and his natural ease moving between musical traditions.
- It did not make major waves on the mainstream charts, but among the faithful in the roots music community, it deepened Guthrie's reputation as one of the most authentic voices of his generation.
- Critics consistently pointed to the album's loose, lived-in atmosphere as one of its greatest strengths — a quality wholly in keeping with the wandering, storytelling spirit Guthrie carried in his blood.
Significance
- 'Running Down the Road' stands as a genuine artifact of the late-1960s moment when folk, country, and rock were blurring together into something that would eventually be called Americana — and Guthrie was right there at the crossroads.
- The album showcased Guthrie's rare gift for interpretation and genre-blending, helping to build a bridge between the traditional American folk revival and the more freewheeling, studio-adventurous sounds of the counterculture generation.
- From the title track on through to the opening notes of side one, the record reinforced Guthrie's identity as a true troubadour in the Woody Guthrie lineage — a keeper of themes celebrating movement, freedom, and the dignity of working-class American life.
Tracklist
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A1 Oklahoma Hills 143
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A2 Every Hand In The Land 99
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A3 Creole Belle 80
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A4 Wheel Of Fortune 144
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A5 Oh, In The Morning 139
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B1 Coming In To Los Angeles —
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B2 Stealin' 125
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B3 My Front Pages 144
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B4 Living In The Country 120
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B5 Running Down The Road 131
Artist Details
Arlo Guthrie, son of the legendary folk poet Woody Guthrie, emerged from the rich soil of the American folk revival in the late 1960s, carrying his father's torch of storytelling right into the hearts of a generation hungry for truth and meaning. His 1967 epic talking blues masterpiece Alice's Restaurant Massacree put him on the map in a big way, stretching nearly 19 minutes of pure American wit and anti-war sentiment that became an anthem for the counterculture movement, and his gentle, rolling version of Steve Goodman's City of New Orleans became a top ten hit in 1972 that reminded everyone what it felt like to love this country even when times were hard. Arlo stood at the crossroads of folk, country, and rock and roll, a humble troubadour whose music and legacy cemented his place not just in music history, but in the very conscience of a nation finding its way through one of its most turbulent chapters.
