From the title and cover shot of Arlo Guthrie’s 1976 album Amigo, one might assume that it would be comprised of songs dealing with Hispanic issues, possibly along the line of his father Woody's “Deportee.” That is certainly true with the strongest piece of the album, “Victor Jara,” about the murdered Chilean folk-singer. But other than that track and the dream-like getaway “Manzanillo Bay,” featuring mariachi horns and a steel drum, the rest of the album covers an assorted mix of topics.

Guthrie sings here in a nasally voice, and he has a penchant for writing rock songs in a folk and country style. As a result, Amigo reminds me of Bob Dylan’s Desire, since both albums were released in 1976. It is no surprise, then, that these two contemporaries, obvious followers of Woody Guthrie, performed together later that year in concert in Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue.

Arlo does share Dylan’s (and his father's) impish wit as he begins each side on a light note. From Africa comes the idiosyncratic “Guabi Guabi” where Guthrie, backed by a chorus, playfully sings along, as befits this Zulu children’s song, by rolling his pitch up and down. Side 2 opens with the vaudevillian “Grocery Blues” where the singer pays the store manager for the experience of shopping for food. Placing these two songs at the beginning of each side helps demonstrate that Amigo does not lack a sense of humour and also guarantees that the more serious pieces will not be interrupted.

Arlo sounds the most Dylanesque on the self-penned “My Darkest Hour,” a detailed and character-filled narrative reminiscent of Bob's storytelling. Guthrie emerges as a more independent songwriter on the wistful “Massachusetts,” a romantic portrait of Guthrie’s abode. The fine “Patriot’s Dream” laments how the politically-active '60s movement evolved into the Me decade. These songs are all arranged in a soft-rock manner.

The lyrics to "Victor Jara" were taken from a poem by Adrian Mitchell. Guthrie's music proves to be a moving tribute to the political prisoner whose "hands were gentle/his hands were strong," and helped to shine a light on the atrocities being committed under Chile's dictator, General Pinochet.

As if to show that he can not only sing protest songs but also rock out, Guthrie closes the album with The Rolling Stones' cover, “Connection.” There is some levity attached to this choice since one of Arlo’s more famous songs is his late 1960s drug peddler ode “Coming into Los Angeles.” However, his version of “Connection” won’t make anybody miss the Stones' original. A much more satisfying rocker is “Walking Song” where Guthrie sounds like Lindsey Buckingham. Here the lyrics and melody transcend the typical '70s rock beat.

Arlo scores points for writing most of the material on Amigo, but in the end it sounds like he is trying to find his own voice as a singer/songwriter and step out from the shadow of his father and, perhaps, Bob Dylan. Thus I would give the slighter nod to Hobo's Lullaby, which demonstrates his acumen as a savvy interpreter.

Recommended: Yes