Most likely the song that people know Arlo best for is "City Of New Orleans" by the late Steve Goodman so it seems like a good one to examine closely in terms of these new arrangements. James Burton's arrangement is quite simply innovative and perfect. I think you could probably listen to this without vocals and feel the same emotional depth that had originally been embodied into the lyrics by Steve Goodman.

Instead of the string dominated sound we have grown accustomed to in this John Williams dominated age of orchestrations, Mr. Burton has made judicious use of the whole orchestra for his arrangements, with the woodwinds and the brass taking their share of up front work alongside the violins. There's a beautiful horn accent that's repeated as a motif throughout the piece that could easily be a train whistle but isn't obvious enough to be hackneyed.

That's not to say that when strings are called for he doesn't use them, they do after all made up amongst themselves nearly half the orchestra with double bases, cellos, violas, and violins. But thank goodness they never swell – they play as they are meant to play, carrying the melody and moving the story along. I think Steve Goodman would have been very pleased.

The same care is given to each song and some of the touches are wonderful. The clarinets on "St. James Infirmary" help give the song the jazzy, underworld feel that it needs to be effective, and the delicate string work on the title song "In Time Like These" is a testimony to the power of understatement that arrangers throughout the world would do well to emulate.

If there is a weakness in the whole production, it unfortunately lies with Arlo. His strength as a vocalist is his ability to imbue his songs with character and to let the emotion in his voice shine through. But it is a voice best suited to small arrangements and at times seems on the verge of being overshadowed by the orchestral accompaniment.

Perhaps it's because the concert was recorded live and the proper balance just escaped them on the occasions when the full orchestra was playing. But it wasn't as if you couldn't hear Arlo, it was just as if his voice was too thin for the music. It's not every song that this happens on, but when it does happen it is noticeable enough to be uncomfortable. You don't want the people you like musically to seem off or to even point it out, but unfortunately this is one of those occasions.

On the whole, In Times Like These is a remarkable achievement that pays a fitting tribute to one of the significant singer songwriters of the past forty years. For those of you, like me, who appreciate and admire the work of Arlo Guthrie, you will find much to enjoy in this CD.