I Am A Lineman For The County: Glen Campbell Sings Jimmy Webb (2024)

UK Import

From the CD's back insert:

The matching of Glen Campbell's voice to Jimmy Webb's songs created some of the most evocative, widescreen American music ever made. Their association won Grammys, and unlikely fans from Frank Sinatra to Isaac Hayes. This collection explores the duo's work beyond their classic trilogy - "By The Time I Get To Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman," "Galveston" - and includes every Webb/Campbell recording from 1967 to the turn of the '80s.

So while all the Campbell/Webb hits are here, this compilation is mainly deep album cuts, including several that probably should have been singles. Webb's tunes are beautiful, the florid arrangements are spot-on, the Wrecking Crew is present, and Campbell had a fantastic voice that wasn't afraid of the upper register. There's traces of Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson at times, but it's all undeniably Webb and undeniably worth a listen.

Liner notes include a biographical essay and detailed track notes written by Bob Stanley.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks:

	Song	Year	Hot 100	AC	Country
1	By The Time I Get To Phoenix	1967	26	12	2
2	Wichita Lineman	1968	3	1	1
3	Galveston	1969	4	1	1
4	Where's The Playground Susie	1969	26	10	28
5	Didn't We (Live)	1969
6	Honey Come Back	1970	19	4	2
7	Just Another Piece Of Paper	1970
8	MacArthur Park	1970
9	Just This One Time	1974
10	You Might As Well Smile	1974
11	Wishing Now	1974
12	Ocean In His Eyes	1974
13	The Moon's A Harsh Mistress	1974
14	I Keep It Hid	1974
15	Adoration	1974
16	It's A Sin When You Love Somebody	1974
17	Christiaan No	1976
18	This Is Sarah's Song	1977
19	Early Morning Song	1977
20	Highwayman	1979
21	Love Song	1979
22	In Cars	1981
23	I Was Too Busy Loving You	1982

Wichita Lineman is easily my favorite song on here, but I also have fond childhood memories of Didn't We from Campbell's 1969 "Live" album. New-to-me favorites are Just Another Piece Of Paper, Ocean In His Eyes, and I Keep It Hid.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: This CD was purchased on a whim last year after listening to Wichita Lineman about 10 times back-to-back. In 2012, Webb came to my small college town to play at the university where I worked. And I didn't go see him or take advantage of my contacts in the School of Music to spend some time with him. What a missed opportunity. This post would have been much better if it included a picture of Webb with his arm around me. Regrets, I've had a few.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Live (1969)