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)

Glen Campbell - Live (1969)

UK Import

Recorded July 4, 1969 at the Garden State Arts Center, an amphitheater in Homdel, New Jersey.

While this album may seem a little out of place on this blog, read the memory below and you'll see why it's a part of my collection. Allmusic sums it up correctly:

this album is a good representation of Glen Campbell's music of the period, but perhaps not his usual live sound, complete with an orchestral accompaniment (conducted by Al DeLory), as well as a group of top L.A. session musicians who would normally not go on tour. Campbell himself was satisfied with the album, which contains most of his best-known numbers up to that point in his career (augmented by numbers like "The Impossible Dream" and "The Lord's Prayer"), done in a smooth, slickly professional fashion.

Campbell, then in his early thirties, sounds fantastic on both guitar and vocals. He has a much better range than I remember. Here he's in full-on Vegas entertainer mode, complete with snappy patter and jokes between songs, and the crowd eats it up. An enjoyable show with plenty of variety. The CD release sounds great and has great liner notes thanks to the folks over at BGO Records.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #13

Tracks:  18 tracks over 64 minutes. There's something for everybody here - in addition to a few country numbers, we're treated to show tunes (Somewhere, The Impossible Dream), R&B (Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay, For Once In My Life), novelty (Yakity Sax, You All Come), gospel (The Lord's Prayer) and, of course, Jimmy Webb pop. My favorite is the novelty song White Lightning, but it's far from the best. Choice tracks here are Dreams Of The Everyday Housewife, Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay, Gentle On My Mind, Where's The Playground Susie?, and By The Time I Get To Phoenix. One wonders why hit songs Galveston and Wichita Lineman weren't included.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  There wasn't much recorded music played around the house when I was very young (until I discovered Top 40 radio, that is). My father had a decent component system but was rarely home to use it, while my mother normally preferred the quiet as she went about her daily chores. I had some children's records (Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, Disney movie soundtracks) and I'd sometimes play them on a cheap, plastic, toy turntable, but most of the time I was running around outside anyway. My father's system included a nice Sony reel-to-reel tape player similar to this one:

Occasionally, my mother would ask my father to put on some music before he left the house and a tape of this Glen Campbell album was most often the selection. Getting the tape through the spools and playing was an involved process, but I think my father liked the idea that he could play a 2 album set without having to change and flip records. In any case, this album is one of my earliest music memories.

Earlier, I mentioned that White Lightning is my favorite track. That might be because it was the second track on the tape so I always heard it before being distracted by G.I. Joe or Billy Blastoff and returning to my room. I had no idea what White Lightning was about - a 4 or 5 year old preacher's kid has no frame of reference for moonshine. Heck, I thought Campbell was singing "Mmmm, I like it!" instead of "Mmmm, white lightning!"

This album was out-of-print for many, many years and that tape player is long gone. However, the album was remastered and released on CD in 2008. I found a copy a few years after it was released and bought it for my mother. I took it to her and we sat and listened to it together; she didn't share the same memories as I did but that was okay, it was time very well-spent. My mother passed away earlier this year and, without asking anyone, I recently grabbed this CD and brought it, along with its wonderful memories, back to my own collection.