Glen Campbell - Reunion: The Songs of Jimmy Webb CD

Reunion: The Songs of Jimmy Webb album for sale THE UNITED ARTISTS COLLECTION contains 49 tracks on 2 discs and captures all of the studio recordings Gordon Lightfoot made between 1964 and 1969. The booklet includes extensive liner notes and rare photographs. THE UNITED ARTISTS COLLECTION, which includes every original track from Canadian singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot's first four albums, will prove illuminating to those who only know Lightfoot from his biggest hits, most of which came a bit later. The Canuck troubadour's folk roots are more obvious on his early recordings; that's not to say that there's anything traditionally folkie here by any means, since the material resembles a more pop-minded version of fellow Canadians Ian & Sylvia. It becomes quickly apparent that Lightfoot was a gifted writer straight out of the gate; the ironic diffidence of "For Lovin' Me" and the mixture of classic and modern imagery on the heartrending signature song "Early Mornin' Rain" are just the tip of the iceberg in this respect. The working-class rabble-rouser "Boss Man" and the socially conscious "Black Day in July" stand to prove that Lightfoot was always about more than just love songs. While this is not a comprehensive collection (you'll have to look elsewhere for "Sundown," "If You Could Read My Mind," etc.), you couldn't ask for a better document of Lightfoot's formative period. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Personnel: Gordon Lightfoot (vocals, acoustic guitar); Charlie McCoy (guitar, harmonica, celesta, bells); Laurice Milton Shea, David Rae, Hugh McCracken, Red Shea, Bruce Langhorne (guitar); ...

Reunion: The Songs of Jimmy Webb buy CD music Digitally remastered by Bob Norberg & Rob Christie (Capitol Mastering). The most eclectic of Glen Campbell's late-1960s albums, and his first number one LP, 1968's WICHITA LINEMAN runs from the orchestral melodrama of the title track--the signature song of Glen Campbell's entire career, apart from perhaps "Rhinestone Cowboy"--and the follow-up hit "Dreams of the Everyday Housewife" to a wide variety of covers in some unexpected styles. These include excellent takes of Tim Hardin's "Reason to Believe" (possibly the best of the many covers of Hardin's definitive original), a Dean Martin-like middle-of-the-road version of Sonny Curtis's "The Straight Life," and Sonny Bono's divorce saga "You Better Sit Down Kids." More unexpectedly, Campbell also essays solid versions of Otis Redding's "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" and the Bee Gees' "Words," adding his own country-pop sound to the familiar originals with no damage. The album's most unusual track, however, is the spoken-word "Fate of Man," adapted from a poem by Campbell's late grandfather. Includes liner notes by Dan Davis. This is part of Capitol's Cornerstones series. Personnel: Glen Campbell (vocals, guitar). Audio Remasterer: Glenn Meadows. Liner Note Author: Dann Davis. Recording information: 12/04/1967-06/12/1968.

Reunion: The Songs of Jimmy Webb songs Digitally remastered by Bob Norberg & Rob Christie (Capitol Mastering). With its two Jimmy Webb-penned hits--the sweetly melodic title track and the slightly overwrought though lyrically obscure melodrama of "Where's the Playground Susie?"--one might expect GALVESTON to be, like GENTLE ON MY MIND before it, one of Glen Campbell's more pop-oriented albums. The fact is, however, that GALVESTON is the album on which Campbell once and for all swings firmly to the country side of country-pop, where he would stay--barring minor digressions like the country-disco fusion of 1977's "Southern Nights"--for the rest of his career. Producer/arranger Al de Lory and Campbell stick to the Nashville Sound even on tracks like the Spanish-guitar showcase "If This Is Love" (on which Campbell's often-underrated picking skills are flashily shown off) and the trad-folk "Today." Closing out Campbell's early period with some of his best songs, GALVESTON is also a forerunner to the sound Campbell would explore in the '70s. This is part of Capitol's Cornerstones series. Personnel: Glen Campbell (vocals, guitar). Arranger: Al DeLory.

Reunion: The Songs of Jimmy Webb CD music Raven's 2002 two-fer reissue of Glen Campbell's 1975 album Rhinestone Cowboy and 1976's Bloodline is given three bonus tracks and billed as "The Lambert & Potter Sessions 1975-1976," since these two albums were produced (and occasionally written) by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter and have a distinctive sound unlike many other records in Campbell's catalog. It's not a coincidence that Campbell began working with Lambert and Potter after reuniting with Jimmy Webb for the understated Reunion, since this is a logical step forward from Webb's symphonic, intricate compositions. Lambert and Potter weren't as quirky as songwriters or producers, but they had an excellent ear for songs and had grand concepts, helping Campbell build on the excellent Reunion, as well as songs like "Houston (I'm Coming to See You)," with these two grandly polished, sweeping records. Sonically and thematically, there's not much separating the two records; they work as companion pieces, almost like two halves of a double album, so they work perfectly as a two-fer. Simply put, these two records are the best Campbell released since the late '60s, when he was delivering records like Galveston and By the Time I Get to Phoenix, because they work like those albums -- they're commercial and catchy, but there is real emotion in their opulent arrangements, along with consistently strong songwriting that makes this music easily enjoyable and quietly moving. And also essential to any country-pop library. [In addition to the two proper albums, this two-fer contains three bonus tracks, two of which are not Lambert/Potter tracks. Of those, "Houston (I'm Comin' to See You)" is clearly a template for their productions, and if "Bonaparte's Retreat" doesn't quite fit sonically, it's still fun. Then, there's the one song they did produce, "Record Collector's Dream." It is the greatest song Nick Lowe never wrote, a surging, tongue-in-cheek ode to collecting singles that was tucked away on a B-side until its glorious appearance here -- it's the icing on the cake for this great two-fer.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine Two-fer reissue of his 1975 & 1976 albums (plus three bonus tracks). Bloodlines appears for the first time on CD. A total of 23 tracks, over 77 minutes of music, deluxe booklet, period photos & detailed liner notes. 2 LPs on 1 CD: RHINESTONE COWBOY(1975)/BLOODLINE (1975).

Reunion: The Songs of Jimmy Webb buy CD music Digitally remastered by Bob Norberg & Rob Christie (Capitol Mastering). Contrary to popular belief, 1967's BY THE TIME I GET TO PHOENIX was not Glen Campbell's first album for Capitol Records; he had released several other albums and singles for the label since 1964, including the lost Brian Wilson treasure "Guess I'm Dumb" in 1966. This album, however, was both his commercial breakthrough and represents the first fruits of his collaboration with Jimmy Webb, the songwriter who would go on to pen most of Campbell's biggest hits. The title track is the only Webb composition on the record, but the other 10 tracks are equally fine, particularly an excellent, emotional cover of Paul Simon's "Homeward Bound" and a heavily orchestrated but vocally sly take on the Jerry Reed hit "You're Young and You'll Forget." Finally, although Campbell is rightly praised mostly as an interpretive singer, two of the album's finest songs, "Back in the Race" and the placid closer "Love Is A Lonesome River," are Campbell originals, the latter co-written by another member of the Beach Boys' inner circle, Roger Christian. This is part of Capitol's Cornerstones series. Personnel: Glen Campbell (vocals, guitar). Audio Remasterer: Glenn Meadows. Arrangers: Jimmie Haskell; Al DeLory; Leon Russell; Mort Garson.

Reunion: The Songs of Jimmy Webb songs For a few years in the late 1960s and early '70s, the names Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb were almost synonymous with high-quality pop hits. This best-of gathers Campbell's definitive versions of Webb's "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman," and "Galveston," as well as the sentimental breakup song "Honey Come Back" and the less well-known, enigmatic "Where's the Playground Suzie?" An extensive variety of later recordings, like the '80s ballad "Still Within the Sound of My Voice," demonstrate that Campbell was as definitive an interpreter of Webb's material as Dionne Warwick was of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's. For the Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb aficionado, and fans of great pop song writing in general, Raven presents the ideal showcase of this legendary singer/songwriter partnership. These 24 tracks, recorded between 1967 and 1992, are masterful examples of the craft of song writing at its most unique and enticing. During the late 1960s, the names of Campbell, the distinctive voiced singer, and Webb, the brilliant young songwriter (who had already written hits for Richard Harris and the 5th Dimension), were often spoken in the same breath. Webb provided Campbell with such classics as By the Time I Get to Phoenix, Wichita Lineman, Galveston and Honey Come Back, all significant hits around the world. The collaboration continued across the albums Reunion, Bloodline, Southern Nights, Highwayman and Still within the Sound of My Voice, all represented here by superb tracks such as The Moon's a Harsh Mistress, Highwayman, Lightning in a Bottle and Light Years.