― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Saturday, 26 November 2005 00:29 (eighteen years ago) link
― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Saturday, 26 November 2005 06:39 (eighteen years ago) link
― A Study In Redd Scharlach (Ken L), Monday, 19 June 2006 17:19 (seventeen years ago) link
― musically (musically), Monday, 19 June 2006 19:46 (seventeen years ago) link
Pretty sure it's him -- Jimmy liked to go by "Jim" for a bit in the 70's, and that's his scene.
― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Tuesday, 20 June 2006 01:00 (seventeen years ago) link
― Cunga, Friday, 23 February 2007 05:53 (seventeen years ago) link
― henry s, Friday, 23 February 2007 21:56 (seventeen years ago) link
― accentmonkey, Saturday, 24 February 2007 11:06 (seventeen years ago) link
― t**t, Saturday, 24 February 2007 12:59 (seventeen years ago) link
― t**t, Sunday, 25 February 2007 15:03 (seventeen years ago) link
that glen campbell youtube of him doing wichita lineman in '07 (?) is great. nice guitar solo by glen. although, i hate to say this but... did glen have a stroke? his voice has that oddly clenched quality you sometimes hear in the speech of people who have suffered from strokes.
the comments (all 300+ of them!) on that youtube are funny. though, i must say, nostalgia is a fucking disease. dig:
I am 40-year-old mother of 4 and I was raised on this beautiful music...memories of how it used to be. Such a good simple time..no cell phones, no ipods, no remote controls, no cable...only HeeHaw on Saturday evenings and my dad cooking dinner. Wish my kids could go back in time and experience this wonderful time.
ah yes, the "simple" times of the mid-1970s....
― figuratively, but in a very real way (amateurist), Sunday, 3 January 2010 06:06 (fourteen years ago) link
S. Macarthur Park by Donna summer, Tony Christie, Four tops, Vic damone, Waylon Jennings, Grimethorpe colliery band. Wicheta Lineman, By the time I get to Phoenix, Galveston, Up, up and away. Both fifth dimension albums (esp paper cup, carpet man but most of the others too) , If you see me getting smaller I'm leaving, both Richard Harris albums (the yard went on forever and the aforementioned Macarthur park), loads of other great Glen Campbell stuff (check out the two early 70's albums for some hidden gems) Quite a few of his solo albums right up until the mid/late 70's have songs of real merit. Loads of other great stuff...Sinatra did some great versions of his songs, as did fellow genius Neil Sedaka. Glen Gregory does a pretty good version of Wichita lineman, as do, bizarely, the Kings singers, also, David Snell from his album, Harp transplant and Johnny Harris from his album, Movements although both are very hard to find. John Denvers version of By the time I get to Phoenix is better than you'd think, Isaak Hayes version is barely recognisable but superb and Kurt Edelhagen's version is odd but haunting and actually changes the song radically while still keeping its essence. D. Very little really...some of the 80's stuff is a bit iffie and the general rule of thumb is to avoid anything by artists you already hate. The Mantovani version of Macarthur park is grim, as is the Nina version of Phoenix from her golden hour album.
I've got over 300 different versions of Jimmy Webb tracks on all formats so I guess you could call me a fan!
He's a genius...simple as that. If pop is slowly eating itself, Jimmy Webb (or the best part of him) remains at the back of the freezer, yet to be discovered and devoured...
― Kris England, Thursday, 5 May 2005 19:35 (4 years ago) Permalink
This was me years ago and I still love Jimmy Webb.
12 Easy Pieces is great and the Jools Holland live performances which are on Youtube are well worth a watch. So fragile, it seems the songs are going to collapse completely at any time but they never do.
― The Broken Brothers, Sunday, 3 January 2010 12:29 (fourteen years ago) link
Xpost. I meant 10 easy pieces.
― The Broken Brothers, Sunday, 3 January 2010 12:30 (fourteen years ago) link
"If These Walls Could Speak" as done by Amy Grant on her Lead Me On album is one of my favorite songs ever.
― Herodcare for the Unborn (J0hn D.), Sunday, 3 January 2010 13:22 (fourteen years ago) link
I am the hugest JW fan but let's just all be honest with ourselves and admit that MacArthur Park is a pile of shit and this is what people think of when they think of Jimmy Webb which is really sad. Did Richard Harris record anything worth listening to?
― US EEL (u s steel), Sunday, 3 January 2010 18:15 (fourteen years ago) link
This might be a good time to remind people that all of the 5th Dimensions albums are available on mp3 whereas in the CD era they were hard to find!! Now there is no excuse for not having albums like "The Magic Garden"!
MacArthur Park still sucks. Stop pretending you like it.
― US EEL (u s steel), Sunday, 3 January 2010 18:19 (fourteen years ago) link
I'd recommend his book Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting.
― The Hood Won't Jump (Eazy), Sunday, 3 January 2010 18:33 (fourteen years ago) link
http://tnjr60204230231.widec.jpg
let's talk about this jimmy instead!
― iago g., Sunday, 3 January 2010 18:45 (fourteen years ago) link
damn. little jimmy dickens but my picture didn't show up
― iago g., Sunday, 3 January 2010 18:46 (fourteen years ago) link
sort of agree re. macarthur park.
― figuratively, but in a very real way (amateurist), Sunday, 3 January 2010 20:06 (fourteen years ago) link
"sort of"?? I listened to that thing over and over again and I am convinced it has no redeeming value. It is truly awful. I don't even think you can convince me that parts of it have merit. Especially the Richard Harris record, it is one record I am sorry I have. It doesn't even have comedic value. I wonder if anyone can defend it.
― US EEL (u s steel), Sunday, 3 January 2010 20:32 (fourteen years ago) link
re: Harris, and worthiness - "The Hive" is awesome.
― Simon H., Sunday, 3 January 2010 20:41 (fourteen years ago) link
Whatever happened to Zumpano?
― US EEL (u s steel), Sunday, 3 January 2010 20:45 (fourteen years ago) link
is jody beth rosen still around? i bet she would defend it.
― figuratively, but in a very real way (amateurist), Sunday, 3 January 2010 23:52 (fourteen years ago) link
xp
the association was offered macarthur park before any other act, but they turned it down. too bad, probably could have come up with something a lot more exciting than r. harris
― velko, Monday, 4 January 2010 00:12 (fourteen years ago) link
Is there a Jimmy Webb boxset? There should be.
― Mr. Snrub, Monday, 4 January 2010 02:25 (fourteen years ago) link
Rhino Handmade had one in a limied edition (as they do), but I just went to their web site (ha ha) and it looks as if it's long gone....
― mottdeterre, Monday, 4 January 2010 18:34 (fourteen years ago) link
yup, i managed to download that sucker, though.
― figuratively, but in a very real way (amateurist), Tuesday, 19 January 2010 00:59 (fourteen years ago) link
what do people think of his solo records anyway?
i must say his voice is an acquired taste i haven't fully acquired.
― figuratively, but in a very real way (amateurist), Tuesday, 19 January 2010 01:13 (fourteen years ago) link
!!
― figuratively, but in a very real way (amateurist), Wednesday, 20 January 2010 19:12 (fourteen years ago) link
Hang in there, and (if you're like me) you'll start to appreciate the records for the flawed gems that they are. His limited vocal range actually becomes one of his greater assets.
― henry s, Wednesday, 20 January 2010 19:46 (fourteen years ago) link
the comments (all 300+ of them!) on that youtube are funny. though, i must say, nostalgia is a fucking disease.
Youtube comment boxes in general are absolutely filled with the worst excesses of nostalgia. People could be talking about Shed fucking Seven and still it will be all, "Music just isn't the same anymore...This was back when moral certainties still existed etc etc..."
― Freedom, Wednesday, 20 January 2010 20:17 (fourteen years ago) link
hey, his first proper solo LP (words and music) is kind of super-awesome. his voice really needs to grow on you, and i still recognize that it's not a great instrument. but man do those songs stick the fuck in your head.
― figuratively, but in a very real way (amateurist), Tuesday, 2 February 2010 03:39 (fourteen years ago) link
from the amy grant thread:
she has a gorgeous reading of jim webb's "if these walls could speak."that song is indestructible. i can imagine a version erring on the side of the gloppy, but even glen campbell's late-'80s version is pretty solid. why hasn't more been written about this phenomenal song? why haven't more covered it?
that song is indestructible. i can imagine a version erring on the side of the gloppy, but even glen campbell's late-'80s version is pretty solid. why hasn't more been written about this phenomenal song? why haven't more covered it?
― by another name (amateurist), Monday, 8 March 2010 06:12 (fourteen years ago) link
When I think of how "music isn't the same as it used to be" I don't think of Jimmy "Weirdo" Webb.
― Earth Dye (u s steel), Monday, 8 March 2010 13:14 (fourteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2eKB_fZryY
skip first 2:00, boring schmaltzy intro
weird that she twists this song into some stuff about J.C. i think jim webb is actually an athiest. go figure.
― by another name (amateurist), Monday, 8 March 2010 19:06 (fourteen years ago) link
seriously that's a fucking beautiful song
can i get a witness?
― by another name (amateurist), Monday, 8 March 2010 22:30 (fourteen years ago) link
I tell ya, Roberta Flack's version of Do What You Gotta Do is solid gold genius.
― Officer Pupp, Tuesday, 9 March 2010 13:07 (fourteen years ago) link
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/18/arts/music/18webb.html?ref=arts
Talking about his new album and his life
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 18 July 2010 16:13 (thirteen years ago) link
i don't know how many folks on ilm know me anymore, but if you do, you know that i won't steer you wrong when it comes to musical recommendations. and HOLY SHIT that webb 1970s solo stuff is amazing. just amazing. seriously. in sort-of ranked order:
1. words and music2. land's end3. letters4. and so: on5. el mirage
but seriously they are all masterpieces.
hell, i've even learned to like 'suspending disbelief.' but what you really want are the ones listed above. holy shit.
― by another name (amateurist), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 09:46 (thirteen years ago) link
JW is coming to Cambridge next month - any idea whether he's worth catching live these days?
― Tarzan Bot (seandalai), Thursday, 6 January 2011 01:30 (thirteen years ago) link
Amateurist, tell me what you think of the solo records. I LOVE Webb and think Ten Easy Pieces is brilliant -- but his voice was very different in the 70s, and I actually found myself struggling a bit with the Archive compilation. "Piano" was the only song on it that gave me an "aha!" moment -- the rest was...hard to digest.
Tell me more...
― Naive Teen Idol, Monday, 7 February 2011 04:32 (thirteen years ago) link
I just picked up And So: On last week. It's the first of his solo records I've heard. It's incredible. So many great songs, plus some very nice backing vocals from his sister Susan Webb, and some pretty brilliant arrangements (the instrumental section at the end of "Laspitch" stopped me dead in my tracks the first time I heard it). Looking forward to delving further into the solo catalog!
― cwkiii, Thursday, 2 June 2011 23:36 (twelve years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NatwX3N5f6Q
God this arrangement just kills me every time. Glen Campbell's overproduced version never sat right with me, but this solo Webb version from Five Easy Pieces stirs at my soul. the whole album does really.
― they're lookin' like shits with instruments (Neanderthal), Tuesday, 14 June 2011 01:48 (twelve years ago) link
Both versions of Galveston are beautiful to me -- but Jimmy's accompaniment on his own version is almost like some Schubert lied.
― Naive Teen Idol, Tuesday, 14 June 2011 04:02 (twelve years ago) link
NY Times review of him live(I'm not a big fan of Stephen Holden reviews but this isn't bad). In my neck of the woods he's going to be doing a show with Raul Malo
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/05/arts/music/jimmy-webb-at-feinsteins-at-loews-regency-review.html?ref=music
Jimmy Webb may have been performing his greatest hits for decades, but you could never call his show at Feinstein’s at Loews Regency on Wednesday evening an example of phoning it in. A more accurate description of his treatment of “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Wichita Lineman,” “MacArthur Park” and “All I Know” would be impassioned deconstruction. There were many moments when Mr. Webb, who turns 65 on Aug. 15, suggested the singer-songwriter equivalent of a famished wolf howling in the wilderness. Instead of embracing the niceties of a polished pop crooner, he eviscerated his own songs, laying out their raw emotions — mostly a young man’s desperate romanticism — with such intensity that I wondered how anyone could feel so much.
His pianism floridly illustrated the songs. “But she’ll just hear that phone keep on ringing,” was embellished with telephonic piano frills. The unwavering devotion to his sweetheart (or is it to God?) of the protagonist of “Wichita Lineman” was asserted in his insistent repetition of the words, “the Wichita lineman is still on the line” strung out for what seemed like minutes as he tapped out a signal that he joked was Morse code for “Send me beer.”
“MacArthur Park” got the full operatic treatment, in which the psychedelic imagery of “the cake out in the rain” that nowadays singers often omit, was restored. You were in the heart of the storm, watching all that “sweet green icing flowing down.”
Interspersing the songs were Mr. Webb’s hilariously salty yarns about his experiences as a pop Wunderkind in his late teens and early 20s, hanging out with Frank Sinatra, Richard Harris and Glen Campbell. A riveting storyteller in the cowboy campfire tradition, he is someone you could listen to for hours.
Mr. Webb confessed that he is still stung by the perception of him in the 1960s as being on the wrong side of the cultural divide when the lyrics of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen were obsessively parsed for deeper meanings while his were not.
Listen to his song, “Highwayman,” an ’80s pop-country hit for the super-quartet of Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash. This first-person monologue of a soul incarnated as a highwayman, sailor, construction worker, ship captain and ultimately “a single drop of rain” is as deep as it gets.
― curmudgeon, Friday, 5 August 2011 12:40 (twelve years ago) link
jimmy webb is brilliant but this sentence encapsulates why his stage banter is kind of insufferable. the way he intellectualizes his own music is just so... prosaic.
― by another name (amateurist), Friday, 5 August 2011 16:12 (twelve years ago) link
Sounds like he's better off just telling old stories between songs:
― curmudgeon, Friday, 5 August 2011 16:33 (twelve years ago) link
I have to admit some of the stuff I’ve read about Jimmy’s personal life is pretty disturbing. I saw a few years ago that Sally Field discussed how he forced himself on her when she was passed out one time. But I just discovered that his first wife was a cover girl he met when she was 12 and married her where she was 16 or 17 and pregnant. And despite being married for 22 years he didn’t mention her in his memoir. Yes it was the 60s and 70s and kill yr idols and all but this all bums me out.
― Naive Teen Idol, Sunday, 16 October 2022 13:55 (one year ago) link
Yes, I knew there was something a bit weird about his marriage but I couldn't remember what it was. A stalker-ish obsession with an ex-girlfriend seems to be present in a lot of his 60s songs.
― Fronted by a bearded Phil Collins (Tom D.), Sunday, 16 October 2022 14:12 (one year ago) link
I did a high school student exchange with one of his kids. He was never around and I never met him but I visibly remember the dark cloud that passed over people’s faces when his name was mentioned.
I love this cover:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81pP7zCMgI8
― Chuck_Tatum, Sunday, 16 October 2022 19:46 (one year ago) link
Wait, so you are saying you stayed in his kid’s room? In the house of his ex-wife?
― We Have Never Been Secondary Modern (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 16 October 2022 19:57 (one year ago) link
Ooooh, had never read about his dark cloud personal life aspects before
― curmudgeon, Monday, 17 October 2022 12:00 (one year ago) link
xpost I guess so? I wasn’t aware he had a famous dad at the time but put it together later
― Chuck_Tatum, Monday, 17 October 2022 12:11 (one year ago) link
Def changes that Gaughin tribute on that 10's album of his for me.
― Daniel_Rf, Monday, 17 October 2022 13:16 (one year ago) link