Tunesmith: Songs of Jimmy Webb

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 10, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Raven [Australia]
• ASIN: B0000DIJPE
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,848 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Love Years Coming - Strawberry Children

2. I Keep On Keeping On - The Contessas

3. Worst That Could Happen - Brooklyn Bridge

4. How Sweet It Is - The Picardy Singers

5. Up, Up And Away - 5th Dimension

6. The Girl's Song - Jackie DeShannon

7. Tunesmith - Vicki Carr

8. Requiem:820 Latham - The Executives

9. Magic Garden - Dusty Springfield

10. Galveston - Glen Campbell

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. P.F. Sloan - The Association

2. Wichita Lineman/By The Time I Get To Phoenix - King Harvest

3. All My Love's Laughter - Jennifer Warnes

4. The Moon's A Harsh Mistress - Judy Collins

5. Parenthesis - Kerry Biddell

6. The Name Of My Sorrow - Mark Lindsay

7. The Old Man At The Fair - Mark Lindsay

8. Met Her On A Plane - Ian Matthews

9. All I Know - Art Garfunkel

10. 5:30 Plane - The Supremes

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

A lavish tribute to the master songwriter. 47 tracks, over 150 minutes, including both legendary hits, elusive rarities, soundtrack songs, & material previously unavailable on CD. Artists include Richard Harris, Judy Collins, Linda Ronstadt, Everything But The Girl, Kenny Loggins, & many more. Raven. 2003.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting Jimmy Webb collection, but not a great one, December 5, 2003

By 

David Pearlman "sound fanatic" (Arlington, MA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tunesmith: Songs of Jimmy Webb (Audio CD)

Jimmy Webb is one of the greatest popular composers and arrangers of the rock era, no question. The list of brilliant songs that carry his name is tremendous: The Moon's A Harsh Mistress, Witchita Lineman, MacArthur Park, Galveston, Worst That Could Happen, All I Know, for starters. And those are just some of the best known hits. He's written a LOT more that are every bit as good, if less well known.

I was intrigued by this collection because it does NOT feature the expected tracklist. While some of the best known hits are here in their hit versions (Up UP and Away, MacArthur Park, Galveston, Worst That Could Happen), a good many others are represented by obscure and/or rare versions. Unfortunately, in the end, a lot of these obscure versions turn out to be deservedly obscure.

That said, it's almost worth the price of the entire collection to have the rare Strawberry Children (written, arranged and sung by Jimmy Webb) 45 "Love Coming Down" on CD. Surely it's worth hearing some of the other excellent covers, such as Jackie DeShannon's "The Girls Song", Dusty Springfield's "Magic Garden", Scott Walker's "If Ships Were Made to Sail" and Ian Matthews' "Met Her On a Plane". And even some of the odder tracks are worth hearing (Lowell George's "Himmlers Ring" and Onie J. Holy's "Lost Generation").

But does anyone really want to hear The Association's hideous take on "P.F. Sloan"? Other songs are here in inferior versions, such as Art Garfunkel's "All I Know" (a later remake, not the original hit) and the live version of "Everyone Gets to Go to the Moon" by the Three Degrees.

Ultimately, a lot of good Webb songs are missing here entirely, while others are not represented by the best performer. (Truth be told, the definitive versions of a lot of the songs here were sung by Webb himself on a series of excellent but little heard solo albums; perhaps the best examples of this are Webb's versions of "Galveston", "Where Does Brown Begin" and "Highwayman"). A true best-of Jimmy Webb would surely have to include a good portion of the many Glen Campbell covers, as well as nearly all of Art Garfunkel's Watermark album.

But any Jimmy Webb is better than none at all. And even if this isn't my dream Webb collection, at least it's an attempt at something interesting, with some unusual and seldom heard tracks.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not intendended to be definitive, January 1, 2004

By 

Robert J. Conway "bob conway" (Illinois USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tunesmith: Songs of Jimmy Webb (Audio CD)

Not intendended to be a definitive document, this 2-CD sampler offers an intriguing pop overview of the tunes of a true musical master. This overview represents but a portion of the pop history of tunesmith Jim Webb. Think of a map with the big cities represented by bold stars, smaller cities by smaller stars, towns by dots, on down to locations too minor to even note. This 2-CD map offered to us by Australia's Raven Records provides a sampling of the big stars on down to names too obscure to even note on most maps. Hence, what we are given is a document that shows the impact that Jim Webb has on the pop music culture beginning in the latter sixties. Everyone it seems attempted to pay tribute to Webb, from the mega stars on down to the minor artists of the day. Some succeeded and some, inexplicibly in a number of cases, did not. Pop, rock, and R&B artists all tried their hand at recording Webb. Vocalists with trained voices, pop-hipsters with passable voices, vocal groups, country singers, folk troubadors, soul icons...this remarkable set is like turning on AM radio in the sixties when we heard a variety of musical styles--and got a chance to appreciate all types of music.
Yes, if you believe only Jim Webb can interpret Jim Webb, then stick with the artist's library of fine CDs. If you are open to interpretation of the work of Webb, then don't miss out on the many excellent CDs devoted exclusively to Jim Webb ny artists such as Michael Feinstein, Fifth Dimension, Thelma Houston, etc. plus the sampler CDs with Webb tunes interpreted by artists as diverse as Buddy Greco, Joe Cocker, and Rex Harrison. Hey, can't listening can also be a fun experience?
Lastly, all of you SERIOUS Jim Webb collectors out there, please note that sometime in 2004 Rhino will release a boxed set by Jim Webb.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One for the Road, October 16, 2004

By 

Lee Armstrong (Winterville, NC United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tunesmith: Songs of Jimmy Webb (Audio CD)

Jimmy Webb's "Tunesmith" is an excellent collection. With long drives to Pennsylvania & Kentucky, I found myself putting "Tunesmith" in the car and having the best time listening to it for many miles on the road. For those of us who love Jimmy Webb as a singer, nothing replaces listening to the master in his own voice. However, this collection by the Australian Raven label is exceptional and well worth seeking out stateside. Any collection of Webb's music will have omissions since he is one of the most recorded songwriters of the last century.

"Love Years Coming" kicks things off with Jimmy singing lead in a band called Strawberry Children. This is a true collector's piece, one I'd never heard before. Some of the gems are lesser-known work like "I Keep On Keeping On" by the Contessas, an r&b girl group. The Picardy Singers are a tight-knit pop harmony band sounding like they could be cousins of the Mamas & the Papas singing in dated 60s vibe on "How Sweet It Is." If you had asked me to list my favorite artists, Vicki Carr probably wouldn't be on the list; however, here she sings the title tune of this set and does a great job. Scott Walker may be better known down under, but he does a journeyman's job on two of Jimmy's most beautiful and thoughtful songs, "If Ships Were Made to Sail" and "Where Does Brown Begin?" Paul Revere & the Raiders rock out on Webb's "Songseller," cleaning up the lyric from Jimmy's use of the "f" word in his "Words & Music" version. Junior Walker & the All Stars cut a nice soulful groove on "Honey Come Back," "I just can't stand these lonely days." Jennifer Warnes sang a version of "All My Loves Laughter" that was one of my favorite tracks before Jimmy Webb was on my radar screen; its inclusion here makes this collection perfectly exquisite! Neither the song "Parenthesis" nor the singer Kerry Biddell were familiar, but this is a classic Webb construction, slightly off-kilter but perfectly fitting into place. This is one I'd love to hear Webb unearth and record. The Three Degrees do a wacky version of "Everybody Gets to Go to the Moon" that from the live chatter sounds like it must have been included in the film "The French Connection." It pops. Onie J. Holy is another obscure name for me, a male soul singer who belts out a version of a song that was also unfamiliar to me, "Lost Generation."

Some will enjoy this set for the more obvious choices. Yes, the 5th Dimension sound as crisp on "Up, Up & Away." Richard Harris' "MacArthur Park" still has the cake out in the rain. The package has a charm betraying its Australian roots as Judy Collins' picture is listed as belonging to Australian actress Judy Davis --an honest mistake! "Tunesmith" is a great set because it makes available a wide variety of songs and artists who have participated in the Jimmy Webb legacy. The sound is technically crisp. Hearing R.E.M. do "Wichita Lineman" is a great treat as is Kenny Loggins' version of "The Last Unicorn" that is somewhat hard to find. This collection gets five stars for its breadth and depth. Seek it out! Enjoy!