Customer Reviews

Tunesmith: Songs of Jimmy Webb

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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.

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.

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!

It is surely a testament to the strength and breadth of Mr. Webb's body of work that these reviews are so similar: "Interesting overview; quirky, uneven track selection; etc. Some real gems. But Ohmygod! How could you leave out such and such? If I were compiling a Jimmy Webb CD..."

Well, about two years ago (thanks to the wonders of CD-Rs and Kazaa, and my own CD collection) I DID compile for myself a Jimmy Webb CD. If this is your introduction to Mr. Webb, it is an OK beginning. Buy it. But also look into the suggestions made in the other reviews. (Maybe the Raven Records people had trouble getting the rights to some of these. Maybe buying this CD will give me some cover with the RIAA :-)

Here's my "Ohmygod!" list.
- Mark Lindsay's "First Hymn From Grand Terrace" (and Richard Harris' "Hymns From..." for that matter. "When It Was Done", included here, is AKA the 2nd Hymn.)
- Any of the versions of "If These Walls Could Speak"; Nancy Griffith, Glen Campbell, my favorite is Amy Grant's version.
- Matt Monroe's "Didn't We" instead of the one here.
- Brooklyn Bridge's "Requiem" instead.
- Brooklyn Bridge's or 5th Dimension's "Which Way to Nowhere"
- Johnny Rivers' "Do What you Gotta Do" (I've managed to find versions of this by Cher, Roberta Flack, Sammy Davis, Nina Simone, Ronstadt, Clarance Carter. What a song!)
- Ronstadt's or the Vogues' "I Keep It Hid"
- Ronstadt's or Glen Cambell's "Still within the Sound of My Voice"
- A bunch of Art Garfunkel; "Someone Else" "Shine It On Me" "Saturday Suit" "Crying in My Sleep" "Another Lullaby" "All My Love's Laughter"
- Leah Kunkel's "Never Gonna Lose My Dream Of Love Again" and "Let's Begin"

And that doesn't even touch Mr. Webb's own versions (particularly his "P.F. Sloan". As good as the
Association's is bad.)

How does one critique a latter day musical genious? His music transcends the decades from the sexually liberating '60's to the politically pithy 2000's. "How Sweet It Is!" is pure Picardy Singers gorgeousoity!

Everybody's going to the Moon was sung in The French Connection buy the 3 Degrees and is very tough to find. Rest of the CD stinks

Ever since his first songs I was hooked on Jimmy's words. Now that he tours more I actually travel to see his shows and guess what-HE remembers me.
In this compulation you get some of his hits and some of his hidden treasures. You also get a super wide delivery of lyrics os the master.
I have to admit some preformances are close to awful but the lyrics save the day.