Wichita Lineman [Original recording remastered]

Glen Campbell | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 9, 2001)
• Original Release Date: 1968
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: EMI Special Products
• ASIN: B00005Q3A2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,768 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #46 in Music > Country > Classic Country > Nashville Sound

Editorial Reviews

This album stayed #1 on the 1968 charts for five weeks! Includes the hit title cut plus Dreams of the Everyday Housewife .

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A few hits, a few overlooked gems and a little filler., August 22, 2004

By 

David Kenner (Fort Worth, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wichita Lineman (Audio CD)

Glen Campbell is definitely a singles artist. He's released dozens of classic singles and works best within the frame of a three minute pop/country composition. Although he won a Grammy for album of the year for 1967's "By The Time I Get To Phoenix", his LPs are usually not worthy of such an honor. A Glen Campbell LP from the 60s and 70s usually consisted of a current hit single, a recent hit single, maybe one yet to be, several covers, and a couple of lesser known tracks. The result was always enjoyable, but rarely cohesive. "Wichita Lineman" is one of his best-remembered albums for several reasons. Being his only Billboard #1 pop LP, it presents Campbell at the zenith of his initial 60s superstardom. It was during this album's chart run that he became a household name and it features two of his most memorable hit singles: "Dreams Of The Everyday Housewife" and the smash title track, which along with "Gentle On My Mind" and "Rhinestone Cowboy", has become one of his signature tunes. Glen's plaintive vocal of the song's haunting lyrics (by Jimmy Webb) coupled with Al DeLory's string arrangement and the ultra cool bass-guitar solo break combined to make this a much revered classic among classics. The line "...and I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time" is one of the all-time great romantic lyrics.
After the hits come the covers. The ones that work best are takes on Sonny Curtis' "The Straight Life", Tim Hardin's "Reason To Believe", and a definitive version of Jacques Brel and Rod McKuen's "If You Go Away". The latter is one of Glen's all-time greatest vocal performances and this track is certainly an overlooked gem. He also does convincing covers of Otis Redding's "Dock Of The Bay", Billy Ed Wheeler's "Ann", and the Bee Gees' "Words". Less successful is his rendition of Sonny Bono's "You Better Sit Down Kids". That leaves two tracks. "That's Not Home" is a sad tale of broken romance reminiscent of "By The Time I Get To Phoenix". It's written by Billy Graham (I'm assuming not the evangelist) and is another great vocal performance. The last track is an original spoken word piece that Campbell based on a poem written by his grandfather, "The Fate Of Man".
If you already own a comprehensive hits collection by Glen Campbell you may want to consider adding this disc to your collection as well. It's well worth the price just to have "If You Go Away".

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Glen at his best, August 20, 2005

By 

Jerald E. Mills "Jerry Mills" (Santee, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wichita Lineman (Audio CD)

This was probably Glen Campbell's best album effort and marks the height of his superstardom. It contained two huge crossover hits, "Wichita Lineman" and "Dreams of the Everyday Housewife". Many of Glen's other albums also contained a couple of hits, but sometimes fell short in filling out the rest of the disc. Not so here. Glen does excellent covers of "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay", "Words", "Reason to Believe", and "You'd Better Sit Down Kids". Add to that delightful versions of "Ann", "The Straight Life", and, perhaps Glen's most underrated performance, "If You Go Away". Glen adds in the self-penned "Fate of Man" and wraps up the album with the mournful "That's Not Home". The cuts have the flavor of pop, rock, and country all woven together in a masterful collection. If were to buy one Glen Campbell album, this would be it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A GREAT AND WARM ALBUM!, October 12, 2002

By 

L rodolfo molina B (GUATEMALA, GUATEMALA Guatemala) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wichita Lineman (Audio CD)

The great album that went double platinum, is still as moving today as it was more than two decades ago. If you think that Campbell is old fashion, true feelings is what youll hear.
This one of the great albums. BUY IT!