Customer Reviews

Wichita Lineman

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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".

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.

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!

Glen Campbell's album "Wichita Lineman" is outstanding! I love these songs and Glen sings passionately at his usual very best. Glen Campbell possesses a rare genius I rarely hear or enjoy; he can sing just about anything without ever skipping a beat and his excellent diction enhances his performance all the more. In addition, the quality of the sound on this CD is excellent.

The title track opens the CD and Glen never sounded better! The strings are used to great advantage; and the guitars work to make the number come off even better. But apart from the music, Glen's singing comes straight from the heart and that's just so rare I won't forget it anytime soon. "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" is also very well done; Glen Campbell makes this his own by making subtle key and tempo changes and it all holds its own very well. The music that accompanies Glen fits in perfectly with his singing and that's grand.

"If You Go Away" has Glen squarely in the spotlight--which is right where he belongs! This poignant number shines brighter than silver and gold in Glen's capable hands; and there's yet another gem in "Ann." "Ann" has a distinctly upbeat flavor as Glen bats this tune straight out of the ballpark! "Words" has a lush musical arrangement and Glen never lets go of a superfluous note; while "Fate of Man" has Glen speaking some lyrics to make this number very special.

"Dreams of the Everyday Housewife" is another poignant number with some rather interesting key modulations; but again it all works wonders for the ballad. Glen delivers this with panache and it's a very good number. "The Straight Life" is easy on the ear; and "Reason to Believe" gets a fine treatment from Glen Campbell who sings this to perfection--and beyond! "Reason to Believe" is one of my favorite songs on this CD.

Glen does a great rendition of "You Better Sit Down Kids;" and the album ends with him performing "That's Not Home." "That's Not Home" is flawlessly done and it leaves me wanting more!

This, of course, is a must-have for Glen Campbell fans; it also makes an excellent starter CD for anyone just discovering Glen's incredible artistry. "Wichita Lineman" is an album that stuns me with its magnificent songs performed superbly as only Glen Campbell could do them; this CD is easily one of my personal favorites!

One of Glen Campbell's first and best records. Excellent version of "Wichita Lineman", the Bee Gee's "Words" are stand-outs here.

This is one of the best albums Glen Campbell ever made. Many of the songs on it are my favorites,Witchita Lineman,Fate of man is a beutiful song as is Dreams of the everyday house wife. A great album all the way around

I listened to this on LP when I was a kid...I knew all the words and learned to sing "high" by singing with Glen. He is still just an awesome performer, and it's so good to know that this is here for us "old folks" to buy and share with our children to show them what REAL music is!

Glen Campbell / Wichita Lineman (1968):

While Glen repeats the formula (using various songs from various songwriters from various genres) that was so successful with the "Gentle..." and "...Phoenix" albums, the result this time is not as glorious as before, but it does produce several hits and is a very entertaining album.

Classic Glen Campbell. Most of these songs were hits for him and it was a great trip down memory lane.

I got this for my parents, but really enjoyed listening to it at their home. Takes me back to my childhood, when Mom & Dad had the record.