Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully written and performed, an absolute treasure., April 19, 1999
I don't know what to even compare these songs to, they are that unlike anything else. This release contains both Albums; "A Tramp Shining" and "The Yard Went On Forever". For me the songs from "The Yard Went On Forever" are the best. These aren't just pop ballads, they are touching and poetic works of art.The mixing of the incredible lyrics of Jimmy Webb and the distinctive and emotion filled voice of Richard Harris and the lush and almost "Camelot" feel to the orchestration make for one of the most pleasurable listening experiences I've ever had. The "Yard Went On Forever" portion of this CD has long been unavailable, and it's great to have another lost treasure from the late 1960s return. "MacArthur Park" is but the tip of the iceberg in this set of songs. If you liked the experience of that song than you will love this CD set. It will become one of your favorites.
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Historic Webb /Harris Sessions Get A 2nd Hearing, April 29, 2005
It's shameful that both "A Tramp Shining" (1968) & "The Yard Went On Forever"(1969) have both been out of issue for so many years in America. "The Web Sessions 1968-69" contain the entire content of collaborations between arranger/composer Jimmy Webb and Irish born singer Richard Harris in the late sixties. Often critically maligned, the sessions deserve a second hearing. Both albums are complex and enigmatic musical statements that have never been fully appreciated, on their own terms, as musical acheivements.
A venerable reissue label in New Zealand, Raven Records, has remedied the situation by reissuing both albums on a single CD, at a very reasonable price. The title is the "Webb Sessions 1968-69" by Richard Harris. Both "A Tramp Shining and "The Yard Went On Forever" are presented in their exact sequence as the original vinyl issues.
"A Tramp Shining" (1968) became a surprise international best seller (#2 in the USA) on the strength of songs like; "MacArthur Park", "Lovers Such As I", "Didn't We", and the title track, "A Tramp Shining". With the exception of "MacArthur Park", all of the songs fall within the reach of conventional songwriting.
The unconventional structure and impressionistic lyrics of "MacArthur Park" were a precursor to the content of the second collaboration, "The Yard Went On Forever" which was recorded the following year.
I've always thought the second Webb/Harris collaboration "The Yard Went On Forever" was better of the two. It can be argued that Webb over-reached with his bold, experimental approach,and doomed the album to commercial failure. It certainly wasn't the kind of album that Webb's fans expected from him.
Many of the song structures are amorphous with abrupt changes in both tempo and melody. The lyrics are inscrutable and surreal. It seems Webb wrote the lyrics entirely for texture and effect, not meaningful content. I found myself liking "The Yard Went On Forever" for the exact same reasons that many people disliked it. It's allure is it's unconventional form and ambiguity of it's content. The songs defied the elegant lyricism of "By the Time I Get To Phoenix" or Witcha Lineman" which fans regarded as signature Webb compositions.
The songs of "The Yard Went On Forever" sound like the result of an encounter between the Billboard Top 40 and the psychedelic underground. The end result is an endearingly eccentric album that's a near perfect pastiche of the divergent paths of popular music in the late Sixties. The result did not please critics, or anyone else for that matter. The album was greeted with overwhelming apathy by all.
In hindsight, "The Yard Went On Forever" is one of those rare albums where the visionary ideas of the artist are at odds with his own talent to unerringly appeal to commercial sensibilities. It is a far nobler deed to champion a flawed masterpiece, rather that praise an mediocre album that is the fashionable statement of the moment. A single magnificent failure holds far more interest, than a dozen textbook successes. In that context, "The Yard Went On Forever" is one of the most interesting and unorthodox albums of its era.
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31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE STORY BEHIND THE WEBB SESSIONS!, May 30, 2002
The scene is Lake Tahoe and the year is 1968 and Richard Harris has put out an LP, the title is "AND THE YARD WENT ON FOREVER". The front cover had Harris sitting on a couch in a large yard, and a picture of Harris on the back with a red bandana and cowboy hat on... and the songs were Jimmy Webb's and all of us working in the casino's at the Lake, knew the story of how those mind bending haunting song's were written and why.Jimmy was head-over-heels in love with a chorus-line girl in Las Vegas. He dated her, wooed her, but she didnt respond to his heart-felt love. Jimmy was in agony and if you caught a glimpse of him in those days you could see it on his face. He had a broken heart when he found out that the love of his life was just plain not interested. You can hear and feel his agony in the album. The reference to the mother of his love,'she rode the couch as a coach an nine', refering to the watchful eyes of the mother when he went to visit. This is not an urban legend and I cannot remember just how far they went, but McCarther's Park would suggest they might have had wedding plans. I can still feel the deep meaningfulness of every song and I'm so happy to be reunited with the Webb Sessions. Jim faded out for a few years then came back to do some specials and score's for TV and Movies. I would rate this a 10 if they went that far...
ciao yaaah69
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~ Jimmy Webb
~ Jimmy Webb
~ Jimmy Webb
~ Richard Harris
by Michael Feeney Callan
by Richard Harris 
