Jimmy Webb: Five Best Albums

Jimmy Webb enjoyed a sterling career as a songwriter in the 1960s – his website bills him as “America’s Songwriter”, and it’s not an unreasonable title given his rich catalogue of hits like ‘Wichita Lineman’ and ‘By The Time I Get To Phoenix’.

After writing for Glen Campbell, Richard Harris, and The 5th Dimension, he launched a solo career in 1970. But unlike contemporaries Carole King and Isaac Hayes, who made the transition from songwriter to solo star, he was always a fringe figure. His thin, wheezy voice, and his use of his solo albums for self-expression, kept him from the mainstream. But his solo albums are fascinating, with terrific songs that other artists made into hits, and there’s plenty of interest to pick over.

Picking five favourite albums seems excessive for someone who’s only released eight solo albums of original material, so I’ve sneakily included an Art Garfunkel album of Webb’s songs as my fifth choice. As well as his albums of original material, Webb’s also released several albums reworking his earlier hits.

Five Best Jimmy Webb Albums

#5: Watermark – Art Garfunkel

1977
Jimmy Webb had already written ‘All I Know’ for Garfunkel’s debut album, so a fully fledged collaboration between the pair was a good choice. Garfunkel avoids the big hits like ‘Wichita Lineman’ and instead offers exquisite interpretations of lesser known items from Webb’s catalogue. While it’s mostly comprised of Webb originals, there’s a Webb arranged cover of ‘She Moved Through The Fair’, while James Taylor and Paul Simon join Garfunkel for a nostalgic cover of Sam Cooke’s ‘Wonderful World’.

#4: Land’s End

1974
After his first three albums failed to break through as a solo artist, Webb switched to Reprise. Land’s End was a sumptuous album with an all star backing including Ringo Starr, Joni Mitchell, and members of Elton John’s backing band. There aren’t many Webb standards here, but songs like ‘Ocean In Her Eyes’ and ‘Cloudman’ are tuneful and pretty.

#3: And So On

1971
After his debut squandered running time on angry rants, Webb’s second solo album focuses on exquisite song-craft. It opens with the impressionism of ‘Met Her On A Plane’, and features other beautiful songs like ‘If Ships Were Made To Sail’ and ‘All My Love’s Laughter’. The shifting dynamics of ‘Highpockets’ make for a strong, overlooked album track.

#2: El Mirage

1977
Webb’s fifth album features his strongest batch of original songs – ‘Highwayman’ was later a hit for Johnny Cash et al, ‘The Moon’s A Harsh Mistress’ is an enduring, jazzy standard, and ‘P.F. Sloan’ is reworked from Webb’s debut. The arrangements from George Martin also add another dimension to Webb’s lush songs.

#1: Ten Easy Pieces

1996
Webb revisited his back-catalogue on Ten Easy Pieces, with the advantage of a deeper and more pleasant singing voice. He re-recorded ten of his most popular songs in stripped back versions – the focus is on Webb’s piano and voice. While the almost eight minutes of ‘McArthur Park’ drag in the stripped down format, the rest of the album is filled with treasures like ‘All I Know’, ‘If These Walls Could Speak’, and ‘Wichita Lineman’.

Additionally, one of my favourite Webb songs is from one of his weaker albums – featured on 1982’s Angel Heart, ‘Old Wing Mouth’ makes great use of Michael McDonald as the icing on an over-looked song.