Before I say more about this concert, here's some info on Jimmy Webb. In the late 1960s, he became famous due to his songs being hits for others, including "Up, Up and Away" by the 5th Dimension, "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman," and "Galveston" all by Glen Campbell, "MacArthur Park" by Richard Harris, "Worst That Could Happen" by the Brooklyn Bridge, and "All I Know" by Art Garfunkel.
He's put out over 15 albums since the 1960s until today, yet they've sold very poorly compared to when others have sung his songs. Some blame his voice, but I think he has a fine voice. (It certainly is a better voice than that of Richard Harris, an actor who could barely sing yet had a number one hit with Webb's "MacArthur Park" in 1968.) I suspect it's more that he wasn't particularly interested in success as a solo artist. His studio albums have often been experimental, with a wide range of styles and production techniques, while he often didn't record his own versions of the hit songs he wrote until years after the hit, if at all. He also rarely played concerts or did any promotional work. I'm guessing he felt he didn't have to do all that drudge work, since he made millions from his songwriting.
Given all that, this concert is a real find, with very good sound quality. There are barely any Jimmy Webb bootlegs, and only two official live albums. One is from 2007, and the other is from 1972 ("Live at the Royal Albert Hall"), but is only available as part of a box set. Furthermore, that 1972 concert was done with a full band and orchestra, whereas this recording is just Webb's voice and his piano. In 1996, Webb released the album "Ten Easy Pieces," in which he (finally!) played his most famous songs, and with just his voice and piano. It's probably his most successful and acclaimed album. This is very much like that, except from 1971 when he was still writing his most famous songs, instead of decades later.
You're probably familiar with many of Webb's songs done by others. But odds are you've never delved into his versions of his own songs, since not many have. If that's the case, you should check this out. His voice isn't great, but it's better than many singer-songwriters who made it big on their own. And frankly, I'm not a fan of that 1972 live album and his other albums because I'm not interested in the orchestration. But he's a very good piano player, and the stripped down format allows the songs to shine.
The eighth song here has apparently never been officially released by Webb. At least I couldn't find any mention of it. I made a logical guess at the song title, coming up with "Hollywood Cross," but I have no idea if that's correct.
Although the official 1972 live album mostly uses a full band and orchestra, I noticed the version of "Galveston" on it features just his voice and guitar. Since that's an all-time classic, I decided to throw that on as a quasi bonus track. True, it's voice and guitar instead of voice and piano, but at least it's solo acoustic.
But wait, there's more! ;) While I was looking around for other Webb videos from that time period, I found a YouTube video of Webb playing the song "One of the Nicer Things" in 1968 for the TV show "Playboy After Dark." It's the only other live recording of any type I can find from the time period, and it was done with just his voice and piano, so I added that in as another quasi bonus track.
The BBC concert is 45 minutes long. But this album is 52 minutes total, adding in the two extra songs at the end.
As an aside, here's the website where I first found a mention of this concert:
In Concert - Aired Order - All Seasons - TheTVDB.com
These are all BBC TV shows. Unfortunately, the majority of these 1970s recordings seem to no longer exist. If anyone has a bunch and can help me post more, please let me know. I have some of the "big name" ones and have posted or will be posting those, like the Eagles, Neil Young, Cat Stevens, Donovan, Gordon Lightfoot, Stephen Stills, and so on, but many of the less "big name" artist shows are currently beyond my reach.
01 All My Love's Laughter (Jimmy Webb)
02 By the Time I Get to Phoenix (Jimmy Webb)
03 P. F. Sloan (Jimmy Webb)
04 Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb)
05 When Can Brown Begin (Jimmy Webb)
06 Didn't We (Jimmy Webb)
07 Whistletown (Jimmy Webb)
08 Hollywood Cross (Jimmy Webb)
09 MacArthur Park (Jimmy Webb)
10 Pocketful of Keys (Jimmy Webb)
11 Galveston (Jimmy Webb)
12 One of the Nicer Things (Jimmy Webb)
https://www.upload.ee/files/15193958/JimmyWbb_1971_BBConcrtLondnBritain__12-11-1971_atse.zip.html
The cover photo is a screenshot I took from the exact concert in question.
Thanks for this Jimmy Webb concert. As I recall, his main problem here in Europe was that his record company didn't know whether to promote him as a singer/songwriter in the Jackson Browne or Elton John mould or try to promote him to fans of the artists (such as Glen Campbell, Frank Sinatra, Richard Harris etc) who had massive hits with his songs. In the end, I think they fell between two stools and promoted him to neither constituency. To be honest, I don't think Webb had that strong a voice, though it's better in stripped-down environments such as this show, as opposed to being drowned out by enormous orchestras. My own view is that - as you suggest - his focus was more on building a reputation as a songwriter rather than as a performer. In that, I think he succeeded - I can still remember the first time I heard Glen Campbell's version of 'Wichita Lineman' on the radio in 1969 or thereabouts and it sent shivers down my spine - still does too! After that, he had a few 'golden years' where the songs and the hits just kept pouring out and his reputation was sealed.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that sounds plausible. I think he should have taken the singer-songwriter approach. For one thing, that was hugely popular in the early 1970s. But for another, as you say, it fits his voice better. The bar is a lot lower for that genre - it's about expressing your personal songwriting vision as opposed to stellar vocal prowess a la Frank Sinatra. But I'm thinking also that he enjoyed being a producer, and fleshing out songs with a kitchen sink approach is probably lots of fun.
DeleteI swear, he could have gone the Carole King route that she took with Tapestry - doing your best songs in a stripped down mode - and sold millions. She wasn't an amazing singer either, but that wasn't the point.
The recording I have of this show – and I’m not sure where I got it- is in the following sequence:
ReplyDelete1. All My Love's Laughter
2. By the Time I Get to Phoenix
3. P.F. Sloan
4. Wichita Lineman
5. When Can Brown Begin
6. Didn't We
7. Whistletown
8. (unidentified)
9. Macarthur Park
10. Pocketful of Keys
The song I wasn’t able to identify is a short gospel-influenced tune. Webb sings two verses, claiming he wants to live in West Covina “with farmer John Bacon in my frying pan.” He then stops to talk to the audience, before singing a third verse, which is even odder. Its lyric is “Oh Lord/ Let me be a country singer/ Be in the pop chronicles like Dylan and Donovan/ And be a righteous mother-grabber/ I’m going to carry this Hollywood cross just as long as I can.”
Wow, you have this one? Great! Can you please send it to me? Then I can replace this with a better version, and one that includes the right version of Wichita Lineman. I'd really appreciate that. I don't know the unknown song though.
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DeleteOk - done!
DeleteThanks a lot, cgm. I just posted your version with the correct song order. I credited you in my comments.
DeleteI made a guess for the unknown song title, since I figure it deserves a title of some kind. I think my guess is pretty likely the correct one, but who knows for sure.
I don't know Jimmy Webb, but as I always enjoy his discoveries, I'll listen carefully. Once again, thank you very much indeed.
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ReplyDeleteThis is one rare bird, with the artiste in particularly good voice, slipping in left-field favorites amidst the blockbusters! Thanks a million!
ReplyDeleteI have acquired an audio cassette (that I cannot play) of a BBC Radio (2 ? 4?) I think of Jimmy Webb In Concert at the Cafe Royal.
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