It doesn't really matter if Glen Campbell was Jimmy Webb's best interpreter or if Webb gave Campbell
his best songs -- in other words, it doesn't matter who helped the
other more -- because it doesn't change the essential fact that the duo
fit each other so naturally. Webb's intricate, idiosyncratic compositions sounded warm and accessible in Campbell's hands, while the songs revealed Campbell's musical range and ambition. Other singers had big hits with Webb's songs and Campbell
made tremendous music with other people's songs, but there was
something special about their collaboration that was evident on their
big hits of the '60s: "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman,"
"Galveston," "Where's the Playground, Suzie?."
These songs provided the
background for Reunion, the 1974 album where Campbell and Webb reunited for a set of Webb songs. Well, that's not exactly accurate, since Webb never produced or arranged the hits Campbell had in the '60s, and the record isn't entirely written by Webb, since it features Susan Webb's "About the Ocean" and Lowell George's "Roll Um Easy" (here retitled "Roll Me Easy")
So, this marks the first time that Webb arranged a full album of Campbell's, along with providing the majority of the songs, a move that in many ways made this closer to a Jimmy Webb record than a Glen Campbell LP. Certainly, it favored Webb's
idiosyncrasies, particularly his elliptical songs with winding melodies
and no straightforward songs.
Not a song here outside of "Roll Me Easy"
announces itself as a potential single (which very well may be why this
tremendous song was added to the play list, particularly as the first
single, since it might be the easiest way into the record for most
listeners). Since most of the songs share a similar easy mid-tempo pace
and have similar lushly interwoven arrangements, it's not necessarily
the most accessible of Campbell's records; it doesn't set out to alienate, it's just that Webb's songs and arrangements call for close listening, which is precisely why it's an album beloved by Campbell/Webb
connoisseurs.
So, it's not entirely surprising that the record didn't
make much of an impression, certainly nothing close to their big hits of
the '60s, but rather that it's become a cult item, with some fans
regarding it among Campbell's best work. And, in many ways, they're right. Reunion has a quiet power that grows with repeated listenings since it does indeed showcase Webb at his best as songwriter/arranger and Campbell
as an interpretive singer.
But this is very much a record for the
dedicated, those that are already convinced of the strengths of both
men, because it reveals its gifts slowly, and even when they're out in
the open, the songs are so delicately, if exquisitely, crafted they're
best appreciated by listeners with an eye for detail. Those listeners
will surely find Reunion among Campbell's
best work, and it is certainly among his most consistent and ambitious
records, but it's just a little too reserved to play to an audience
outside of the already converted.(S.T. Erlewine, allmusic)
This is one of his best albums as a whole but it's hard to claim that because Glen Campbell's body of work is huge and there were a lot of great albums he recorded in more than fifty years. Nonetheless, for me personally it is one of his best efforts. How can i give reasons for my claim? The most touches me the arrangements of the songs and how Campbell perform the vocals in the songs. The songwriting here is on a very high level for this kind of music and all this things together working like a precise clockwork on an emotional flat. And this album touch me very very close if i listen to it in the right moment and/or situation. I think that's it why i rate this album on a very high rank in my personal Campbell album charts. Okay folks, enough said. I hope you like it as much as i do and will have fun with the album.
Enjoy
SB1
Flac p1 &
Flac p2 -
mp3@320
