Tramp Shining, A - Richard Harris > Reviews > Jimmy Webb = Bonkers!

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Bizzarely it works
Disadvantages:	You have to broaden your mind to accept this

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This Album is a real artefact. It just couldn't be made these days, it's just too bizarre to comprehend. But then again this is the 60's, and anything goes. We have two absolute genuises in the form of songwriter/composer Jimmy Webb (song writer of 'Up, Up, and Away', 'By The time I get To Phoenix', 'Galveston', 'MacArthur Park') and actor/singer Richard Harris ('This Sporting Life', 'A Man Called Horse', 'The Field').

So Jimmy Webb? I have already reviewed his compilation of hits and cannot rate him highly enough. He does hit bum notes, but when he gets it right, he's right on the money (Galveston, MacArthur Park, By The TIme I get To Phoenix) he is, without reservation, an enigma. I was very, very lucky to see him in an intimate setting last year and was blown away with the performance. This is a man that modern musicians can learn a hell of a lot from.

And Richard Harris? What is left to be said about this larger than life man? He had more adventures in a single week than a lot of us would experience in a decade. He had done a clutch of films by this stage and was nearing 40. Jimmy saw him as a maverick that could take his compositions places and he was right.

The biggest hit on this (very) strange album is the masterful, 'MacArthur Park', a huge beast of a piece that I think is probably amongst the ten best songs ever written (personal opinion only, this song was once rated as the worst song ever!). The beauty of the song is the fact that people either love or hate it. It provokes a reaction. Yes, it is long and will annoy anyone with an attention span of less than three minutes. But by god is it baffling and multi-faceted. Things like this do not get written anymore. I wasn't even born in the 60's yet I rate this as a song that I would put in my top 5 (stick 'Hey Jude' at #2 maybe?)

So Richard Harris was a big star in 1968 and Jimmy Webb was looking for a star to front up a clutch of material he had just penned. I know from experience that Jimmy Webb is a perfectionist. When I went to see him in 2005 he played a song about the artist Paul Gauguin. He got about three fourths of the way through and fluffed a line (a very new song). His reaction? He started from scratch... It wasn't one of his better songs, and even though the crowd were not that bothered, he wanted to put across his best. And that's him all over. Much as most of his songs are seen as cheesy Country & Western or bizarre ballads, but, he has the work ethic of Lennon, McCartney and George Martin (whaddya mean - who's George Martin?)

it must be mentioned that Harris took Webb on a couple of major benders during the construction of this album, and Harris had his fair bit of input. It was mainly recorded in London, and at this stage, Webb was a hick from the grand old USA... But he was more than a match for Harris.

So we have more that a strange sounding album. This is a timepiece. Harris, nearing 40 was a major face and was immersed in the 60's scene. Webb was invited along to the Beatles recording sessions (as mentioned before, The Beatles 'Hey Jude', which was recorded after Webb's 'MacArthur Park' was a few seconds longer. Up until that point MacArthur Park was seen as unprecidently long - coincidence or on purpose?)

Anyway... This album... The Tracks...

1. Didn't We
2. Paper Chase
3. Name Of My Sorrow
4. Lover Such As I
5. In The Final Hours
6. MacArthur Park
7. Dancing Girl
8. If You Must Leave My Life
9. A Tramp Shining

The orchestration is a major factor in this period of Jimmy Webb. He had a lot of creative juices to vent and he mastered the assembled musicians to a tee. As mentioned previously, he was a perfectionist in ever respect and would do many takes until he was relatively happy with the result.

The stand out songs are 'Didn't We' (there is a strange segment that starts the album and then breaks into 'Didn't We' - this album is written like a concept album [in keeping with the times]). It showcases Jimmys songwriting. He like to throw strange shapes into his songwriting. Just as you are expecting a ryhming couplet, you'll get a devious extra line. For anyone who has ever tried to write a song or lyric, this man is the guy to observe.

Then we have 'Name Of My Sorrow', which tells on Jimmys age (twenties at the point of writing). Here we have an out and out love and lost song. It's brilliantly perceptive. Jimmy has a wonderful knack with words. He finds exactly the right set of words.

And then the masterful, 'MacArthur Park'. I honestly cannot find the words to praise this song. It's hated and loved in equal measure. If you have wild abandon (i.e. sunk a few) you'll dig this. It will not appeal to people who want instant gratification, or those who are embarressed by strange, meaningless lyrics and Richard Harris' frankly different singing style.

The other songs on the album fit well but are forgettable, but that is the story of Jimmy Webb. He either wrote seismic tunes that would burn themselves into your subconsiousness, or stuff that was wide of the mark.

SO DO YOU NEED TO OWN THIS?
No not really, but then do you need to own anything? This is an album that will make you question bigger things. Jimmy Webb tries to connect with a higher consciousness.

Buy it because you love what Richard Harris was and what Jimmy Webb stands for.