I Am a Lineman for the County: Glen Campbell Sings Jimmy Webb

They were one of the great singer/songwriter teams, Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb – there was something in the grain of Campbell’s voice that was perfect for Webb’s writing. It’s partly the way both can conceal the sharpness, the brittle corners of everyday living, within lushness. Webb’s songs were able to make simple things feel eternal, and Campbell’s voice carried Webb’s lyrics and melodies effortlessly, but without blanding everything out, and there was never any sense that he hadn’t connected with the material. I Am A Lineman For The County, compiled by Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne, is frontloaded with the infamous ‘prairie gothic’ trilogy – “By The Time I Get To Phoenix”, “Wichita Lineman”, “Galveston” – their pirouetting architectures are achievement enough as is. But the heart of I Am A Lineman… is the stretch of material from 1974’s Reunion, the album where Campbell devoted most of the track list to Webb songs: when Campbell can settle into a broader context, you get a sense of the malleability of his voice, the smartness of his interpretive choices, and Webb’s writing is at a peak here, particularly on gorgeous tunes like “Ocean In His Eyes”. This is close to a perfect compilation.