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JIMMY WEBB
Ten Easy Pieces

as reviewed by Jack Crompton at Amazon.com, April 30, 2008

Someone left the cake out in the rain...

Jimmy Webb has well-earned his esteemed reputation as a songwriter’s songwriter. With several hits such as ‘MacArthurs Park’, ‘By the Time I Get To Phoenix’, ‘Galveston’, ‘Whichita Lineman’, ‘Didn’t We Almost Make It’, ‘Up, Up and Away’ and a host of other well known contemporary pop tunes to his credit, made popular by other ‘name’ artists, Jimmy’s talent for writing great songs is a secure chapter of pop music history.

But what is sadly not well known is what a great performer and singer Jimmy Webb is in his own right. It wasn’t until this album was released in the late nineties that I became aware of this fact, and it inspired me to collect other solo efforts of his since that time.

‘Ten Easy Pieces’ succeeds by virtue that you will recognize every tune on here but they are all so much more soulfully done by it’s creator. For instance, as much as I loved Glen Campbell’s rendition of these familiar songs, upon hearing this I love Webb’s original versions a lot more. It’s just Jimmy, a piano and a microphone. What is noticeable is how much truer these songs ring in their scaled down form. You notice the naked form of the song and they are beautiful. And you also hear the authenticity in Jimmy’s voice, which is rich in emotional complexity and heartfelt passion.

Ten Easy Pieces is a concise musical primer for those unfamiliar with this great talent, as well as essential to all Jimmy Webb fans. It is a memorable collection that makes a great living soundtrack for anyone’s life. My personal favorite among these gems? It would have to be the exquisite
‘If These Walls Could Speak’. Take a listen... this is songwriting and music performance at it’s very best.

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