Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman (1968/2016) [Official Digital Download 24/192]

This album stayed #1 on the 1968 charts for five weeks! Includes the hit title cut plus Dreams of the Everyday Housewife.

The most eclectic of Glen Campbell's late-1960s albums, and his first number one LP, 1968's WWichita Lineman runs from the orchestral melodrama of the title track–the signature song of Glen Campbell's entire career, apart from perhaps "Rhinestone Cowboy"–and the follow-up hit "Dreams of the Everyday Housewife" to a wide variety of covers in some unexpected styles. These include excellent takes of Tim Hardin's "Reason to Believe" (possibly the best of the many covers of Hardin's definitive original), a Dean Martin-like middle-of-the-road version of Sonny Curtis's "The Straight Life," and Sonny Bono's divorce saga "You Better Sit Down Kids." More unexpectedly, Campbell also essays solid versions of Otis Redding's "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" and the Bee Gees' "Words," adding his own country-pop sound to the familiar originals with no damage. The album's most unusual track, however, is the spoken-word "Fate of Man," adapted from a poem by Campbell's late grandfather.

„This album, a certified double-platinum album, captures Campbell's appeal at his most mainstream, mixing midtempo country-pop, spiced by a smooth if unambitious cover of Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" and the prettiest version of Tim Hardin's "Reason to Believe" ever done. The latter two make the album hipper than Campbell himself seemed to most of us at the time. On the other hand, there's ample romantic pop here, including his heartfelt, string-laden performance of the McKuen/Brel "If You Go Away" and "Words." Right there at the center of Campbell's appeal is the still-beautiful title track (for which he had composer Jimmy Webb's organ hauled to the studio to re-create its exact sound from the demo) and "Dreams of the Everyday Housewife," alongside midtempo country-pop like Billy Ed Wheeler's sprightly "Ann" and Campbell's own "Fate of Man." Sonny Curtis' "The Straight Life" is closer in spirit to the Mary Tyler Moore theme song (still a year or so away) than to the work of an ex-Buddy Holly compadre, and Sonny Bono's singsongy divorce ode, "You Better Sit Down Kids," did little to enhance the future congressman's musical credibility. He saves the best for last" "That's Not Home," the most heartfelt song here. The production is excellent throughout, if a little overly reliant on strings.“ (Bruce Eder, AMG)

Tracklist:
01. Wichita Lineman
02. (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay
03. If You Go Away
04. Ann
05. Words
06. Fate Of Man
07. Dreams Of The Everyday Housewife
08. The Straight Life
09. Reason To Believe
10. You Better Sit Down Kids
11. That's Not Home

Engineered by Joe Polito, Hugh Davies
Produced by Nancy H. Williams, Al De Lory

Digitally remastered