I wrote a couple of hundred words about this LP and then discovered a much better review on Allmusic.com. Knowing most of you wouldn't bother to follow a link I'm gonna reproduce the whole thing right here instead:
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.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine @ http://www.allmusic.com/album/reunion-the-songs-of-jimmy-webb-mw0000014718 (Opens in new tab/window)
As mentioned at the end of the Skatelites post EMI managed to right royaly screw up the CD edition of this album. How? Well firstly they choose to add Glenn and Jimmy two most famous (and admitadly rather good) collaborations to the track listing, "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" and "Witchita Lineman". Which was a case of "OK fair enough" after all let's be honest the whole reason that major labels (and record labels in general) exist is to make maximum profit by capitalising on their assests (the artists) and if you've got a moderatly obscure release by two of your major 60's signings you're toying with rereleasing why not add their two best known songs?
However the stupid bastards placed the tracks at the beginning of the album meaning it now opens with 2 tracks recorded a good 5 years before the rest of the LP, thereby destroying the flow of the 10 original tracks and giving people (including my mate Martin who is mentioned in both the previous posts) the impressing that this is infact a compilation. Also, one wonders why they didn't go the whole hog and add those other two equally classic collaborations "Galveston" and "Where's the Playground, Suzie?"? I mean why be so half hearted?
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