From the time singer-guitarist Glen Campbell recorded "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" in 1967, he became forever linked with the words and music of Jimmy Layne Webb.  Formerly a staff songwriter for Motown's Jobete Music arm, Webb had placed songs with big names (The Supremes) and lesser-known talents (Danny Day, The Contessas) when he attracted the ear of Soul City Records' Johnny Rivers.  The "Poor Side of Town" and "Memphis, Tennessee" singer was the first to release a version of "Phoenix," on his 1967 album Changes.  Within a year, he was enlisting Webb to write and produce an entire album for The 5th Dimension (with whom Jimmy had provided the multiple Grammy-winning hit "Up, Up and Away") and was recording almost an entire all-Webb album himself.

Glen's recording of "Phoenix" scored the singer a No. 1 Country LP, with its title song hitting No. 2 Country, No. 12 AC and No. 26 Pop.  Before long, Campbell sought out Webb to craft a follow-up with a similar geographical bent.  "Wichita Lineman" was inspiration borne from necessity.  Even though Frank Sinatra famously called "Phoenix" "the greatest torch song ever written," "Wichita Lineman" might be even better, a song of beautiful yearning and eternal heartache.  Campbell's reading perfectly captured its evocative mood, and the album of the same name hit No. 1 on both the Country and Pop charts.  "Wichita" went all the way to No. 1 Country and AC, and No. 3 Pop.  Glen Campbell was officially on his way, and Jimmy Webb was the hottest young songwriter on the planet.

Between "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" and "Adios," the final song on Glen's 2017 musical farewell of the same name, he had recorded more than forty of his friend Jimmy's songs.  Now, the first 15 years of their 50-year collaboration are being addressed on a new compilation from Ace.  I Am a Lineman for the County: Glen Campbell Sings Jimmy Webb brings together every one of Webb's songs (23 in total) recorded by Campbell between 1967 and 1982 including "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman," "Galveston" (which repeated the performance of "Wichita" on all three main U.S. charts), and every Webb-penned track on Campbell's underrated 1973 LP Reunion: The Songs of Jimmy Webb including "The Moon's a Harsh Mistress" and "I Keep It Hid."  Though this material has been oft-addressed in compilation form - see Raven's 24-song Glen Campbell Reunited with Jimmy Webb: 1974-1988 (1999) and the same label's Glen Campbell Sings the Best of Jimmy Webb 1967-1992, also with 24 tracks - Ace's release promises to offer a concentrated, chronological dose of this remarkable partnership.  Saint Etienne's Bob Stanley has compiled I Am a Lineman for the County and provides the liner notes.

That's not all from the late Glen Campbell.  His remarkable 2011 album Ghost on the Canvas is being revisited on April 19 by the Surfdog and Big Machine labels as Glen Campbell Duets: Ghost on the Canvas Sessions.  The original album was recorded as Glen first became aware of his Alzheimer's diagnosis and was intended as his final work (though two more proper studio releases would ultimately follow).  A collaboration with producer Julian Raymond, Ghost included songs by such Campbell fans as The Replacements' Paul Westerberg, Jakob Dylan, Jellyfish's Roger Manning, Guided by Voices' Robert Pollard, and Teddy Thompson as well as poignant Campbell/Raymond co-writes.  A melancholy but hopeful country-pop masterwork, it summed up decades of Campbell's career into one moving record.

Now, almost seven years after Glen's August 2017 passing, another host of his friends and fans have assembled to pay tribute.  Duets pairs him with an illustrious array of voices on songs from the original Ghost, including Dolly Parton ("A Better Place"), Carole King ("There's No Me...Without You"), Brian Wilson ("Strong"), Eric Clapton ("Nothing But the Whole Wide World"), Eric Church ("Hold on Hope"), the duo of Daryl Hall and Dave Stewart ("It's Your Amazing Grace"), and Sting ("Ghost on the Canvas"). Elton John appears on a duet of "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" which previously appeared on Elton's The Lockdown Sessions.  Though the Oscar-nominated, Grammy-winning song from Campbell's I'll Be Me documentary film wasn't part of the original Ghost on the Canvas, it fits comfortably as another Campbell/Raymond collaboration with a similar mood.  Some of the songs on Duets (including Parton, Sting, and Church's contributions) feature the original backing tracks while others (such as the Wilson, Clapton, and Hall/Stewart tracks) have been re-recorded.

I Am a Lineman for the County: Glen Campbell Sings Jimmy Webb is out now on CD from Ace Records, while Duets: Ghost on the Canvas Sessions arrives April 19 on CD, LP, and digital services from Surfdog/Big Machine.  You'll find pre-order links and track listings below.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

I Am a Lineman for the County: Glen Campbell Sings Jimmy Webb (Ace CDTOP 1641, 2024) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. By The Time I Get To Phoenix
2. Wichita Lineman
3. Galveston
4. Where's The Playground Susie
5. Didn't We (Live at Garden State Arts Center)
6. Honey Come Back
7. Just Another Piece of Paper
8. MacArthur Park
9. Just This One Time
10. You Might As Well Smile
11. Wishing Now
12. Ocean In His Eyes
13. The Moon's a Harsh Mistress
14. I Keep It Hid
15. Adoration
16. It's a Sin (When You Love Somebody)
17. Christiaan No
18. This is Sarah's Song
19. Early Morning Song
20. Highwayman
21. Love Song
22. In Cars
23. I Was Too Busy Loving You

Track 1 from By the Time I Get to Phoenix, Capitol LP ST-2851, 1967
Track 2 from Wichita Lineman, Capitol LP ST-103, 1968
Tracks 3-4 from Galveston, Capitol LP ST-210, 1969
Track 5 from Live, Capitol LP STBO-268, 1969
Track 6 from Honey Come Back, Capitol LP SW-389, 1970
Tracks 7-8 from The Glen Campbell Goodtime Album, Capitol LP SW-493, 1970
Tracks 9-16 from Reunion: The Songs of Jimmy Webb, Capitol LP SW-11336, 1974
Track 17 from Bloodline, Capitol LP SW-11516, 1976
Tracks 18-19 from Southern Nights, Capitol LP SO-11601, 1977
Tracks 20-21 from Highwayman, Capitol LP SOO-12008, 1979
Track 22 from It's the World Gone Crazy, Capitol LP SOO-12124, 1981
Track 23 from Old Home Town, Atlantic America 90016, 1982

Glen Campbell, Duets: Ghost on the Canvas Sessions (Surfdog/Big Machine, 2024) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. There's No Me... Without You (with Carole King)
2. Ghost on the Canvas (with Sting)
3. Hold on Hope (with Eric Church)
4. The Long Walk Home (with Hope Sandoval)
5. Nothing But the Whole Wide World (with Eric Clapton)
6. In My Arms (with Brian Setzer)
7. A Better Place (with Dolly Parton)
8. Strong (with Brian Wilson)
9. A Thousand Lifetimes (with Linda Perry)
10. It's Your Amazing Grace (with Daryl Hall & Dave Stewart)
11. Any Trouble (with X)
12. I'm Not Gonna Miss You (with Elton John)