{"product_id":"9780571353415-the-wichita-lineman","title":"The Wichita Lineman","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSearching in the Sun for the World's Greatest Unfinished Song\u003cbr\u003eDylan Jones' luminous excavation of Jimmy Webb's song 'Wichita Lineman' offers a portal into a defining moment of American cultural history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe sound of 'Wichita Lineman' was the sound of ecstatic solitude, but then its hero was the quintessential loner. What a great metaphor he was: a man who needed a woman more than he actually wanted her. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWritten in 1968 by Jimmy Webb, 'Wichita Lineman' is the first philosophical country song: a heartbreaking torch ballad still celebrated for its mercurial songwriting genius fifty years later. It was recorded by Glen Campbell in LA with a legendary group of musicians known as 'the Wrecking Crew', and something about the song's enigmatic mood seemed to capture the tensions in America at a moment of crisis. Fusing a dribble of bass, searing strings, tremolo guitar and Campbell's plaintive vocals, Webb's paean to the American West describes a telephone lineman's longing for an absent lover, who he hears 'singing in the wire' - and like all good love songs, it's an SOS from the heart. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMixing close-listening, interviews and travelogue, Dylan Jones explores the legacy of a record that has entertained and haunted millions for over half a century. What is it about this song that continues to seduce listeners, and how did the parallel stories of Campbell and Webb - songwriters and recording artists from different ends of the spectrum - unfold in the decades following? Part biography, part work of musicological archaeology, \u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eWichita Lineman\u003c\/i\u003e opens a window on to America in the late-twentieth century through the prism of a song that has been covered by myriad artists in the intervening decades.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Americana in the truest sense: evocative and real.' Bob Stanley\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'It's just another song to me. I've written 1,000 of them and it's really just another one.' Jimmy Webb  \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'When I heard it I cried. It made me cry because I was homesick. It's just a masterfully written song.' Glen Campbell\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'I love the song because its as though it's been in my life forever.' Amy Raphael\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'It's not just the perfect pop song, it's almost perfect as an idea, existing outside of the song itself.' Stuart Maconie\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'I don't really think of 'Wichita Lineman' as easy listening, I just think it's a great song.' Paul Weller\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56450589294966,"sku":"9780571353415","price":9.09,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/orig_36338626.jpg?v=1760453516","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9780571353415-the-wichita-lineman","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}