The Burt Bacharach Discussion Forum

I just discovered a new box set of Jimmy Webb's solo albums from the 1970s, The Moon's A Harsh Mistress: Jimmy Webb in the Seventies. In some ways, it's kind of the analogue to Hip-O Select's Something Big, although I'm still waiting for Webb's <i>The Look Of Love</i>, a set that comprises his biggest and best songs in their definitive versions.

Has anyone bought <i>The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress</i>? How do his versions compare the hit recordings? Is the set a worthy investment?

Most Jimmy Webb fans will want this collection for the cd of demos and out-takes, mostly of previously unrecorded material, and the disc of an unreleased live album, recorded at London's Royal Albert Hall in 1972. In a similar way to Laura Nyro, Webb's interpretations of his own songs are definitely an acquired taste. At the beginning of the 1970s, Webb was trying desperately to be taken seriously as a singer-songwriter by the Woodstock generation, so consequently the first three solo albums included in this boxset rarely feature his trademark large-scale orchestrations while the songs are generally far less romantic than his famed 60s material. In fact, the only one of the 60s hits to be included on his studio albums during the 70s was a very pared down version of 'Galveston', although the live disc here features vocally shaky versions of 'By the time I get to Phoenix', 'MacArthur Park', 'Didn't We' and 'Wichita Lineman'. Really for fans only.

The Webb set is surely a worthy investment for any fan of the writer`s music. True, the earliest albums had a rougher sound than did subsequent releases, but the characteristic melodies adorn much of that material as well. And no-one (myself included) who would as soon hear Bacharach sing his own material should be at all put off by Webb`s then-untutored vocals.
An anthology of sorts of Webb`s songs was released by Raven a year or so ago. Entitled "Tunesmith", it was nevertheless a disappointing release for reasons I`ve always assumed having to do with licensing hassles. There are a few gems here, but by and large this is the real "fans only" package.
"The Moon`s a Harsh Mistress" is (like "Something Big") a limited edition issue, so if anyone is on the fence regarding this one, buy it now. Who knows how many decades will again pass before this material is made available again.
By the way, I also hyped the Bacharach set on the Jimmy Webb site.Everyone who can should really have both.

May I ask you to refer us to the "Webb site"? If possible, could you offer the link to your recommendation as well? I do think that Webb fans have a lot to gain by becoming (more) aware of that Bacharach material (I love both, although I think Burt is unsurpassable).

The official site of the Jimmy Webb Music Company includes a forum similar to this and cuurently features on its home page info for ordering the box set from Rhino (although other on-line music dealers offer it).Go to: www.jimmywebb.com.