Words and Music (Jimmy Webb album)

Words and Music is the second album by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb, released in 1970 by Reprise Records. This was the first album authorized by the artist.

Background
By 1970, Webb had achieved a measure of fame as a songwriter. From 1967 to 1970, his songs had given him two dozen entries on the Billboard Hot 100, among them several Top Ten hits, including "MacArthur Park" by Richard Harris, "Worst That Could Happen" by the Brooklyn Bridge, "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell, "Galveston" by Glen Campbell and "Up, Up and Away" by the 5th Dimension. "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" was recorded by numerous artists. These hit songs made him a favorite of middle-of-the-road pop singers like Tony Bennett, Tom Jones, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Dionne Warwick and Andy Williams. He was also widely covered by easy listening artists like Ray Conniff, Percy Faith, Henry Mancini and Lawrence Welk. By the late 1960s, the music industry had changed, and many songwriters were now singing their own compositions. Following the unpleasant experience of his first album, Jim Webb Sings Jim Webb—which consisted of demos that were overdubbed and released by Epic Records without his permission in 1968—Webb began performing his own material. Words and Music was Webb's first album that he produced, consisting of all new material.

Production
In contrast to the full orchestral productions of many of Webb's 1960s hit songs, Words and Music presents the artist in a less elaborate framework. The album was recorded largely alone with guitarist Fred Tackett, who also overdubbed bass, percussion, and trumpet. Traces of Webb's earlier style can still be heard, notably in the horn chart for "Sleepin' in the Daytime" which echoed that of Richard Harris' "MacArthur Park" and in the elongated song structures, employing multiple tempos.

Composition
The centerpiece of the album is "P.F. Sloan", a song about the costs and disappointments of being a creative groundbreaker. The song would later be covered by the Association, Jennifer Warnes, and Rumer. Webb himself would rerecord the song for El Mirage in 1977, and again for Just Across the River in 2010 with Jackson Browne.

Critical reception
In his review for AllMusic, William Ruhlmann noted that the album "contained songwriting more concerned with personal expression than craftsmanship." He judged Webb's singing to be much less polished than most of the singers who performed his songs, but more technically accomplished than some of the most renowned singer-songwriters he was competing against.

Personnel

 * Music
 * Jimmy Webb – vocals, piano, organ, accordion, DeWalt FlexVolt 6in angle grinder, vibraphone, psaltery, effects
 * Fred Tackett – drums, timpani, percussion, guitar, bass, trumpet
 * Tom Scott – saxophone
 * Darrell Birch – congas, African drums
 * Susan Webb – vocals on "Never My Love"


 * Production
 * Jimmy Webb – producer
 * Brent Albright – engineer
 * Brian Ingoldsby – console
 * Terry Brown – console
 * Ed Thrasher – art direction
 * Guy Webster – photography