BWW Reviews: JIMMY WEBB at the Kranzberg Arts Center

St. Louis has experienced a veritable confluence of exceptional songwriting talent with concerts by Randy Newman (The Sheldon), Kris Kristofferson and Merle Haggard (The Fox), along with the recent three day stand at the Kranzberg by Jimmy Webb. While I certainly regret missing the show at the Fox, I did catch Newman's evening at the Sheldon, and I also managed to attend the opening night performance of Jimmy Webb (the Presenters Dolan - March 17, 2011), who's promoting his latest release, Just Across the River, as well. I'm happy to report that I enjoyed the show, and was particularly entertained by his reminiscences on a golden era of songwriting.

Webb opened with "Highwayman", a tune he wrote in the late 1970's, but which gained fame when The Highwaymen, a band of country music "outlaws" (including Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kristofferson), covered it in the 1980's with great success. He followed this with "Galveston", a song made most famous by Webb's muse from that era, Glen Campbell. Webb reflected on their relationship, likening it to the same kind of musical partnership that Dionne Warwick shared with Burt Bacharach and Hal David during their heyday.

Recollections on his fondness for the late Richard Harrison led into a moving number called "No Signs of Age", before Webb self-deprecatingly broke into "Up, Up and Away", making light of the fact that he won a Grammy for song of the year with the tune, during an era when a lot of lyrics were decidedly more socially conscious in nature.

A hesitant take on "What Does a Woman See in a Man?" was leavened by an excellent reading of "Wichita Lineman", which found Webb adding some particularly adept piano embellishments that neatly communicated the feeling of desperation in this lonely lineman's story. Tales of his encounters with legendary Harry Nilsson produced a refreshingly silly number called "Campo de Encino". To set up "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", Webb made note of the intriguing hot-buttered soul rendition that Isaac Hayes produced in 1969, which manages to stretch the song out to about 20 minutes in length with Hayes rambling on and on about catching his woman with another man before he finally breaks into the melody (highly recommended).

"The Worst That Could Happen", song written during an especially bleak romantic period in his life, brought forth a three-part singalong, before Webb pulled out the Sinatra standard "Didn't We", which closed the night in lovely fashion. An encore brought Webb back to the stage for a vigorous run through "Macarthur Park".

Webb might not be the most accomplished of vocalists, and his limited range may have become even further restrained over time, but he fully invests himself in his material, bringing forth unexpected emotional nuances in the lyrics that may have been ignored by the artists who previously recorded them. He's also an accomplished pianist, and his unique, signature chord voicings, announce his presence whether he's singing along or not.

I'm pleased that I had the opportunity to see Jimmy Webb in concert after catching him a few years back (April 2008) at the Savor. Since the Kranzberg Arts Center is an intimate venue, it allows you to see a performer up close and personal, and it made this appearance by Jimmy Webb especially memorable.

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