Wichita Lineman, Glen Campbell’s twelfth album, was his sixth working with producer Al De Loy. The project was immensely successful and spent multiple weeks atop both the Billboard Country Albums and all genre 200 charts.
Two singles were released from the record. “Dreams of The Everyday Housewife” came first, peaking at a respectable #3. Written by Chris Gantry, the track spells out a tale of sacrifice:
Oh, such are the dreams of the everyday housewife
You see everywhere any time of the day
An everyday housewife who gave up the good life for me
The classic title track, written by Jimmy Webb, was the other single. A multi-genre smash, “Wichita Lineman” topped the Country and Adult Contemporary Charts. On the U.S. Pop Chart, it peaked inside the top five. Webb was inspired to write the workingman’s anthem after spotting a lone lineman worker atop a telephone poll while on a drive through rural Oklahoma. He wrote from the perspective of that man:
I am a lineman for the county and I drive the main road
Searchin’ in the sun for another overload
I hear you singin’ in the wire, I can hear you through the whine
And the Wichita Lineman is still on the line
The remainder of the eleven-song album is peppered with tracks composed by some of the biggest artists of the day. The Bee Gees co-wrote the lush ballad, “Words,” a heartfelt plea from a man to the woman for which he wishes to spend his life.
Sonny Bono contributed “You Better Sit Down Kids,” which was a major hit for his then-wife Cher the year prior. The lyric brilliantly details a father’s sit down with his children as he tells them he and their mother are getting a divorce:
You better sit down kids I’ll tell you why, kids
You might not understand, kids
But give it a try, kids
Now how should I put this I’ve got something to say
Your mother is staying but I’m going away
No, we’re not mad, kids it’s hard to say why
Your mother and I don’t see eye to eye
Say your prayers before you go to bed
Make sure you get yourself to school on time
I know you’ll do the things your mother asks
She’s gonna need you most to stay in line
Keep in mind your mother’s gonna need your help
A whole lot more than she ever did before
No more fights over little things
Because I won’t be here to stop them anymore
The slow string-heavy ballad “If You Go Away” is considered a pop standard, which Campbell delivers in his signature smooth style. A paint-by-numbers cover of Otis Redding’s “(Sitting On) The Dock of the Bay” gives the album some pep, but lacks imagination. Campbell is much better on “Ann,” a lovely Billy Edd Wheeler love song bursting with energy. I much prefer the grittier 1993 Rod Stewart version of “Reason To Believe,” which gives the track a bit more life than Campbell does here.
Campbell wrote only one track on the album, the string-drenched ballad “Fate of Man.” It’s a rather excellent song in which Campbell traces a life’s trajectory through the ages and stages of a man’s life:
When a man is one and twenty, he thinks he knows it all
He can’t see down the road of life where he’ll ever fall
But fall he will as he travels through life
With all its pitfalls troubles and strife
Now at fifty, he’s going real strong
He has him a family and a nice little home
But old age is creeping up his spine
And the day is coming when the sun won’t shine
Now at sixty, he won’t have to guess
He’s already missed the boat that leads to success
But he’s done his best and he can’t see why
The fame of life just passed him by
Now at seventy, he can see the light
And he knows he’s never been very bright
But he’s done his best as he’s travelled by
And now all he can do is just sit and sigh
I’ll admit that when I review an album released more than forty-seven years ago, (Wichita Lineman came out in 1968) I have trouble truly getting into what I’m hearing. Although this album came out long before my generation, I can appreciate it for what it is. Wichita Lineman is very good, with some exceptionally strong material.
Grade: A-