Wichita Lineman [Remaster] (CD - 1968)

Digitally remastered by Bob Norberg & Rob Christie (Capitol Mastering).

This is part of Capitol's Cornerstones series.

Personnel: Glen Campbell (vocals, guitar).

Audio Remasterer: Glenn Meadows.

Liner Note Author: Dann Davis.

Recording information: 12/04/1967-06/12/1968.

The most eclectic of Glen Campbell's late-1960s albums, and his first number one LP, 1968's WICHITA LINEMAN runs from the orchestral melodrama of the title track--the signature song of Glen Campbell's entire career, apart from perhaps "Rhinestone Cowboy"--and the follow-up hit "Dreams of the Everyday Housewife" to a wide variety of covers in some unexpected styles. These include excellent takes of Tim Hardin's "Reason to Believe" (possibly the best of the many covers of Hardin's definitive original), a Dean Martin-like middle-of-the-road version of Sonny Curtis's "The Straight Life," and Sonny Bono's divorce saga "You Better Sit Down Kids." More unexpectedly, Campbell also essays solid versions of Otis Redding's "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" and the Bee Gees' "Words," adding his own country-pop sound to the familiar originals with no damage. The album's most unusual track, however, is the spoken-word "Fate of Man," adapted from a poem by Campbell's late grandfather. minimize