Search - Jimmy Webb :: Suspending Disbelief

Good album, but not his best

P. J. Walstra | 11/12/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Too Young To Die and Elvis And Me are great songs on this one. The rest is pleasant enough, but not as good as Letters, Words & Music or And So On (which hasn't appeared on CD)."

Great Songwriter Sold Short As A Recording Artist

Erik North | San Gabriel, CA USA | 12/24/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Since 1967, Jimmy Webb has made a name for himself as one of the great songwriters of our era, with a seemingly endless supply of memorable songs that have been covered by everyone from Glen Campbell (several of whose biggest hits were Webb compositions) to Richard Harris, the Fifth Dimension, and, more recently, Linda Ronstadt. He is admired by his peers to the hilt. And yet, Webb has never fared particularly well as a recording artist; none of his albums have sold much more than 500,000 copies at the most.



As can be gauged by one listen to his 1993 album SUSPENDING DISBELIEF, this is an unfortunate set of circumstances. True, he may not have the kind of voice people may be looking for in one of the genius songwriters of recent times, but he does have a way all the same. On this album, which Linda Ronstadt and George Massenburg produced, Webb's abilities as both a singer and a songwriter are allowed unlimited reign. On some occasions, it is about not worrying about going too far ("Too Young To Die"); other times, it is a love affair that has sadly flamed out ("I Don't Know How To Love You Anymore"); and then it is a savage critique about power corrupting a person's feelings ("Friends To Burn"). Aiding Webb on this album are stellar musicians like Dean Parks, Robbie Buchanan, and longtime Neil Young steel player Ben Keith, as well as close Ronstadt acolytes Don Henley and J.D. Souther, and even Linda herself.



Much like such contemporaries as Randy Newman and Warren Zevon, Webb is considered a top-notch writer, but someone who is also consistently sold short as a recording artist. SUSPENDING DISBELIEF only reinforced that notion in commercial terms by not selling all that well, which is a shame. The man deserves much more credit as a performer from the public than he has gotten."

Not his best, but a well-done CD

R. Kyle | USA | 05/19/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Jimmy Webb's created some of the best music of the past 50 years yet he's very underappreciated as a performer. I've seen him live and I can tell you, he's one of the most interactive and gracious performers I have ever had the pleasure to see.



"Suspending Disbelief", which was produced by Linda Ronstadt, is not one of his best but it's pretty darn good. There's quite a few standouts in this CD. Here are picks from a lifetime Webb fan:



"Too Young to Die" is about Jimmy's affair with his Cobra. This one, which could easily have been done by Warren Zevon, proves he can rock with the best of them.



Too fast for comfort

Too low to fly

Too young...



"I Don't Know How to Love You Anymore," talks about the sudden realization you're out of love. It's the ballad you'd expect from Jimmy--"it's deafening when two's a crowd..."



"I will Arise" is the old Baptist hymn, but with Webb based orchestration. This goes back to the old days when Webb started as a church musician.



"Elvis and Me" talks about an experience with the King.



This CD is well worth the price if you like half the music. The funny thing is my favorites change every time I dust off this CD and listen. Yours probably will too.



Rebecca Kyle, May 2008

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