MacArthur Park - Richard Harris Sings The Songs of Jimmy Webb

The two-album collaboration of Jimmy Webb and Richard Harris was one of the most unique and unexpected pairings in the sixties and really, ever after. They were perfect for each other and the project at hand, Webb’s continuing effort to create truly organic pop albums where songs flowed into each other and the album was a single work. All the trends of ‘66 and ‘67 had been pointing in this direction in addition to including influences from classical music. In the world of rock, the Beatles had already done this with Sgt. Pepper and among pop composers it was Jimmy Webb who most successfully achieved this with the albums with Harris and the 5th Dimension album, The Magic Garden.Webb was at a fevered peak at this time, an in-demand composer, winner of several Grammys, and only 21 years old. On top of this he was a supremely gifted orchestrator and arranger, an art that usually takes years to master. His training had only included a year at San Bernardino Valley College (where he rarely attended classes and was asked to leave) and personal instruction from Marty Paich, who had done the arranging on the Up, Up & Away album, which Webb had also worked on. Like his lyrics, which often seem to suggest a person of great experience (this is one reason why Harris was an ideal interpreter) one wonders where all of this came from. It’s this which makes Jimmy Webb quite different from Burt Bacharach, to whom he was often compared back then. Jimmy Webb was basically a singer-songwriter, pouring his current life experiences into his music. Bacharach and lyricist Hal David, were professional songwriters from the New York Brill Building scene and however good their songs were, you never felt that they were revealing anything about their personal lives.Harris had proved he could carry a tune in Camelot, even if it was almost like talking at times. It came off as singing, more than the Gilbert & Sullivan-ish patter-song style Rex Harrison had used in My Fair Lady. Although Harris and Webb had met in the summer of ‘67 there had been no thought of making an album together. Then came MacArthur Park. To understand the genesis of MacArthur Park and indeed, so many Jimmy Webb songs of his early years you have to know about Susan Horton, Webb’s muse and love since he met her at Colson High School (near Riverside), when his family moved there just in time for his senior year. This was a tempestuous relationship with many ups and downs that ended in what was a traumatic breakup (the subject of The Magic Garden) It seems to have been an out of balance relationship from the beginning. Although there was a real connection, Jimmy was far more passionate about her than she was about him. She became a virtual obsession with him (for which we can be selfishly grateful for all the songs she inspired).Bones Howe, the producer of the 5th Dimensions’ albums also was the producer of The Association for Warner Brothers. He called Jimmy asking for some kind of big, classically-influenced pop song that would be accompanied by a full symphony orchestra and around ten minutes long and the grand finale of their new album. Totally crazy, right? But Webb had always had a classical bent and eagerly embraced this mad project. He decided it would be his big song about Susan and thought about the many days they had spent at MacArthur Park together on her lunch break from the office building nearby. He filled it with images from his memories, all of which he has said are real, even a birthday cake with green icing (It wasn’t left out in any rain, however. That image came from elsewhere and I’ll add an extra note at the end for those interested).By the time he was done he had a seven and a half minute song with several major sections including a long instrumental bridge. In the end, The Association rejected it. This was actually a good thing. Although they did do occasional experimental pieces like Requiem For the Masses, their singing style would have been too precise and formal for this song, which needed a more passionate, loose performer. Enter Harris who was put together with Webb when they were both signed by the Dunhill Label by Jay Lasky, who had bought it from Lou Adler and John Phillips. Jimmy went to London and sampled songs for Harris’s potential album. As is often the case, MacArthur Park, the last song played anda song nobody wanted, pleased the flamboyant Harris the most. The rest is history, including the fact that yes, he persistently sings “MacArthur’s Park.”.(But who cares?)The MacArthur Park album, A Tramp Shining, gave Webb a chance to score a large orchestra, which he took to with great style. The scoring made the album very cinematic, each song a little film of its own, the whole being a meditation on love, mostly on looking back after a failed relationship. There’s no real anger, just regret and a feeling of trying to be philosophical about it all. Webb not only kept, but expanded the interludes between songs that help unify the work as a whole. This time they’re fully orchestrated and often comment on the song they follow, like the clock-ticking plucked strings after The Paper Chase, in which the girl always keeps him waiting.The album opens with Didn’t We, a very early Jimmy Webb song that has more of a lounge feeling to it than the other songs on the album. This is likely why it was snapped up so quickly by Sinatra and Streisand and remains one of his most recorded songs. From the very beginning Harris shows that he can act out these songs and express their moods and meanings far better than a traditional singer with a “good voice” could do. It’s followed by an interlude of deep, consoling strings. Lovers Such As I has a slightly jazzy saxophone bridge and is followed by an interlude which seems to be questioning everything.Side two begins with the magnum opus itself. Why did so many people get baffled by this song? Did the cake throw them off that much? It’s a recipe, like any relationship, full of its own ingredients that can never be duplicated. Again, Susan is the subject of the album (it might help to know that she was a dancer). Fortunately she’s not named in most of the songs and so they become more general takes on love that anyone can relate to.The Yard Went On Forever was Webb’s attempt to outdo himself with his follow up to MacArthur Park. It’s admirable for an artist to challenge himself, though in this case he tended to bloat the song with more and more elements: a huge orchestra playing music like that in a historical epic, soulful female backup singers and a children’s chorus singing a prayer for peace in Latin. The effect was something huge and ambitious but not something the public went for. Of course anti-war songs were big in 1968, but this wasn’t exactly the kind of catchy thing one could sing at a rally. It also had very quiet bridges between sections that didn’t carry over well on radio. I actually liked it and it remains interesting, but the public would have probably preferred something with a love theme. The lyrical midsection in which common artefacts of everyday life are given an almost iconic halo is quite wonderful.The rest of the album is another composition of symphonically arranged pop by Webb again tied together by interludes that hold it all together. This time the interludes mostly repeat the six note theme that introduces the album on piano. The lyrics are better than ever with unforgettable images (“we were wound about so tightly that we couldn’t touch each other with a straw”). I will note that for me, Gayla is a bit obscure and The Hive awfully cynical. The masterpiece of the album is The Hymns From Grand Terrace, a beautifully scored suite of songs that work together so well that I never tire of hearing it. (Grand Terrace, by the way was the next neighborhood south of Colton, where from rocky Blue Mountain you get a stunning view of the San Bernardino Valley and the lights of its cities below).I have the old release on the Raven label which was beautifully done with both albums. In America, MCA never put out the second album on CD. I don’t know who Half Moon Records are but released at a budget price, I had to get it. I didn’t expect much in the way of sound but was happily surprised. Licenses from MCA/Universal’s original masters, this sounds excellent, really, as good as the Raven release. If you are at all inclined, get this now before it goes out of print and gets expensive.EXTRA NOTE: Jimmy Webb has revealed that the image of the rained-on cake came from the English-American poet, W.H. Auden. When noted artist and illustrator Rene Boucher painted Auden’s portrait, the poet said, “My face looks like a wedding cake left out in the rain.”

Richard Harris---yeah, loved him--- still do--- that's maybe the best thing about being an artist--- the work, the empression lives on.... Certainly he's most known as an actor[and deservedly so, he was one of a generation of powerhouse performers whose ranks include his pals Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole and hell-raising equal Oliver Reed] and he has left us a litany of great work in such 'classics as 'Camelot', 'Major Dundee', 'Man In The Wilderness', 'The Molly Maguires'.The Field', 'Unforgiven' and many others....His work, though occasionally flawed, was always, at the very least,distinctive and very often much. much more....So it was, and IS, via his recordings, with his singing,,,, 'Macarthur Park' is certainly his most well known recording outside of 'Camelot' and is the perfect example of his unusual singing style....Something of a 'metaphysical ballad' it's a perfect match for the poerful, passionate and often contradictory nature of it's singer/protagonist.... The fact that much of the song is a strain on his voice, combines with the 'talk/sing nature of the narrative,makes the song seam both deeply personal and emotionally chargedand effects the listener in the same way.... There is a shared sense of striving between listener[s] and performer and an ultimate sense of satisfaction at the accomplishment of the task, the singing of the song.... 'MacArthur Park', as sung by Harris, is more than the performance of a song--- it's an adventure.... I strongly recommend the combined cd of both 'My Boy' and 'Slides'.... These are properely matched as they are both 'concept' albums and, again, come across as highly personal.... Indeed, Harris penned some of the songs on 'My Boy' himself and it is something of a 'record' of his life.... I'm a performer myself, locally, here on Cape Cod,and will be performing the song 'Slides' myself next month as part of a local Arts Festival and will be well pleased if I can imbue it with half as much meaning and distinction as the late, GREAT!, Richard Harris.... Cheers! Doug McKenna

Everyone is saying such wonderful things about these tracks and I just want to say it’s a joy to read the reviews. I loved these albums when they were first issued and still do. Webb via Harris is the perfect delivery system for this material – just another opinion of course, but hey, that’s what this is about.One of the things that often struck me (when I was first introduced to these albums) was how so many of my friends were simply “not interested” in these records. Most of my friends were musicians (so am I) and we listened to all types of music. For some reason – this material only hit home for a small subset. I couldn't explain it and it brought me down to think that such great music was simply overlooked for some reason that I didn't understand. I guess I am the lucky one.There is a heavy theatrical aspect in here – the vocals, the orchestration and the lyrics all come together in such a wonderful way. Richard Harris’s vocals are so convincing – the emotion comes across whether he is whispering or raging (and he does both). The melodies are amazing – not the trite and unimaginative types that seem to be norm these days. Each songs has a unique spirit – what can I say – it’s just really, really good. Other reviewers here have said it better than I can.I have always been a Webb fan – his Reunion album with Glen Campbell is killer – another good paring of talents, but this Richard Harris / Webb collaboration is my favorite of all. If you let it in, it will stay with you and you’ll be richer for it.

The MacArthur Park track is a classic and should be in the collection of anyone with an interest in the popular music of the sixties and seventies. The composer/writer is Jimmy Webb - perhaps most known for creating hits for Glen Campbell. Some of the other tracks are interesting - the record comes over more or less as a "concept" album to profile Harris and Webb both. I have (personal) reservations about the quality of some of the other tracks and so cannot give a full score.

A very pleasurable listening experience. Richard sings with a perfect blend of passion, tenderness and warmth with vocals surprisingly clear and delivered in a very endearing way. In comparison to the woeful efforts of the likes of Alexander Armstrong (who on this earth convinced this man that he could sing), Mr Harris' singing voice is by far the superior instrument. Certain contributors have criticised the sound quality of this disc and whilst some " compression" is evident, as a Hi-fi and Audio enthusiast of many decades, I have heard much worse over recent years; recording engineering from many of today's mastering studios falls well short of the standard of yesteryear. Listen to the one dimensional, muffled sound from much of today's studio output and then play some of the magnificent stereo from Nat King Cole or Dean Martin from the 50's and 60's. On a negative note, the title track may not be the single version familiar to most but other contributors have offered useful advice and pointers towards alternative sources.

With this man being a great actor he certainly knows how to put emotion and passion in to every song. It was something that comes across very well and made it into a fantastic album. It should be in everyone’s collection really worth having.

The magnificent, epic, legendary MacArthur Park is the main feature of this CD. But it also contains a number of beautiful melodies sung with the clearest diction I have ever heard from a singer by the late Richard Harris. Backed by a wonderful orchestra, the songs on this CD are sung with great feeling and passion which cannot be bettered.

I love this CD, and it is an absolute bargain considering the number of tracks it contains. bringing together Harris's 'Tramp Shining' and 'The Yard went on Forever' LPs, with his famous single, MacArthur Park. I love Richard Harris's voice and the sense of wistful nostalgia and loss he manages to convey. Great recording. So glad I got it.