{"product_id":"wichita-lineman","title":"Wichita Lineman","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe sound of ‘Wichita Lineman’ was the sound of ecstatic solitude, but then its hero was the quintessential loner. What a great metaphor he was: a man who needed a woman more than he actually wanted her. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWritten in 1968 by Jimmy Webb, ‘Wichita Lineman’ is the first philosophical country song: a heartbreaking torch ballad still celebrated for its mercurial songwriting genius fifty years later. It was recorded by Glen Campbell in LA with a legendary group of musicians known as ‘the Wrecking Crew’, and something about the song’s enigmatic mood seemed to capture the tensions in America at a moment of crisis. Fusing a dribble of bass, searing strings, tremolo guitar and Campbell’s plaintive vocals, Webb’s paean to the American West describes a telephone lineman’s longing for an absent lover, who he hears ‘singing in the wire’ – and like all good love songs, it’s an SOS from the heart. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMixing close-listening, interviews and travelogue, Dylan Jones explores the legacy of a record that has entertained and haunted millions for over half a century. What is it about this song that continues to seduce listeners, and how did the parallel stories of Campbell and Webb – songwriters and recording artists from different ends of the spectrum – unfold in the decades following? Part biography, part work of musicological archaeology, \u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eWichita Lineman\u003c\/i\u003e opens a window on to America in the late-twentieth century through the prism of a song that has been covered by myriad artists in the intervening decades.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Americana in the truest sense: evocative and real.’ Bob Stanley\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘It''s just another song to me. I''ve written 1,000 of them and it''s really just another one.’ Jimmy Webb  \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘When I heard it I cried. It made me cry because I was homesick. It''s just a masterfully written song.’ Glen Campbell\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘I love the song because its as though it''s been in my life forever.’ Amy Raphael\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘It’s not just the perfect pop song, it’s almost perfect as an idea, existing outside of the song itself.’ Stuart Maconie\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘I don’t really think of ‘Wichita Lineman’ as easy listening, I just think it’s a great song.’ Paul Weller\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MediaPlace","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57316978229630,"sku":"NW9780571353415","price":12.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1379\/1261\/files\/9780571353415.jpg?v=1778700771","url":"https:\/\/mediaplace.com\/en-eu\/products\/wichita-lineman","provider":"MediaPlace","version":"1.0","type":"link"}