{"product_id":"wichita-lineman-searching-in-the-sun-for-the-worlds-greatest-unfinished-song-faber-social","title":"Wichita Lineman: Searching in the Sun for the World's Greatest Unfinished Song (Faber Social)","description":"Dylan Jones' luminous excavation of Jimmy Webb's song 'Wichita Lineman' offers a portal into a defining moment of American cultural history. The 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. Here, deep in American Arcadia, was a man in deep existential crisis.\nWritten in 1968 by Jimmy Webb, \"Wichita Lineman\" is the first philosophical country song: a heartbreaking torch ballad still celebrated for its mercurial songwriting genius 50 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 of America at a moment of unprecedented crisis. Fusing a dribble of bass, searing strings, tremolo guitar and Glen 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.\nMixing close-listening, interviews and travelogue, Dylan Jones explores the legacy of a record that has entertained, perplexed and haunted millions for over half a century. What is it about this song that continues to fascinate and 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 the song's success? Part biography, part work of musicological archaeology, The Wichita Lineman opens a window onto America in the late twentieth century through the prism of a song that has been covered by myriad artists in the intervening decades.\u003cbr\u003eASIN: 0571353401\u003cbr\u003eVSKU: BVV.0571353401.G\u003cbr\u003eCondition: Good\u003cbr\u003eAuthor\/Artist:Jones, Dylan\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNote:\u003c\/b\u003e Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Notes\u003c\/b\u003e: The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact  including the dust cover, if applicable . Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.  \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Blue Vase Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43715031564349,"sku":"BVV.0571353401.G","price":14.52,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0589\/4225\/9261\/files\/0571353401-0.jpg?v=1790288885","url":"https:\/\/www.bluevasebooks.com\/products\/wichita-lineman-searching-in-the-sun-for-the-worlds-greatest-unfinished-song-faber-social","provider":"Blue Vase Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}