After Ravens vs. Bengals, slow down with Jimmy Webb
Of all the singer-songwriters who became famous during the late 1960s and early 1970s, Jimmy Webb was perceived as perhaps the squarest. James Taylor and Kris Kristofferson were heroes to the anti-war left, but Webb was associated with conservative country singer Glen Campbell, who had memorably performed several of Webb's songs and made him a commercial success.
Despite three Grammys and several top-10 hits over a 40-year-career, that perception has stuck. Webb is a virtual unknown among young listeners today, while contemporaries like Taylor have been passed on to kids by their boomer parents.
When the 64-year-old kicks off two nights of sold-out shows here in Baltimore on Sunday, he'll do so at the intimate — read: small — Cabaret at Germano's Trattoria.
The cascading lyrics and nuanced politics in his new anthology album, "Across the River," might make him hopelessly retro in a mainstream market that lacks introspection and likes its musicians wearing meat dresses. But Webb is as perceptive today as he was then — if just as misunderstood.
To read the rest of this story, click here. The two nights of shows are sold out, but Germano's is keeping a standby list.
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
Comments
What's a cascading lyric? And what's nuanced politics?
Posted by: Rock Strongo | September 20, 2010 8:23 AM
Why post a sold out show?
Posted by: Dave | September 21, 2010 3:30 PM