Ten Easy Pieces

Last updated
Ten Easy Pieces
Ten Easy Pieces.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 15, 1996 (1996-10-15)
Recorded1996
McClear Pathe Studios and Zoomar Studios in Toronto
Genre Pop
Length43:58
Label Guardian Records
Producer Fred Mollin
Jimmy Webb chronology
Suspending Disbelief
(1993)
Ten Easy Pieces
(1996)
Twilight of the Renegades
(2005)

Ten Easy Pieces is the ninth album by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb, released in October 1996 by Guardian Records. The album consists of new arrangements of some of Webb's most popular songs. [1]

Contents

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]
Uncut Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]

In his review for AllMusic, Bruce Eder called Ten Easy Pieces "the best and most accessible of all Webb's albums". [1] Eder continued:

His voice is more expressive than ever, and the performances are generally grittier, with more raw emotion than the better known hit versions display. The arrangements are generally very simple and straightforward, with Webb's piano the primary instrument, and several of the songs are performed in a deeply personal manner, more akin to home recording for Webb's own pleasure than to a commercial release—"Wichita Lineman", in particular, sounds here like the most personal and private of performances, filled with wrenching loneliness at which the Glen Campbell version only hints. The notes are very personal and revealing as well. [1]

The AllMusic website gave the album four and a half out of five stars. [1]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jimmy Webb

No.TitleLength
1."Galveston"4:49
2."Highwayman"4:30
3."Wichita Lineman"4:16
4."The Moon's a Harsh Mistress"3:53
5."By the Time I Get to Phoenix"3:54
6."If These Walls Could Speak"4:02
7."Didn't We"3:18
8."The Worst That Could Happen"3:41
9."All I Know"3:52
10."MacArthur Park"7:43
Total length:43:58

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Ten Easy Pieces
Chart (1997)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [3] 76

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Eder, Bruce. "Ten Easy Pieces". AllMusic. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  2. Lowe, Richard (October 1997). "Jimmy Webb: Ten Easy Pieces". Uncut . No. 5. p. 81.
  3. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 298.