Just Across the River

Just Across the River
Album cover image of Jimmy Webb smiling by a river with a bridge in the distance
Studio album by Jimmy Webb
Released June 29, 2010
Recorded 2010
Sound Emporium
Zoomer South Studios
Loud Recording Studios
Fireside Studios
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Genre Popular
Length 52:58
Label Koch Records
Producer Fred Mollin
Jimmy Webb chronology

Live and at Large
(2007)
Just Across the River
(2010)
Still Within the Sound of My Voice
(2013)

Just Across the River is the twelfth album by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb, released in June 2010 by Koch Records. The album features thirteen classic Jimmy Webb tunes performed by Webb with guest appearances by friends, collaborators, admirers, and fellow recording artists Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Billy Joel, Willie Nelson, Glen Campbell, Michael McDonald, Mark Knopfler, J.D. Souther, Vince Gill, and Lucinda Williams.[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Rolling Stone [2]

In his review for Allmusic, Thom Jurek gave the album three and a half out of five stars, praising the efforts of producer Fred Mollin to assemble some of Nashville's finest musicians to produce a "gorgeous sound" that was mostly recorded live over two days in a Nashville studio. According to Jurek, some of the highlights include "Oklahoma Nights" with Vince Gill's "beautiful tenor balancing the harmonies"; "Highwayman" with Mark Knopfler's vocals underscoring Webb's vocals, creating a dark, melancholy authenticity; "Wichita Lineman" with Billy Joel's remarkable "empathic feel for the duet"; and "P.F. Sloan" with Jackson Browne's vocals making the song "a real tragedy for an era, as well as for a man."[1]

In his review in Rolling Stone magazine, James Hunter also gave the album three and a half out of five stars, noting that "few singers blend grit and grandeur like Jimmy Webb" and that his voice "is like an old Mustang heading through a treacherous yet often gorgeous landscape."[2]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Jimmy Webb. 

No. Title Length
1. "Oklahoma Nights" (featuring Vince Gill) 3:24
2. "Wichita Lineman" (featuring Billy Joel) 4:15
3. "If You See Me Getting Smaller" (featuring Willie Nelson) 4:21
4. "Galveston" (featuring Lucinda Williams) 3:57
5. "P.F. Sloan" (featuring Jackson Browne) 4:29
6. "By the Time I Get To Phoenix" (featuring Glen Campbell) 4:05
7. "Cowboy Hall of Fame"   3:11
8. "Where Words End" (featuring Michael McDonald) 4:14
9. "Highwayman" (featuring Mark Knopfler) 4:17
10. "I Was Too Busy Loving You" (featuring J. D. Souther) 4:09
11. "It Won't Bring Her Back"   3:32
12. "Do What You Gotta Do"   4:23
13. "All I Know" (featuring Linda Ronstadt) 4:41
Total length:
52:58

Personnel

Music
  • Jimmy Webb – vocals, piano, composer, lyricist, liner notes
  • Fred Mollin – synthesizer, harmonica, percussion, electric guitar, background vocals, guest appearance
  • Mark Knopfler – electric guitar, guest appearance
  • Johnny A – electric guitar, guest appearance
  • Pat Buchanan – electric guitar
  • Bryan Sutton – acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin
  • John Willis – acoustic guitar, banjo, electric guitar
  • John Hobbs – organ, piano, wurlitzer
  • Jim Hoke – accordion, steel guitar, penny whistle, jaw harp
  • Jeff Taylor – accordion
  • Jerry Douglas – dobro, guest appearance
  • Paul Franklin – dobro, steel Guitar
  • Stuart Duncan – fiddle, mandolin
  • Larry Paxton – bass
  • Eddie Bayers – drums
  • Greg Morrow – drums
  • Glen Campbell - guest appearance
  • Jackson Browne – guest appearance
  • Vince Gill – guest appearance
  • Billy Joel – guest appearance
  • Matthew McCauley – guest appearance
  • Willie Nelson – guest appearance
  • Linda Ronstadt – guest appearance
  • J. D. Souther – guest appearance
  • Russell Terrell – background vocals, guest appearance
  • Tania Hancheroff – background vocals, guest appearance
  • Jaime Babbitt – background vocals, guest appearance
  • Troy Johnson – background vocals, guest appearance

Production
  • Fred Mollin – producer
  • Matthew McCauley – string arrangements, string conductor
  • Kyle Lehning – engineer
  • Mark Linett – engineer
  • Kerry Cunningham – engineer
  • Casey Wood – engineer
  • Stephen Armstrong – engineer
  • Jared Nugent – engineer
  • Jake Burns – engineer
  • David Stewart – engineer
  • Jay Frigolleto – guitar engineer
  • "Teenage" Dave Salley – overdub engineer
  • Greg Calbi – mastering[1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Eder, Bruce. "Just Across the River". AllMusic. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Hunter, James (October 26, 2010). "Just Across the River". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 28, 2012.