Ten Easy Pieces

1996 studio album by Jimmy Webb

Ten Easy Pieces

Studio album by

Jimmy Webb

Released

October 15, 1996 (1996-10-15)

Recorded

1996
McClear Pathe Studios and Zoomar Studios in Toronto

Genre

Pop

Length

43:58

Label

Guardian Records

Producer

Fred Mollin

Jimmy Webb chronology

Suspending Disbelief
(1993)

Ten Easy Pieces
(1996)

Twilight of the Renegades
(2005)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]

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]

Critical reception

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.	Title	Length
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

Music

Jimmy Webb – vocals, piano, keyboards, Hammond organ, liner notes
Dean Parks – guitar on "Wichita Lineman"
Fred Mollin – autoharp, acoustic guitar on "If These Walls Could Speak"; backing vocals on "All I Know"
Steve Smith – pedal steel
Lesley Young – oboe
Paul Widner – cello
Steven MacKinnon – accordion on "Galveston"
Pat Perez – soprano saxophone on "All I Know"
Oliver Schroer – fiddle on "If These Walls Could Speak"
Audrey King – cello
David Hetherington – cello
Matthew McCauley – string arrangements, backing vocals on "All I Know"
Michael McDonald – backing vocals
Shawn Colvin – backing vocals on "Didn't We"
Susan Webb – backing vocals on "If These Walls Could Speak"
Marc Cohn – backing vocals on "If These Walls Could Speak"

Production

Fred Mollin – producer
Jay Landers – executive producer
Glen Marchese – engineer
Bill Harwell – engineer
Brian Nevin – engineer
Jeff Wolpert – engineer, mixing
Greg Robertson – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
Denis Tougas – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
Greg Calbi – mastering
Robert Abriola – art direction
Carolyn Jones – photography^[1]

Charts

Chart performance for *Ten Easy Pieces*
Chart (1997)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[2]	76

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Eder, Bruce. "Ten Easy Pieces". AllMusic. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 298.