Originally published in The Aquarian Weekly

February 13, 2008

JIMMY WEBB /SASHA DOBSON

Sanctuary Concerts

January 26, 2008

by Ken Shane

CHATHAM, NJ—Jimmy Webb has

written some of the most indelible

songs of our time. He has received

nearly every honor that can be

accorded to a songwriter, including

numerous Grammy Awards. So it was

fitting that an enthusiastic but attentive

audience filled the chapel of the First

Presbyterian Church for Webb's

appearance.

"When I started out, I was

absolutely awful. I had no voice, I

didn't have a lot of stage presence

and most of the (interpretive) intensity

that I brought to the experience was

actually terror," Jimmy Webb once

said. Things have changed. I have

been going to his shows for many

years, and I have seen him evolve

into a consummate performer. Not

only is his playing and singing now

full of confidence, but he has

developed a great skill as an

entertaining storyteller between songs.

It was apparent that Webb was

fighting off a cold on this night, and

his songs are not easy to sing for a

vocalist in the best of health. Still, he

made no effort to shy away from the

high notes, and the result was an

attractive vulnerability that made his

emotion-filled songs even more

powerful. He continues to employ an

improvisational style on piano, making

each song a little different each time

out, as he experiments with interesting

new inversions while always retaining

the basic melody.

The 14 song set found Webb

tackling some of the biggest hits of

his career, including the three song

geographical trilogy of "By The Time

I Get to Phoenix", "Galveston" and

"Wichita Lineman", that made Glen

Campbell a star. He also played very

personal versions of songs that were

made popular by Frank Sinatra

("Didn't We"), Linda Ronstadt ("The

Moon's A Harsh Mistress", "Adios"),

Johnny Rivers ("Do What You Gotta

Do"), Art Garfunkel ("All I Know"),

and The Fifth Dimension ("Up, Up

And Away"). No Jimmy Webb show

would be complete without a rendition

of his biggest hit, "MacArthur Park",

and it closed his set prior to the

encores.

There were also some rewards for

longtime Webb-heads as he tackled

less well known, but equally beautiful

songs such as "No Signs Of Age"

(written for Richard Harris) and "What

Does A Woman See In A Man", from

Webb's Suspending Disbelief album.

Throughout the evening Webb

enthralled the audience with

sometimes funny and often poignant

stories of the artists with whom he

has worked and befriended over the

years. Webb, who is 61 years old and

has been sober for seven years, was

open about the days of the "evil"

Jimmy, when he was drinking more

than he should have. Particularly

delightful were the stories of his

drinking days with the late Richard

Harris. But all of that is behind him

now, and Webb is now clearly a man

in full control of his life and art.

California-born, New York-based

Sasha Dobson opened the show. A

lovely voice and a handful of jazz and

Latin tinged songs make her an artist

to watch.

Sanctuary Concerts, led by Scott

Sheldon, are now in their eighth

season of presenting high quality

acoustic music in this area. It is their

third season in residence in Chatham

after earlier stops in Watchung and

Berkeley Heights.

Jimmy Webb