El Mirage
Album cover image of Jimmy Webb in silhouette on a beach at sunset
Studio album by
Jimmy Webb
ReleasedMay 1977 (1977-05)
Recorded1977
StudioCherokee Studios, Hollywood, California
GenrePop
Length39:15
LabelAtlantic
ProducerGeorge Martin
Jimmy Webb chronology
Land's End
(1974) 		El Mirage
(1977) 		Angel Heart
(1982)

El Mirage is the sixth album by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb, released in May 1977 by Atlantic Records. This was the second album for which Webb handed production and arrangement duties on to another person, George Martin, producer of the Beatles. The album contains "The Highwayman", a song that later provided both the name and first hit for the Highwaymen. Jennings also recorded the track "If You See Me Getting Smaller" for his album Ol Waylon (1977).[1] The cover was photographed at El Mirage Lake, Mojave Desert, California.[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [1]

In his review for AllMusic, William Ruhlmann called the album Webb's "most polished effort yet as a performer". Ruhlmann noted the "lush tracks full of tasty playing and warm string charts". He described the re-recording of "P.F. Sloan" as "unnecessary", but found the compositions generally up to Webb's high standard as a songwriter, and the album as a whole a successful reintroduction of Webb as a pop artist.[1]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jimmy Webb, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Highwayman" 3:51
2."If You See Me Getting Smaller I'm Leaving" 3:53
3."Mixed-Up Guy" 3:40
4."Christiaan, No" 3:07
5."Moment in a Shadow" 3:39
6."Sugarbird" 3:25
7."Where the Universes Are" 3:34
8."P.F. Sloan" 4:17
9."Dance to the Radio"Fred Tackett3:06
10."The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" 3:06
11."Skylark (A Meditation)"Jimmy Webb, Paul A. Skylar3:37
Total length:39:15

Personnel

References

  1. ^ a b c Ruhlmann, William. "El Mirage". AllMusic. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  2. ^ "Musical Maps".
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