Angel Heart (Jimmy Webb album)

Angel Heart
Studio album by Jimmy Webb
Released	April 1982
Recorded	1982 Sunset Sound Recorders in Los Angeles
Genre	Popular
Length	42:05
Label	Real West Production
Producer	Matthew McCauley Fred Mollin
Jimmy Webb chronology
El Mirage (1977) Angel Heart (1982) Suspending Disbelief (1993)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Angel Heart is the seventh album by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb, released in April 1982 by Real West Production.^[1]

Critical response

In his review for AllMovie, William Ruhlmann described the album as "a classic of the style called 'West Coast pop', a creamy adult contemporary sound with a rock edge but plenty of strings, the tasty guitar solos offset by the sweet harmonies".^[1] While Ruhlmann acknowledges that "Webb's days as a struggling vocalist are behind him", he points to a unique problem for a Jimmy Webb album—the material.^[1] Ruhlmann concluded:

This is simply not the most distinctive batch of songs Webb has ever put on a disc. There are a lot of minor love songs and a few ponderous numbers, while the best compositions are the ones Garfunkel already cherry-picked and did better, "Scissors Cut" and "In Cars". It's fair to say that, by 1982, Webb probably wasn't really expecting to become a star performer, but the session bills for Angel Heart must have been substantial enough for someone to hope this album would sell in big numbers, despite Webb's spotty track record as a recording artist. From a record company point of view, he was a songwriter with a demonstrated ability to write popular songs, and he kept getting contracts because he always seemed just one hit away from making a successful transition to popularity as a singer. If, once again, that transition did not occur, in this case that was more due to a lack of quality content rather than an inability to achieve a commercial sound.^[1]

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

Track listing

All tracks written by Jimmy Webb, except where noted. 

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Angel Heart"		3:24
2.	"God's Gift"		3:52
3.	"One of the Few"	John Cooper	4:30
4.	"Scissors Cut"		4:44
5.	"Work for a Dollar"		5:34
6.	"His World"		4:37
7.	"Our Movie" (featuring Leah Kunkel)		3:53
8.	"Nasty Love" (featuring Daryl Hall)		4:29
9.	"In Cars" (featuring Stephen Bishop)		3:33
10.	"Old Wing Mouth"		3:49
Total length:			42:05

Personnel

Music Jimmy Webb – vocals, piano Fred Mollin – acoustic guitar, percussion, producer, background vocals Kenny Loggins – background vocals Victor Feldman – percussion Daryl Hall – background vocals on "Nasty Love" Fred Tackett – guitar Jerry Hey – trumpet David Paich – organ, piano David Foster – piano Leland Sklar – bass Bob Glaub – bass Jeff Porcaro – drums Dean Cortese – bass Graham Nash – background vocals Valerie Carter – background vocals Michael McDonald – background vocals Leah Kunkel – background vocals Stephen Bishop – vocals on "In Cars" Steve Lukather – guitar Bud Shank – flute Dean Parks – guitar Gerry Beckley – background vocals

Production Matthew McCauley – arranger, string arrangements, background vocals, synthesizer, producer, conductor, percussion William F. Williams – executive producer Nancy Donald – design Mark Linett – overdub engineer Bob Schaper – engineer Mike Reese – mastering Dennis Drake – engineer, overdub engineer Bob Irwin – reissue producer Kevin Boutote – digital mastering Bill Schnee – mixing Henry Diltz – photography[1]

References

1. Ruhlmann, William. "Angel Heart". AllMusic. Retrieved October 26, 2012.