Originally Posted by
MarkBastable
See , I am not a fan of country music. Really - can't be doing with it. But The Wichita Lineman is not, actually, a country song. Those are not country chords, and that lyrical conceit is certainly not a country trope. It's practically metaphysical. As a writer, Jimmy Webb tended not to go for the easy or pat emotional option - but the arrangement in the Campbell version is deceptive, because it sort of leads you to believe you're listening to schmaltz.
On the other hand, the Righteous Brothers thing is absolutely, bang-on, money-in-the-bank pop cliché. Play it on a guitar - it's banal. The genius is all in the arrangement. 7.5/10
Hang on - I'll find something.