All too often in music it takes a great artist to pass away in order for them to receive their due. This is most certainly the case with Jimmy Campbell who started off with Merseybeat combo The Kirkby's and went on to front the 23 Turn Off and the more progressive sounding Rockin' Horse. Though it is Jimmy Campbell's solo work that is now starting to generate the kind of excitement only reserved for those true greats that had once been long forgotten... Skip Spence, Bill Fay and the recent Karen Dalton re-releases are examples of this.
Campbell's body of solo work, until now, has been only available to obsessive record collectors with very deep pockets. His 1970 release 'Half Baked' on Vertigo which featured the incredible 'In My Room' as covered by Billy Fury, has all the hallmarks of a masterpiece. His other two significant releases are 'Son Of Anastasia' (Fontana) and 'Jimmy Campbell's Album' (Phillips) all of which are crying out for a CD re-release.
A retrospective becomes ever more likely when a new generation discovers an important artist once overlooked or forgotten. Jimmy Campbell's songs are now being heralded by the likes of Pete Wylie, Edgar Jones and Peter Van Poehl. We at Arm's Reach simply urge you to succumb to the genius that is Jimmy Campbell and his irresistible charms.
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