In 1977, when he released his fifth album, El Mirage, Jimmy Webb told a reporter that if the album didn't "make it," as his previous four had not, he probably wouldn't release any more records. Webb, of course, could afford to sit at home and collect royalties on such evergreens as "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" and "MacArthur Park," but after El Mirage failed to chart, he simply reverted to his usual practice of writing for projects other than his own solo albums. Art Garfunkel's 1978 LP Watermark consisted almost entirely of Webb compositions; Webb composed the score for the 1979 film Voices; and he placed songs on Firefall's 1980 album Clouds Across the Sun, Glen Campbell's 1981 collection It's the World Gone Crazy, and Garfunkel's next release, 1981's Scissors Cut. Some of those songs seem to have reawakened interest in Webb as a performer, since he scored a contract with Lorimar Records (distributed by major label CBS' Columbia imprint) for Angel Heart, which features his versions of "Old Wing Mouth" from the Firefall LP, "In Cars," featured on both It's the World Gone Crazy and Scissors Cut, and "Scissors Cut" itself. As with El Mirage, Webb has gone for the all-out Los Angeles session-musician approach, recording at the Sunset Sound studio with members of Toto (keyboard player David Paich, drummer Jeffrey Porcaro, guitarist Steve Lukather), plus such high-priced talent as David Foster (piano), Lee Sklar (bass), and Dean Parks (guitar), as well as a slew of name vocalists -- Gerry Beckley of America, Michael McDonald, Graham Nash, Kenny Loggins, Daryl Hall, and Stephen Bishop. The result, of course, is 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. Webb's days as a struggling vocalist are behind him (or maybe he's just sufficiently studio savvy to hide his limitations), so he fits right in. The only problem, an unusual one for a Webb album, is material. 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.