Disco de Glen Campbell: “Meet Glen Campbell”

Prime Cuts: These Days, Grow Old with Me, Sing

With his last Billboard country entry being 15 years, Campbell has been sidelined as irrelevant and antiquated. At age 72, instead of rolling up his sleeves ashen by today's music's chillness, this cosmopolitan cowboy has decided to re-invent himself. "Meet Glen Campbell" is an attempt to re-introduce Glen Campbell to a new and younger audience; youngsters who knew nothing of Campbell's "Galveston" and "By the Time I Get to Phoenix." Just like what Johnny Cash did at the twilight of his career, Campbell has enlisted of a couple of rock thoroughbreds--Julian Raymond and Howard Willing--to helm an album of covers from Velvet Underground, U2, the Foo Fighters to Travis to Green Day to Jackson Browne to the Beatles. However, despite such an eclectic mélange of material, what makes "Meet Glen Campbell" such a compelling record is that it is bona fide Glen Campbell record. Without hearing the originals, one would even have thought these are all paean were tailored for this former CMA winner. Such ingenuity only testifies to the sublime interpretive skills of Campbell.

The CD gets to a auspicious start with a churchy arrangement of Travis' "Sing" augment with bell chimes building up to a glorious anthem professing to love's prowess. "Walls," as the title suggests, is a full-bodied string-laden pop number with a marching drum line over its infectious melody. Few songs today have such singalong melodies as this Tom Petty number. Country purists who may find the crowded arrangements of the first two cuts a little on the stuffy side will find relief in another Tom Petty composition "Angel Dream." "Angel Dream" has a simpler more acoustic backing with Campbell's vocals at the cynosure. The 60s sounding backings that calls to mind Campbell's "Galveston" may be a little turn-offish on what is perhaps the weakest cut here "Times Like These."

Most appealing is the reflective Jackson Browne written "These Days." When Campbell sings: "These days I sit on corner stones/And count the time in quarter tones to ten, my friend/Dont confront me with my failures/I had not forgotten them" there's a touch of morose and melancholy that is so beguiling real. On the other hand, U2's love proclamation "All I Want is You" does not have the depth of the Beatles' "Grow Old With You" which up till today is still one of the best endearing love songs ever written. Never prodigious, every word seems to weigh with thought and sentiment. Given Campbell's religious convictions, Velvet Underground's "Jesus" (though lyrically contrived) fits Campbell to a tee.

Released under the Capitol Records rubric, Campbell remains one of the very few singers to still have a major label signing in their autumnal years. And based on this record, Campbell deserves it. This is not an older artist trying to be cool by cutting a rock record. Rather, it's Campbell being himself tackling contemporary songs making them his very old. At the end of the day, it's Campbell through and through. And it's such a Campbell we meet here.

Prime Cuts: These Days, Grow Old with Me, Sing

With his last Billboard country entry being 15 years, Campbell has been sidelined as irrelevant and antiquated. At age 72, instead of rolling up his sleeves ashen by today's music's chillness, this cosmopolitan cowboy has decided to re-invent himself. "Meet Glen Campbell" is an attempt to re-introduce Glen Campbell to a new and younger audience; youngsters who knew nothing of Campbell's "Galveston" and "By the Time I Get to Phoenix." Just like what Johnny Cash did at the twilight of his career, Campbell has enlisted of a couple of rock thoroughbreds--Julian Raymond and Howard Willing--to helm an album of covers from Velvet Underground, U2, the Foo Fighters to Travis to Green Day to Jackson Browne to the Beatles. However, despite such an eclectic mélange of material, what makes "Meet Glen Campbell" such a compelling record is that it is bona fide Glen Campbell record. Without hearing the originals, one would even have thought these are all paean were tailored for this former CMA winner. Such ingenuity only testifies to the sublime interpretive skills of Campbell.

The CD gets to a auspicious start with a churchy arrangement of Travis' "Sing" augment with bell chimes building up to a glorious anthem professing to love's prowess. "Walls," as the title suggests, is a full-bodied string-laden pop number with a marching drum line over its infectious melody. Few songs today have such singalong melodies as this Tom Petty number. Country purists who may find the crowded arrangements of the first two cuts a little on the stuffy side will find relief in another Tom Petty composition "Angel Dream." "Angel Dream" has a simpler more acoustic backing with Campbell's vocals at the cynosure. The 60s sounding backings that calls to mind Campbell's "Galveston" may be a little turn-offish on what is perhaps the weakest cut here "Times Like These."

Most appealing is the reflective Jackson Browne written "These Days." When Campbell sings: "These days I sit on corner stones/And count the time in quarter tones to ten, my friend/Dont confront me with my failures/I had not forgotten them" there's a touch of morose and melancholy that is so beguiling real. On the other hand, U2's love proclamation "All I Want is You" does not have the depth of the Beatles' "Grow Old With You" which up till today is still one of the best endearing love songs ever written. Never prodigious, every word seems to weigh with thought and sentiment. Given Campbell's religious convictions, Velvet Underground's "Jesus" (though lyrically contrived) fits Campbell to a tee.

Released under the Capitol Records rubric, Campbell remains one of the very few singers to still have a major label signing in their autumnal years. And based on this record, Campbell deserves it. This is not an older artist trying to be cool by cutting a rock record. Rather, it's Campbell being himself tackling contemporary songs making them his very old. At the end of the day, it's Campbell through and through. And it's such a Campbell we meet here.

If you have never met Glen Campbell or, worse, if you know him from cheesy TV appearances or wild affairs or that horrendous mug shot, then you are in for a treat. Once you get past all of the things that have nothing to do with music, you will find that Glen Campbell takes a back seat to no one when it comes to interpretive singing or playing the guitar. That talent is what has garnered Campbell a wide array of high profile fans - everyone from Michael Stipe to Stone Temple Pilots to Keith Urban to Vince Gill and many, many more.

"Meet Glen Campbell" finds him in familiar territory, covering great songs by accomplished songwriters (see also Jimmy Webb and John Hartford). The production style, handled exceptionally well by Julian Raymond, harkens back to Campbell's commercial peak when he was, pretty much, the biggest pop star in the world (circa 1968, 1969). A big tip of the hat has to go to Campbell's producer back in the day, Al Delory.

As for songs, hearing Glen Campbell, awash in a sixties era southern California pop wall of sound, make a song by The Foo Fighters (Times Like These) into something totally his own is to understand what an under appreciated giant Glen Campbell was and is. Ditto that with two Tom Petty covers, "Walls" and "Angel Heart".

The highlights of this record (which is full of highlights) are "These Days", the Jackson Browne tune and "All I Want Is You", from the pens of U2. On "These Days" the production is closer to Nico's version than Browne's, with a groovy (that word just seems right) organ solo. As for Campbell's take on U2, his signature low tuned electric guitar (of "Wichita Lineman" and "Galveston" fame) rips the song from the rock gods clutches and makes one wonder if it was written with Campbell in mind.

In addition, there is a great take on the ironically titled "Grow Old With Me", written by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. It's sweet, unpretentious and hits the nail right on the head. Lennon could not have entrusted this song, which he was never able to record in the studio, to a better artist.

In short, if you are a fan of pop music (in the best sense of that much maligned phrase), this is a record you want to give a listen to. Campbell's sweet tenor, aged just enough to give it a well earned edge, moves gracefully in and out of the lush production but is never overwhelmed by it. He is truly a master.

Many comparisons have been made to Johnny Cash's late-in-life revival via his American Recordings records. Cash was great, but those albums did not reflect what Cash had been. To a large degree it was all about drama. When you heard the withered giant move hoarsely through "We'll Meet Again", Cash's life and legend loomed large in your mind as you listened. With Campbell, the power is purely in the music. This is a seventy two year old man who can still deliver the chops of a thirty year old man - vocally and instrumentally. It's amazing...just like this record.

Green Day? Foo Fighters? Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers?

The answer here is Glen Campbell performing incredible covers of songs you wouldn't normally associate him with.

Glen was a huge influence on Rock recordings in the 60's, having performed the first pre-Pet Sounds single by Brian Wilson "Guess I'm Dumb", and then later as a guitarist on the Beach Boys classic album.

Once again at the youthful age of 72, Glen can be the skillful master of song interpretation, creating new meaning, depth and polish to songs of the Rock genre.

Superb production, arrangements and choice of instruments make this a must have album. Kudos to Julian Raymond, the producer, for paying tribute to the classic Campbell sound in a totally new, contemporary way.

It's an incredible compliment to Campbell that he can sound so great once again, as if it's a Rock follow up album to Wichita Lineman a mere 40 years later.

These days it's best if you Sing along to Glen....an excellent addition to your music collection! You'll have the Time of Your Life listening....

Glen Campbell is one of the most talented musicians and vocalists ever, though he is often overlooked due to certain aspects of his personal life and some kitschy moments on his TV show, etc... As a musician and artist, Campbell has always been great... and HE IS BACK. At 72 years of age, Glen has recorded one of the finest albums of his near 50-year career. His take on these songs, most written by younger and more contemporary artists, is simply splendid! Additionally, the musical arrangements harken back to Campbell's "Galveston" & "Withcita Lineman" days, with Al De Lorey-like orchestration and Campbell's trademark guitar solos. This is a WONDEFUL CD! PERIOD!