Campbell’s Savory Musical Soup
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This isn't yet another day under covers, but I don't care. I'm a maverick! So I'm gonna recommend a recent album of some familiar songs interpreted by an old favorite of mine - although not so old as to be irrelevant. Yes, it's a collection of cover tunes by a renowned performer, and it's much more: a resuscitation, a reinvention, and a restoration.
Meet Glen Campbell is a stylish studio comeback by the classy countrypolitan singer-guitarist who, in the 1960s, rose from esteemed player with the ubiquitous L.A. session band the Wrecking Crew to successful, Grammy-winning recording artist and beloved TV-variety-show guest and host.
One of Campbell's assets was his incredibly good taste in material. He always had an ear for terrific composers, and his hits were evidence of that skill. I should say that, on the rare occasions when I participate in karaoke, I invariably choose Jimmy Webb's "Wichita Lineman" as my go-to song, partly because the song is lovely and somewhat in my vocal range - but mostly because Campbell's 1968 version of it is not only one of my favorite tracks but, to my mind, one of the greatest singles of the rock era. Campbell's essential interpretations of John Hartford's "Gentle on My Mind" and Webb's "Galveston" are right up there, too.
Those records are timeless. The warmth and yearning in his voice, and his eloquent guitar picking, have never lost their luster. Apparently, producer Julian Raymond (Rosanne Cash, Shawn Mullins, Wallflowers) and his engineer/co-producer Howard Willing (OK Go, Stevie Nicks, Melissa Auf der Maur, Liz Phair, Smashing Pumpkins) realized that Campbell's talents are undimmed at age 72. They set about grabbing a bunch of songs by well-regarded artists that would be enhanced by the singer's gifts.
Thus, Campbell covers tunes by bands of comparatively recent vintage - including Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)," Travis' "Sing," The Replacements' "Sadly Beautiful," U2's "All I Want Is You," and Foo Fighters' "Times Like These," as well as the work of perennials Lou Reed, Tom Petty, Jackson Browne and John Lennon. And he makes all of the songs his own, helped immeasurably by lush arrangements that echo his '60s and '70s heyday at the top of the charts.
Feast your ears on "Times Like These," courtesy of the MOG red button. It's as if Dave Grohl and his fellow Foo Fighters wrote the thing for Campbell. And the whole album is like that. At this point in Campbell's life, he's able to give such depth to Browne's "These Days" and Lennon's "Grow Old with Me" that it's like hearing the songs for the first time.
And, turning to the live-on-video side, here are a couple of goodies from Campbell's recent AOL Music Session:
"Sing":
"Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)":
Locating MOG account...
Comments (23)
he looks pretty good nad sounds great too!
Lovely stuff. His Jimmy Webb album is favorite of mine, especially "You Might As Well Smile." I have to say, I always felt there was something off-putting about him personally, but the singing... mmm. LOVE "Wichita Lineman." I saw Webb at the Bottom Line some time ago, and that was, like, the one song he did not do, and I would have been more miffed if the rest of the show were not impeccable.
Kori: D'accord!
deedee: Maybe Webb thought it would be blasphemy to do "Witchita Lineman" - even though he wrote the song. Sure, I have the temerity to sing it when the karaoke machine is on, but no one can really do justice to it other than Campbell.
Oh, he does a perfectly lovely rendition (he even recorded it)-- I think we just caught the wrong night. But no complaints. ...
AND he was a Beach Boy on the road when Brian decided to spend his time in the studio.
Campbell tells a story about being in the Wrecking Crew in the new issue of Mojo. They had just recorded "Strangers In The Night" with producer Jimmy Bowen:
"Afterward I said, that was so great to be recording with Sinatra. And he told me that Frank had asked 'Who's the fag on guitar?' But that was Frank Sinatra!"
The expanded CD reissue of the Glen Campbell-Jimmy Webb album "Reunion" is simply essential, and so is his single of Brian Wilson's "Guess I'm Dumb."
Supposedly there's a new album with Webb in the works...
deedee: I should seek it out - and I have no doubt that it was a night to remember.
emscee: The sheer volume of amazing and crucial tracks that feature Campbell on guitar is staggering - but you could say that about most of the Wrecking Crew. As regards, Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, I almost noted that Campbell was all over Pet Sounds when I wrote the post - and, yes, that "Guess I'm Dumb" is a beauty.
Let me tell you how far Glen and I go back. When I was a kid, my brother and I would put on cowboy outfits, get our toy guitars and lip sync the song "Like a Rhinestone Cowboy" for my parents. We played the 45 on our winnie the pooh record player, and somewhere at my parents there is a old 8mm recording of us doing that. I grew up with him and Neil Diamond so both will always hold a special place in my heart!
Rawk: Awww! Cute. Now, if you had lipsynced "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" for your mother. I'd be worried.
hahahahaha.............not funny!
ACK he's back! Who'da thunk Glen would make a comeback let alone still be alive? Apparently Johnny Cash's successful foray into covering modern day artists compelled someone to think Glen could do it too, although I must say nowhere near as well as Cash did. This is the kind of country drivel musically I dislike immensely. Loved him back in the day & he's got a great voice though.
Rawk: Geez. Sorry, dude. I'll be more careful about what I imagine in the future. (heh)
August: He's alive and kickin', man. Check those vids. And if you don't like what he's doing now, I can't imagine that you'd have enjoyed him back in the day. BTW, I'm a man who detests the "country drivel" of today more than anyone, and this ain't that. For the record...Glen and Johnny? Apples and oranges.
I really don't want to be cruel, but he's in 'Johnny Cash end of career, let's be cool again' mode.....
Good luck to him!
Neill: Y'know what they say: Don't be cruel - to a heart that's true. Campbell's always been known as an interpreter, not a songwriter, so this album doesn't strike me as all that different in intent from his earlier stuff: Get a good song and sing it. He sure as hell ain't straining or croaking, so it doesn't seem like the voice is being undermined by the ravages of age - yet. Then again, how do the French put it? Ah, yes. Chacun à son goût.
I enjoyed these tunes. Sweet, actually.
I've been wondering what this was like, because back in the day I did his PR at EMI and got to see a concert or two. Problem was I was not a fan of his songs so while it was fascinating to watch a consumate showman at work I wasn't digging it the way I would now. At the time no-one knew he had been on so many major records - if I had I would have been boring him for hours with questions. What was cool about Glen was a great sense of humour and the right priorities - he was such a golf fanataic that he booked his UK tours by proximity to the best courses and who cared if the gig was almost empty? So one day the guy who was my boss was on the course with Glen and a buddy. Glen and buddy explain that they play for £100 a hole and was my boss in or would he wait in the bar? Ever the company man, he swallowed and said he would play, figuring he was good enough to at most lose 2 - 300 and somehow he'd work it out with the company. By the 15th hole he is having a major heart attack because of course Glen and buddy are absolutely lethal and he is now down £1500, which in those days was about 1/3 of his annual salary. Glen waited until the green of the 18th hole to casually tell him that by the way, it's a joke.
I like this new album.
e.p.: I'd say so, too.
Jonh: Now that's an anecdote, you tale spinner, you!
wow ... strangely appealing.
thanks Mike .... also for the entertaining comments!
I did check the vids before I made my first comment. And, to be honest, I never did buy anything of his but enjoyed the hits I heard on the radio growing up. But my taste has changed considerably over the years. You may not think this is country drivel but I couldn't even listen/watch any of the songs/videos completely through & I seriously tried to keep an open mind since I've been curious about his new album. I agree Cash/Campbell are apples/oranges.
Dzendvokh: Happy to oblige!
August: As ever, mileage varies. But apples and oranges are always delicious.
hot damn! Knifey, i am digging this tune all the way to the Earth's core. (serious compliment, i quite like it.) sounding a lot more melancholy, too.
poe: I'm assuming you mean "Time Like These," although the ones in the clips fit the bill, too. The Foos song has such a seductive melody, and their version is a favorite. But Campbell's voice is so tinged with experience and loneliness and regret and acceptance that it enriches the whole deal.
There's a great vibe to these tunes. I heard that the album features Jason Faulkner. Glen Campbell was super huge in the 70's; he was on the top of the charts and showed up constantly on TV. I can see how some might snicker, he was pretty slick and over-exposed. Few realize he was a crazy-ass party animal, in and out of character-building, life-threatening experiences; he's a true survivor and his larger than life personality shines through in these performances.
Tony: Amen to all that. And yes, Faulkner and perhaps one other Jellyfish (Roger Manning?), plus Cheap Trick's Robin Zander, are among those who contributed to the sessions for the album.