Customer Reviews

The Legacy (1961-2002)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The remastered music is grand (and yes, that's the word for it!)! To hear the lush pop sound of hits like "Wichita Lineman" and "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" along with the stellar, if less well-known (to casual fans), gems like "God Only Knows" and "The Moon's A Harsh Mistress" is to truly hear what great pop music can sound like. Then to hear Campbell shift effortlessly into the folk-tinged "Gentle On My Mind" and down right country of "Faithless Love" is to be reminded of what a giant talent he was (is). Obviously, Jimmy Webb tunes abound: "Galveston", "Didn't We", "The Highwayman", "If These Walls Could Speak" plus some already mentioned and more. Another reminder of one of the greatest pop music marriages ever - Webb music and lyrics with Campbell's brilliant delivery. You don't encounter this level of artistry much in pop music anymore. This is great music! The downside is, as has unfortunately been the case often in Campbell's career, his old label still refuses to give him his due and much of this boxset (especially the "live" disc four - the exception being a beautiful ballad version of "Galveston") has the feeling of a rush job in terms of selecting the music and even the accuracy of some of the liner notes, song information, etc. It's a shame because Campbell - at his best - has few rivals. Perhaps one day his old label will realize that. In any event, the eighty song effort is well worth the money. If you're a person tired of music that seems to have only one thundering beat and lyrics that rarely stray from the overtly dumb and repititious (to say nothing of just being badly written), The Legacy is your salvation.

Once one of the world's most popular recording artists, Glen Campbell's music has often been dismissed in recent years as lightweight. This 80-track box set quashes that notion, revealing Campbell to be a supreme stylist and expert song selector who managed to make great music over a lengthy period of time.

Disc one leads off with Campbell's 1961 minor pop hit "Turn Around, Look At Me" on the Crest label, his voice blandly unrecognizable. Joining Capitol Records in 1962, the enclosed follow-ups like the bluegrassy "Kentucky Means Paradise" (1962) and the folky "Universal Soldier" (1965) - while stronger vocally - also experienced only minor chart success. His status as a top session guitarist allowing him to linger on Capitol's roster, Campbell finally broke through in 1967 with the breezy "Gentle On My Mind" and poignant "By The Time I Got To Phoenix." 1968 would prove even more successful, with the waltz-like "I Wanna Live," the Bobbie Gentry duet "Let It Be Me," and the melodic "Wichita Lineman" among the goodies from that year which end this disc.

Disc two begins strongly, with the landmark 1969 anti-war song "Galveston." Like "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" and "Wichita Lineman," "Galveston" was written by Jimmy Webb, who also wrote for Campbell the wistful "Where's The Playground Susie" (1969) and the regretful "Honey Come Back" (1970). As Webb went into a sudden creative decline, Campbell would rely on remakes for his next set of hits, "It's Only Make Believe" (1970) and "Dream Baby" (1971). The remainder of disc two (covering 1971 - 1974) finds Campbell making some of his most innovative recordings - such as the rocking "I Knew Jesus (Before He Was A Star)" and Webb's "The Moon's A Harsh Mistress" - which unfortunately did not sell well.

Disc three's opener "Rhinestone Cowboy" (1975) returned Campbell to the top of the charts and led to more pop success, with the similarly themed hit "Country Boy (You've Got Your Feet In L.A.)" and the Allen Toussaint scorcher "Southern Nights" (1977). Thereafter, Campbell's success would be limited to country, charting there regularly through 1991. The best of these recordings - such as the maternal tribute "The Hand That Rocks The Cradle" with Steve Wariner (1987), the bouncy "She's Gone Gone Gone" (1989), and the touching "Unconditional Love" (1991) - make up the majority of disc three, the first thorough compilation of this under-appreciated era of Campbell's career.

Disc four is comprised of 15 live performances recorded between 1968 and 2001. The lineup showcases his religious convictions ("The Lord's Prayer," Amazing Grace") and guitar wizardry ("Classical Gas," "The William Tell Overture"), with the greatest emphasis placed on schmaltzy fare ("The Impossible Dream," "My Way," "Try To Remember/The Way We Were"). Aside from a stunning reworking of "Galveston," the recordings on this disc are highly disposable and suffer from subpar sound quality. Another disc of studio tracks - including more from his celebrated 1968 album with Bobbie Gentry - would have been preferred.

The 4-CD "The Legacy(1961-2002)" box set is the first Glen Campbell collection to include all his biggest hits(Gentle On My Mind,Wichita Lineman,Galveston,Honey Come Back,It's Only Make Believe,Country Boy(You've Got Your Feet In L.A),Southern Nights and,of course,Rhinestone Cowboy)with great early flop singles(Universial Soldier,the Brian Wilson written-and-produced Guess I'm Dumb)terrific album tracks(Cryin,Reason To Believe,If This Is Love,Less Of Me,The Last Thing On My Mind,Highwayman among others)minor hits that deserved better(I Knew Jesus(Before He Was Star,Hey Little One,True Grit,Houston(I'm Comin To See You),Sunflower,Can You Fool)and everthing in between(duets with Bobbie Gentry,Anne Murray,Rita Coolidge and Steve Wariner,his 80's country hits like A Lady Like You,She's Gone,Gone,Gone and Faithless Love).The only problem is the live disc.There's some good stuff,like the ballad version of Galveston and the Beach Boys medley,but it suffers from too many run-of-the-mill performences and stilted latter-day tracks.It would have been better if they just kept it to three discs or devote all four discs to his studio recordings which are superior to live cuts.But despite this flaws and a missing songs(Oh Happy Day,See You On Sunday,the hit version of Still Within The Sound Of My Voice),this remains an essential entry into the Glen Campbell catalog.

First off Glenn Campbell is one of the best singers alive. I really don't consider him country although that is what many people do I guess because of his Biggest hit Rhinestone Cowboy. This Box covers his whole carrer with 80 tracks spread out on four disc's, 65 original recordings and 15 live tracks on disc four. The box is very good expect for two minor quirps one the discs are held in jelly like hubs instead od standered teeth and the second disc had a large gash due to not staying in place, it stll played fine though. The second quirp is the 36 page book which could have been bigger is stiched in the case and the back of the book was bent up and almost torn. These are minor quirp and may just be the copy I aquired, but that is why I duducted one star from the package. My advice is if you are a fan of good down to earth music buy this box set now.

Although this Box Set seems to be expensive, however, there are so many old songs that I could not find in any other Albums of Glen Campbell, I have been looking, searching for a long time. This Box Set is unique, all the songs that I love are all here. It is a definite good buy as far as I am concern.

Excellent CDs of all of Glen Campbell's best packaged in a very nice holder. I love it, especially as it is comprehensive of his works, even some that are hard to find.

This was a really great box set, it left me wanting even more Glen Campbell. The 4th disc of live stuff was just OK...I wish they had just put another disc of studio recorded songs rather than a disc of live sets...the older stuff is not bad but the newer recordings are not good. Overall was a great collection, although I do agree with the other reviews that the Still Within the Sound of My Voice album was underrepresented in this collection.

I listened to Glen Campbell as I grew up. My Mom had purchased two of his albums one of him solo and one of him in duet with Bobbi Gentry. I bet I listened to those a million times. I still have them actually. Some things just bring back so many sweet memories.

This is a great cd set! It is very complete as far as hits go,but it also has a lot of other great songs included.

This is a really great set of Glenn Campbell's songs. I could not be happier. He is such a large talent and his music has endured for all these years. I would recommend this to anyone that likes his style and wants to bring back the 60's & 70's.