Customer Reviews

Meet Glen Campbell (Eco)

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I thought this guy was washed up years ago. Love all his old records, and have replaced most of them on CD. But more recent offerings passed me by, and I guess I wasn't aware that Campbell was still around. Amazon shoppers, do yourselves a favor and read at least a few of these reviews. There's little I can add; I agree that what makes this new album so effective is that the contemporary arrangements merely update Glen's sound a little bit, rather than attempt to reinvent him. He does not need reinventing, and if I were to guess the man's age by the sound of his voice, I'd wager that he was half his real age. This is a superb recording without a single dud. I could have done without one of the songs, but there is nothing wrong with Glen's version (this is so personal, I don't even feel the need to single it out by name). If you only know the Glen Campbell of the 60's and 70's, and you liked him, you won't be disappointed by his latest.

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.

It is not surprising Glen Campbell is covering pop and rock songs.He has always been the most melodic and emotional of singers with a great tenor range. Every song on this album fits Mr. Campbell--he adds depth to these songs. His voice has the conviction and maturity that makes "Good Riddance" poignant ==="Grow Old with Me" is trully beautiful/believable/life inspiring. "Times Like These" ,"These Days", "Walls","Sadly Beautiful""Sing" all are different from the originals and have a new clarity due to Mr. Campbell's intonation and phrasing. It's great to hear Glen Campbell playing guitar on this album as he has always been a top notch player. The production on this album is wonderful--the arrangements for the songs do include some strings but they add to the songs and fit naturally. This is the first vinyl album I have purchased since the 80's and it sounds better to me then digital!

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.

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....

I've been a fan of Glen Campbell since the 70's and he has, in my opinion, always been a man capable of demonstrating considerable guitar chops (he was first a studio musician for Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys, etc.) and a gift for interpreting pop standards. That having been said, even his best past albums consisted of great songs and some "filler" - songs not bad but not all that good either. This one, however, is different - in a good way. Every song is outstanding in every sense - solid lyrical content from rock icons and contemporary pop-rock arists, pristine pure production from Julian Raymond, strong nuanced vocals (and from a 72 old man who sounds more like he's 32!), and arrangements that infuse these musical offerings with a sense of grandeur and emotion that transforms every song into something that will simply take your breath away. The CD is ten tracks of pure magic. Which brings me to my only "complaint." This CD feeds my mind, heart, and imagination, flies by, and leaves me hungry for more - in a good way. That's why you will play it over and over again at home and in your car. I recommend that you either download or purchase this masterpiece from Amazon. I've downloaded it, and I'm also going to buy it. It's just that good. Amazing! Thanks, Glen. You're still the man!

Glen Campbell still has that fabulous , clear, rich voice..
the arrangements are fantastic...and the first time i heard this album was on a classic rock station that sampled "out of the box" recordings.
they played Glens version of "times like these" by Foo Fighters and with just one listen, i was taken..and hooked .
Wow, what a great song and great cover of it by Glen.
Worth buying just for that one track! (but they are ALL great!)
Glen ..Rock On..
its not about age...its about the music and talent..
and you have it going on still .
thanks for a great cd Glenn..i love it and will enjoy it for a long time.
this coming from a Pink Floyd, Cream , Zeppelin lover ! :-)
Great music is simply Great music and this cd is just that, plain and simple.

Glen is remarkable on this new recording. His versions of songs by the likes of Tom Petty, John Lennon, and Lou Reed are wonderfully realized, thoughtful and fresh. The disc is chock full of all the things I loved about Glen Campbell's seminal recordings from the 60's and 70's ...the galloping rhythms, heartfelt vocals, sweeping string arrangements and melody are all here. This album is an artistic victory and I hope it sells at least a million copies because it is that good!. I gave the cd only 4 stars because I don't like the overcompressed sound of the recording.

Campbell is considered one of the best studio musicians of all time. He simply takes good songs and makes them great. As other reveiwers have noted there is no "filler" on the album. Its just a master musician doing what he does best. If you are a Campbell fan of yesteryear you'll still find the old Glen Campbell in this album. If you are new to Glen's work you'll hear some different twists on some songs you may already know. "Meet Glen Campbell" brings the talent and wisdom of 50+ years in the music biz and infuses it into more recent tunes, and who knew a 72 year old man could sing with such clarity and understanding. This albumm is a must for anyone who appreciates true musicianship.

glen campbell is amazing someone 72 years old can still sound like he did 40 years ago.and put an album out that sounds this fresh.plus its loaded with some great tunes. along with outstanding selections originally done by the likes of tom petty, u2, lou reed, green day,he covers GROW OLD WITH ME a song by the late great john lennon who never was able to finish his version,glen has taken it and made it,i think the way lennon would have wanted it bravo glen