Along with Dionne Warwick, the late-60s hits by Glen Campbell represent, in my memory, the best of the failed aspirations of middle-class America. I still see those albums sitting in front of the huge, wooden stereo consoles in our neighborhood, resting on plush, burnt-orange carpeting. Some elongated sculpture of a conquistador on a horse decorates one end of the console. A reproduction of some painting by one of the Dutch Masters is centered over the stereo; it matches the colors of the heavy velour drapes and couch. “Gavleston”, “Witcheta Lineman”, and “By the Time I Get to Pheonix” made vaguely country music safe for those of us on the more urban coasts–East Coast city dwellers and California dreamers alike. Campbell was pretty cool and sophisticated for a guy playing twangy guitar tunes. As some of us grew into rock nerds, leaving behind the fractured dreams of middle America circa 1968, there were unexpected depths of Campbell to plunder, such as his work as a session man for The Beach Boys and his role as mouthpiece to the surprising cult of Jimmy Webb, Songwriter. It was these after-the-fact revelations that kept the increasingly irrelevant Campbell on the right side of “cool,” despite the cheesy career apex of “Rhinestone Cowboy”, the rough-and-tumble Tanya Tucker years, the coke slide, and the more-recent Jesus-friendly infomercials. When I first heard of this album – a good 24 hours before it showed up in my mailbox – I thought, “Oh man, another Rick Rubin reclamation project! What’s he going to do next, produce a ‘cool’ comeback album for Vicki Lawrence?” (Turns out it’s not a Rick Rubin production, but the brainchild of Julian Raymond, who’s produced Roseanne Cash and The Wallflowers, among others.) After a few minutes I thought, this is Glen Campbell, we have a history together. So I pushed Play and got down to the business of sharing my thoughts, feelings, and other observations.
“Sing”: Campbell’s tenor rises above the alt-adult contemporary fare of this modern-day wall of sound, complete with a skipping drum beat, orchestration, and the insistent plucking of a banjo. Turns out this is a song by Travis, a band I’ve heard of but have never passed judgement on. Do they do, like, iPod ads or something?
Glen Campbell, “Walls”
“Walls”: I know this song. Is it by someone I don’t typically like? Campbell’s delivery has a way of making me drop my defenses. His performances carry no baggage, have no agenda. He expresses nothing but love and joy for his material, and it’s contagious. OK, I peeked: this is a Tom Petty song. I haven’t been “duped” into digging, like, an REO Speedwagon song.
“Angel Dream”: Here’s another loping Tom Petty cover. This is what we call a nice cover: nothing earth-shattering but completely professional, befitting the studio cat that a young Campbell once was. If this is where this album’s heading, it’s a dignified comeback album we’ve got cooking.
“Times Like These”: Man, this song’s familiar and well constructed! There was always something refreshingly straightforward and good natured in the delivery of Campbell’s classic hits, which mixed the pride of country music with the optimism and hope of Southern California pop. This song has that combination in spades. Whaddaya know? It’s a Foo Fighters song! A lot of older dudes have been telling me there’s something to Grohl’s songs. It’s funny, this is the most like what I would have expected in an album presenting some producer’s version of a comebacking Campbell, as if Elvis Costello had been commissioned to write a song in the Jimmy Webb style. There may have been more to the singer than the song than revisionist hipsters would like to believe.
Glen Campbell, “These Days”
“These Days”: This song’s off to a lovely start. I’m afraid I’m falling in love with a song by an artist I’ve never much liked…Oh man, I’ve got to take a minute to let some tears flow. This is beautiful…I KNOW THIS SONG: it’s friggin’ Jackson Browne! Truth be told, this is one of the only songs by that guy that ever made the slightest impression on me, but hearing this preternaturally wise song through the voice of a guy who’s royally screwed up his life and lived to tell about it makes it really moving. I’m taken back to that huge, wooden stereo console; the burnt-orange carpet; and the aspirations represented by those conquistadore sculptures.
“Sadly Beautiful”: A Replacements cover. Much better, to my ears, than hearing it on a flagging Replacements album. Like the first few tracks, a “professional” cover.
“All I Want Is You”: Is this a U2 song or that horrible Rod Stewart song, “Forever Young”? It’s U2. As is often the case when I can get past the band’s stock digitally mystical production I’m impressed by how simple and direct the band’s music can be. I MUCH prefer hearing this song in Campbell’s plaintive voice than through the emotive Christ-worthy self-love of Bono.
“Jesus”: JESUS!!! I’m not kidding, this is The Velvet Underground’s “Jesus”! And it’s right on the mark and totally in line with the flow of this album. This album ain’t no museum piece! It’s no hipster appropriation of an oldie but goodie who doesn’t know better. Glen Campbell is in the moment. The man is a pro! After a long irrelevant ride on a trail of white lines, he’s singing other people’s songs to pick up with the story of those ultimately smashed, already fractured dreams of our parents’ generation. I don’t know how all this will play to those of you who don’t remember the heavy velour drapes of my generation’s youth, but this is quite a trip.
“Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)”: Green Day. Now that’s what I would have expected from one of those Rick Rubin-Neil Diamond affairs, but Campbell plays it straight, as always. The guy never comes off like an Artist–in a good way. It must be hard to do, to be around as long as the guy’s been around, to be as musically accomplished, and yet to be nothing more than a singer of songs. I need to find clips of Campbell’s old variety show. It was such a friendly, welcoming world, inviting folks of all ages and beliefs to sing together, just as this new album invites us to do.
“Grow Old With Me”: Meet Glen Campbell concludes with this stately, hymnal love song, not the kind of tune you’d want to waste on a Tanya Tucker, poor girl. This version is kind of chilling in how earnest and square it is. It wasn’t ringing a bell. Then I looked it up: it’s one of the last songs John Lennon would write, obviously for the love of his life. It was released posthumously in demo form on Milk and Honey. It’s all too much, man.
I was so hoping that All I Want Is You would be a Roxy Music cover, but that’s probably too much to hope for.
Back in the day it would have never occurred to me that Campbell’s hits deserved my attention, much less that they would someday become hip. But I always watched his show on TV, because he had good guests. And he wasn’t an asshole. He had a self-deprecating air that was easy to take.
I’m philosophically opposed to publicizing mug shots, but I’ve got to admit that his from a few years ago was awesome.
The InterWeb also tells me that Mod faves Jason Falkner and Jellyfish’s Roger Manning Jr. had a hand in making this thing.
I *really* like that tune “These Days.” The fact that I like it despite the fact that it’s a Jackson Browne number says much about how good the production and performance are. Or how bad Browne is.
It took everything in my power not to include that mug shot in this review, BigSteve.
I too noticed the Jellyfish connection.
Of course the definitive version of “These Days” is Nico’s! Glenn (and JB for that matter) just can’t pull off the “…please don’t confront me with my failures” line as convincingly.
Campbell takes These Days at a much faster tempo than I’ve ever heard it. I like what he does with the vocal arrangement; stretching out those lines really works. But somebody has rewritten the lyrics past the point of a tweak here and there. I wonder who.
I don’t recall particulars from Browne’s “These Days” enough to spot differences in lyrics, although I do recall it’s one of the songs that hooked me into realizing that album was all right after all. It’s from the album you or Mwall sent me, right? The one with “For a Dancer”?
I’ve been enjoying this CD more than I would have imagined since I received my copy. Too bad Ed didn’t include the VU cover for HVB. He might have been faced with liking two songs originally done by artists he doesn’t like!
I’m sure Mr. Mod will also be thrilled to learn that Rick Nielsen and Robin Zander are also on this album. (Julian Raymond has had a hand in the last few Cheap Trick albums.)
I saw that after you guys pointed out the Jellyfish connection. I’m sure that was a real swingin’ crew in the studio with Mr. Campbell. I hope Zander didn’t wear shorts and an unbuttoned denim shirt.
Mod sez:
I hope Zander didn’t wear shorts and an unbuttoned denim shirt.
I inquire:
What, you don’t want him looking like George Harrison on the cover of Abbey Road?
Whoops — belay that last message. I know I’ve seen a shorts/denim shirt Harrison somewhere, but that wasn’t the place.
Ha ha, charade I am! I just realized I’m thinking about Stig O’Hara’s outfit on the cover of the Rutland Ave. album!
There’s a whole extra verse in Campbell’s version of These Days that’s not in Browne’s or Gregg Allman’s (which is slightly different). Then it hit me, and it was confirmed on the internets — Campbell is singing the Nico version! How cool is that?
He does make what I think is an unfortunate tweak. He changes “it’s just that I’ve been losing so long” to “it’s just that I’ve been healing so long.” It undercuts the bleakness of the song.
Yeah, I just noticed that “healing” moment tonight.
I’ve been a shameless Glen Campbell fan since the third grade, but I’m ashamed to admit I had no idea this record was in the works until my wife pointed it out to me last night in the pages of Entertainment Weekly.
Staggering. Majestic is the only word to describe it. I can’t express how it feels to hear that voice once again in full flight. Pure musicianship. Far too good to ever be cool.
Hey dersenator. Welcome.
I’ve long been a fan of Campbell’s hits as well. Growing up in Phoenix, where he lives(ed?) I’ve watched him grow old and and nearly irrelevant. When I heard about this album it wasn’t with the anticipation that I had with a Rubin produced Cash project. More of a Golden Throats car wreck anticipation.
But I gotta say that Jackson Browne cover is really good. I just downloaded the album and am looking forward to spinning it in the morning.
Glen is great. The sound of his voice brings me back to a most innocent time in my life.
Man, I hate that “punchy” drum sound on “Walls.” It’s so inappropriate for the rest of the arrangement. It’s good that they double the snare with a tambourine, though. But the cascading strings are wonderful (they make me want to eat beef and watch a John Wayne movie). And so is Glen’s voice! My GOD it sounds MINT! But this is a good song, just not a top shelf one, is it? It’s one of those late period Petty songs where the melody line persists a little too much and starts to sound almost neurotic in its repetitiveness.
And did they digitally punch in the same take of the word “some” at the beginning of each line in the first verse? The precise similarity of each “some” is almost robotic. The slightly out of tune twangy, Duane Eddy style Gretsch solo sunds nice, though.
“these days” is a real heartstopper of a song. If I had my druthers, however, I would have asked for a slightly softer vocal approach. BigSteve’s right; he really IS doing the Nico version. He’s even singing it with in that same forthright way that almost conveys coldness.
Nice stuff, Ed. Your review was a pleasure to read.
I can’t wait to hear this.
“Galveston” is a GREAT song. I love it. It’s so GREAT. It’s just GREAT.
TB
Good to know I’m not alone on this album. Maybe some day we can all gather around a huge, wooden console stereo and blast it.
“Walls” is like so many later period Petty songs, but it’s simplicity works for Campbell. I think his voice carries it better than Petty carries his own version. The more I listen to it, though, the more I’m reminded of Rod Stewart’s “Some Guys Have All the Luck”. After my initial confusion over the U2 cover, I wonder how many more radio-friendly songs can be traced back to a bad Rod Stewart song from the ’80s.
Wow. Remarkably good album. Almost startlingly so.
I mentioned the other day that the “Durst anagrams to Turds” comment was the reason I come here.
I’ll add that BigSteve’s noticing that These Day’s is the Nico version is another reason.
Come to think of it BigSteve made the anagram comment too I think.
Hmmmm.
The only conclusion here is that BigSteve is the reason I come to Rock Town Hall.
I love you man.
Ed, I agree that Campbell makes the simplicity work for him on “walls.” But I can still hear some of the annoying qualities I hear in late period Petty in it. I didn’t even know it was a Petty song until after I listened. But yeah, Glen and his team DO make the most of it, and i can see why they thought it was a suitable vehicle for him.
From your comment not sure if you know this or not, but Some Guys Have all the Luck is not a Rod Stewart original. At the very least, you don’t have to worry about that anymore!
I think I may plunk down the change for this album. In RTH we trust!
So what is the ‘original’ of Some Guys Have All the Luck? I first heard it on that excellent Bette Bright album produced by Langer and Winstanley (Rhythm Breaks the Ice). I don’t think it’s ever been released on CD. Here’s a lame ‘video’ of her minor hit Hello I Am Your Heart:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWmnmCY9j0s
That album also had a fine version of Prince’s When You Were Mine. I wish I still had a copy of that one.
I also used to have one or more reggae versions of Some Guys Have All the Luck. The writer is listed as Jeff Fortgang. Who? The google isn’t helping much.
“Walls” seems to me the only weak track on the record. It’s just not a very good song, a throwaway written for a movie. But the other Petty song is one of my faves so far.
The Lennon track is simply radiant. If that alone doesn’t get him a Grammy, there is no justice or taste.
I’m surprised to see this is a Julian Raymond production, given his track record of shameless hackery. (Hear his old band on Little Hits: http://tinyurl.com/5wgtdn ) But I must say I’m intrigued by the review and the comments.
I’ve long thought I need to delve deeper into the Glen Campbell catalog. I have the three volumes of The Essential Glen Campbell and there’s an awful lot of great stuff on there, enough to make me think anything by him would be worth getting. He’s much like Dolly Parton in that regard; she could sing darn near anything and I’d like it.
This disc sounds like a good place to start delving.
Not that I think he’ll ever top “Dreams Of The Everyday Housewife”…