Glen Campbell’s Having The Time Of His Life

Dan Gibson | July 18, 2008 2:00 am
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ARTIST: Glen Campbell TITLE: Meet Glen Campbell RELEASE DATE: Aug. 19, 2008 WEB DEBUT: July 17, 2008

ONE LISTEN VERDICT: I think we’re probably all tired of the “old guy doing ironic covers of popular songs” shtick, which is why I’m pleasantly surprised that Meet Glen Campbell isn’t a joke record in the Paul Anka/Pat Boone vein but an enjoyable listening experience. The tracklisting gives some indication that Campbell isn’t intending to make a fool of himself here, and a band featuring former Jellyfish cohorts Roger Manning Jr. and Jason Falkner probably helps as well. While Travis’ “Sing” and Green Day’s “Good Riddance” might be dubious choices, the middle of the album features well-picked songs performed as closely to the sound of Campbell’s Jimmy Webb glory days as possible. The album’s two Tom Petty tracks (“Walls” and “Angel Dream”) sound like classic Campbell, solidly played and well sung, and the Replacements’ “Sadly Beautiful” might be better in Glen’s hands than it was in Paul’s, as ridiculous as that sounds. Even a Foo Fighters track that didn’t mean much to me in the past (“Times Like These”) ends up sounding like a companion piece to “Wichita Lineman.” The album isn’t great all the way through, but overall, it’s certainly good.

The Glen Campbell Show [homepage]