Glen Campbell Albums (60)
'It's Just a Matter of Time'
Release Date 12/6/2005
Tracks 10
Label Atlantic
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'The Real Men of Country'
Release Date 9/28/2004
Tracks 20
Label Platinum Disc
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What The Critics Say
After nearly two decades as a staple of the Capitol Records roster, Glen Campbell jumped ship to the Atlantic America imprint. Released in 1982, Old Home Town -- his first of three projects for the label -- is very much a reflection of the burgeoning MOR countrypolitan style that was taking over the genre. As the name intimates, Old Home Town is a reunion of sorts. Campbell is joined behind the scenes by producer Jerry Fuller, who was a fellow bandmate in the surf-rock guitar group the Champs. The selections recall the style and substance of his earlier LPs. Among them are some familiar names, primarily a trio of well-known singer/songwriters. Jimmy Webb supplies the lovely waltz-time ballad "I Was Too Busy Loving You," while David Pomeranz's affective and winsome "Old Home Town" was chosen as the title and the album's leadoff track. Campbell's take of the Paris Sisters hit "I Love How You Love Me" is refreshingly modern, with an arrangement that allows Campbell the opportunity to dust off his sturdy yet angelic falsetto. However, it is the inspired update of Paul McCartney's "Mull of Kintyre" that stands out from the rest. Campbell's earnest vocals draw upon his skills as an effective interpreter of sacred songs. Additionally, the multi-instrumentalist shows off a hidden talent for the bagpipes. Yes, the bagpipes. To a certain degree, the bluesy "On the Wings of My Victory" is infused with a soul-filled gospel flavor that few other country & western artists could genuinely replicate. Speaking of, "Blues (My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me)" has a jazzy ragtime feel that almost summons the style of Django Reinhardt's work with the Quintette du Hot Club de France. Comparatively harder driving is "A Few Good Men," one of two tunes contributed by Joe Rainey, who is arguably best known for the rural slice of life "I Love My Truck" -- which Campbell had actually covered several years earlier. Some purists considered this phase of Campbell's career as more water-treading than groundbreaking and his pop leanings no substitute for the earthier fare of Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and the so-called "outlaw" contingency. However, in reality Campbell was simply maintaining an approach that had garnered him attention for the past 20 years. The trend would continue on his 1983 follow-up, Letter to Home, as Campbell headed away from Nashville West in favor of the real thing. He landed in Music City U.S.A. supported by a star-studded cast that boasted down-home participation from David Briggs (keyboards), Jerry Douglas (Dobro), and Emmylou Harris (vocals). ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide
'A Glen Campbell Christmas'
Release Date 1/1/1999
Tracks 11
Label Unison/TNN Classic Sessions
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What The Critics Say
The best of Campbell's early albums, and also his first real commercial success. Ironically, the title track (written by John Hartford) which started Campbell on the road to stardom, was never intended for release -- he had submitted it as a demo, and Capitol issued it, to everybody's profit. Campbell's cover of "Catch the Wind" is one of the finest covers of a Donovan song ever done, stripping away any hint of the composer's sub-Dylan pretensions and bringing out the song's genuine beauty -- it's folk-pop, in the same manner that Peter, Paul and Mary's cover of Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" was, but excellent folk-pop. This is Campbell's folksiest album, albeit with string orchestra accompaniment, as he covers "Bowling Green," "Mary in the Morning," and the title tune, and you get to hear him do a solo guitar and voice number, his own "Just Another Man." Even the most overproduced stuff here, "You're My World" and Rod McKuen's "The World I Used to Know," come off well, and Campbell is in excellent voice throughout, most especially on a wonderfully restrained and beautiful rendition of Roy Orbison's "Crying." Gentle On My Mind was reissued in August of 2001 as part of Capitol-Nashville's "Cornerstones" series, in an upgraded, remastered edition with crisper sound than the 1996 Capitol CD. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
This disc, a certified double-platinum album, captures Campbell's appeal at his most mainstream, mixing mid-tempo country-pop, spiced by a smooth if unambitious cover of Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" and the prettiest version of Tim Hardin's "Reason to Believe" ever done. The latter two make the album hipper than Campbell himself seemed at the time to most of us. On the other hand, there's ample romantic pop here, including his heartfelt, string-laden performance of the McKuen/Brel "If You Go Away" and "Words." Right there at the center of Campbell's appeal is the still-beautiful title track (for which he had composer Jimmy Webb's organ hauled to the studio to re-create its exact sound from the demo) and "Dreams of the Everyday Housewife," alongside mid-tempo country-pop like Billy Ed Wheeler's sprightly "Ann" and Campbell's own "Fate of Man." Sonny Curtis' "The Straight Life" is closer in spirit to the Mary Tyler Moore theme song (still a year or so away) than to the work of an ex-Buddy Holly compadre, and Sonny Bono's singsongy divorce ode, "You Better Sit Down Kids," did little to enhance the future congressman's musical credibility. He saves the best for last, "That's Not Home," the most heartfelt song here. The production is excellent throughout, if a little overly reliant on strings. Wichita Lineman was reissued in an upgraded, remastered CD edition in August of 2001 as part of Capitol-Nashville's Cornerstones series, with somewhat crisper sound than the 1996 vintage Capitol CD. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
'Big Bluegrass Special'
Release Date 9/3/1996
Tracks 14
Label Capitol
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What The Critics Say
Anyone who only knows Glen Campbell's country-pop hits like "Wichita Lineman" will find his first album a revelation. Recorded in the midst of the college folk boom, Big Bluegrass Special paired off Campbell with Dale Fitzsimmons and Carl Tanberg, aka the Green River Boys, doing songs by Merle Travis, Cliffie Stone, Bob Nolan, and the Delmore Brothers. A long way from Campbell's Jimmy Webb-authored pop hits, this earthy bluegrass weaves in and out of folk, blues, and traditional country, and casts a wonderful spell in the process. The sound is more robust than the Louvin Brothers and has more raw energy than the Kingston Trio or the Shilos, and the songs are played and sung with an infectious enthusiasm, although their playing is no match for the Kentucky Colonels. Among the surprises is the bluesiest version of "One Hundred Miles Away from Home" ever done. Nick Venet's production gave the acoustic trio a very "hot" sound, and the digital transfer brings out every detail in the playing and singing, all to the advantage of the participants. True, this album only sold a fraction of Campbell's later '60s efforts, but it's still a pity, musically speaking, that it was never followed up. The CD contains two bonus cuts, covers of Travis' "Dark as a Dungeon" and "Divorce Me C.O.D.," both of which are worthwhile. Big Bluegrass Special was reissued in an upgraded, newly remastered edition in August of 2001 as part of Capitol-Nashville's Cornerstones series, eclipsing the earlier Capitol CD in terms of sound quality. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
'By the Time I Get to Phoenix'
Release Date 12/1/1995
Tracks 11
Label EMI-Capitol Special Markets
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What The Critics Say
Glen Campbell's commercial breakthrough came by way of the title track, which was the direct precursor in production terms to "Wichita Lineman," and by the same writer. The cover of Paul Simon's "Homeward Bound" is sincere if a little perfunctory, but Campbell's rendition of Ernest Tubb's "Tomorrow Never Comes" is a bravura performance, rich and soulful, as well as recalling Rodgers & Hammerstein's "You'll Never Walk Alone" as done by Gerry & the Pacemakers. "Cold December in Your Heart" harks back to Campbell's country-folk material, a piece of midtempo country-pop. Material like that and the similar "Back in the Race," Dorsey Burnette's "Hey Little One," Jerry Reed's "You're Young and You'll Forget," and Bill Anderson's "Bad Seed" hold up better than more pop-focused numbers like "My Baby's Gone," though the string backings on most of these very much date them. The final number here, the touching "Love Is a Lonesome River," makes a brilliant coda. By the Time I Get to Phoenix was reissued in August of 2001 in a newly remastered, upgraded edition, with somewhat crisper sound, as part of Capitol-Nashville's Cornerstones series. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
