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The very first record I ever owned was a four LP set titled Glen
Campbell Live. I wore those four discs out, listening to everything
from classic Glen Campbell songs to the set of Beach Boys
songs he did. I've read his biographies. I've seen the movies he's
been in. I watched his TV show as a child. One might say that I was
a Glen Campbell fan long before I even knew what it meant to be a
fan… and certainly long before I had an inkling of the effect
that Campbell's music would have on my life.
I enjoyed Campbell's last record, Meet Glen Campbell, wherein
he covered a nice batch of modern alternative rock songs in his own
way. Hearing Campbell's beautiful smooth voice sing songs by the likes
of Green Day and Travis was great, and Ghost On The
Canvas continues a bit of that, but with some Campbell-penned
contributions thrown into the mix. To add to the weight of this latest
record, the world is being told that this will be Glen's final studio
album following his recent diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease. While
the future is uncertain for Glen, the music on this record is anything
but.
Opening the new record is a Campbell co-penned song called "A
Better Place" which sounds for all the world like a swan song
if there ever was one. This song has the same bit of hopeful finality
in it that Johnny Cash's "Spiritual" contains; a
calm reflection on life and what it all might mean in the end. "A
Better Place" is a softly fingerpicked acoustic guitar and vocal
meditation and it sets the stage beautifully for the songs to come.
"Ghost On The Canvas", one of two Paul Westerberg-written
songs on the record, begins to sound more like what the world has
come to think of as a Glen Campbell sound. Lush string arrangements
carry the song along on its way until the trademark Campbell baritone
guitar launches for the chorus. This could just as easily be a track
off of one of Campbell's older records for all the sound of it and
the cadence. The real highlight of the record for me comes in the
form of the Jakob Dylan-penned "Nothing But The Whole
Wide World". Campbell's voice is at its finest; soft and gentle,
but with a power and steadiness that speaks of hope and the future
and faith. Campbell fills the record with a few short instrumental
tracks between other, longer songs… and while those tracks aren't
necessarily memorable and seem to pass by unnoticed, the album would
be a much different landscape without them. The Robert Pollard
song "Hold On Hope" stands on its own as a beautiful piece
of downtempo rock in the voice of Campbell, but when bookended by
two lovely, soft instrumental numbers, the song has a stronger, different
life.
There are some great guests that appear on Ghost On The Canvas. Chris
Isaak, Dick Dale, and Brian Setzer all lend their
guitar chops and/or vocals to the rocking "In My Arms",
a song that is full of reverb and attitude, bombastic drums, rockabilly
piano, and - obviously - some wicked guitar playing. Campbell enlists
The Dandy Warhols' help on "Strong", and the band's
stamp is evident in the giant drums and washed out, echoey guitars
that struggle in vain to cover up the strings, battling to take the
song for themselves, but to no avail as Campbell's influence wins
out. Billy Corgan, Marty Rifkin, and Rick Nielsen
join Setzer and Campbell on the Lennon-esque ballad "There's
No Me… Without You." It may seem a bit strange to have this
cast of characters playing along on one of the mellowest songs on
the record, but it certainly works well and is a beautiful way to
end the album.
Ghost On The Canvas is a fitting swansong for Glen Campbell,
whatever the future may hold. This record is as strong as any the
man has ever released, possibly stronger than most. Those familiar
with his work will find this new recording comfortable to listen to,
and new fans will be delighted discovering one of American music's
most important treasures.
-Embo Blake
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