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Though my musical tastes have changed (drastically) over the years, there was once a time when I was every bit the country girl that .nightsandweekends.com/articles/08/NW0800263.php>Margaret is today. When I was a kid, the tinny radio in the dining room was always tuned to the local country station, and I used to sing along to old country favorites by Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, and Glen Campbell. Somewhere, in the dusty corners of my brain, I still know all of the words to pretty much every country song that came out in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. So when I first read about septuagenarian Glen Campbell’s new cover album, Meet Glen Campbell, I had to check it out.
Meet Glen Campbell is a ten-track collection of the country legend’s remakes of songs by everyone from U2 to Green Day to Velvet Underground—songs that Campbell has borrowed and reworked and made his own. And as soon as I heard the first track—Campbell’s banjo-infused cover of “Sing” by Travis—I was hooked. Maybe it’s just the novelty of a 70-something country singer performing some of the songs that I love. Maybe it’s because it feels like a strange conglomeration of many of my musical tastes throughout the years. Or maybe it’s just because it’s actually pretty good stuff.
Some of the songs on the album seem to be perfectly fitting for Campbell’s style. After all, no one’s really going to think twice about a country singer doing a remake of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. But just as Johnny Cash did with his cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt,” Campbell steps out of the box to cover bands like Green Day and the Foo Fighters. Granted, most of the songs were pretty mellow to begin with (like Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” and U2’s “All I Want Is You”). But they all sound completely different when accompanied by Campbell’s signature guitar arrangements.
The album’s sound is unmistakably Campbell’s. Throughout the arrangements, you’ll hear hints of decades-old hits. You’ll hear a little bit of “Rhinestone Cowboy” and “Country Boy” and “Country Boy (You Got Your Feet in L.A.).” Campbell puts his own down-home, country twist on each of the songs—and as you listen to his clear, powerful voice singing out the lyrics, you’ll hear each song in a way that you’ve never heard it before.
If you grew up listening to Campbell like I did—or if you just enjoy a wide variety of music—you’re sure to appreciate Meet Glen Campbell. It might not make it into regular rotation in your car’s CD player, but it’s a unique album that’s worth a listen.
Now I’m hoping that Dolly Parton will follow suit and put out an album of covers of The Clash. When she does, I’ll be the first in line to pick up a copy.
