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[Cowpoke]

Totally agree, Glen's ballad versions are wonderful too. And that Pebble Mill version is awesome. It brings the song down to its core. It doesn't need any embellishments to convince.

[Mike Joyce]

That is probably right Cowpoke. The first time you hear something is the one that creates the deeper impression on the mind. Having said that I loved the ballad version of Galveston from the Festival Hall concert which was the first time I recalled hearing that song. I found it very moving and loved the arrangement. However I also fell in love with the recorded version when I heard it on an album for the first time. I felt the arrangement reflected the dramatic situation of the war the guy was in and in my mind created an ominous feel of the battle he was involved in. Still love both versions equally. But as you say Cowpoke, Glen took the song to another level in his live versions. I was especially taken by the version Glen performed at the Pebble Mill studio in my very own city of Birmingham. No guitar solo but a great delivery I thought.

Of course the other wonderful version is on Sessions with Jimmy on the piano.

[Cowpoke]

>You appreciated good song writers first and then found Glen who is one of Jimmy's best perpetrator's of his work
That's exactly right. In fact, Glen is one of the few artists I admire that is not a great songwriter himself. To me he's the best song interpreter of all time.

I hear what you are saying about being spoiled by Glen's vocals and Al de Lory's arrangements. Still, imagine if you heard Jimmy's 1972 version of Galveston first. Wouldn't Glen's studio version sound a little too smooth and bombastic after that? It did and still does for me. However, Glen's live versions of the song are just magnificent and the best I think.

[Mike Joyce]

Hey that's an interesting story there Cowpoke. You appreciated good song writers first and then found Glen who is one of Jimmy's best perpetrator's of his work. You found the same ocean following a different river.
I found Jimmy from the opposite direction via Glen. To be honest I didn't enjoy Jimmy's albums that much. I was spoiled by Glen's smooth vocals and Al De Lory's arrangements. However now I am older I have more appreciation of the soul of his singing rather than it's imperfections, and the beauty of the lyrics sung with a truthful heart .
It's funny you mention cassette tapes. My earliest recording of Glen was of his Festival Hall concert which I recorded off air with a microphone. It was broadcast as a two part 45 minute show in 1977. I listened to it a hundred times until I managed to buy the double album. That tape is still in a box, and that poor recording would take me back to those days, more so than the stereo pristine album I bought later.

[Cowpoke]

You're right. Fiftieth anniversary of Glen's first classic hit!

[Cowpoke]

No I didn't get to see Glen when he still toured Europe. He did that until the early 80s I believe. I was around 10 years old at that time. In 1987 I got a Pop Music Encyclopedia for my birthday. That's when I started to discover all kinds of different artists. There was a special section about songwriters in it. It mentioned Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weill etc. but also a certain Jimmy Webb who intrigued me. It mentioned his solo albums and said "Letters" and "El Mirage" were his strongest solo efforts. I managed to track down both albums in second hand stores. That's when I first heard the song Galveston! After that I went looking for songs written by Jimmy. That's when I found a cassette of Glen Campbell recordings in our local library introducing me to "Wichita Lineman" and "By the Time I Get to Phoenix"! I remained a Jimmy Webb fan ever since. But it took until 2007 before I finally started digging into Glen's rich catalog of recordings. Then I found the Glen Campbell forum and... the rest is history!

[Mike Joyce]

Those years were not good for Glen personally or creatively. Still, he kept going and still had pulling power in the theatres etc. Did you see Glen in the years he toured Europe. I always caught his concerts when he returned after a long absence, following his 1977 tour.

[Mike Joyce]

Yes Cowpoke, I think that sums it up well. I thought the preceding song "Dream of me" has very much the same feel as gentle but does have a nice solo. Still can't believe it's the 50th anniversary of "Gentle on my mind" where did the time go.

[Cowpoke]

Alison Kraus' new album (including a cover of "Gently on My Mind") can be listened to here:

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About "Gentle": a nice version. Sounds a little like the live version Glen did in recent years. But I miss the guitar solo!

[Cowpoke]

That's a good point. I had never heard the song "Any Which Way But Loose" by Eddie Rabbit song but apparently it was a No. 1 hit on the country charts in 1978. That was surely an incentive for Glen to record the title song of the follow-up Clint Eastwood movie "Any Which Way You Can" in 1980. Both movies were immensely popular. Too bad Glen's version didn't enter the Billboard Hot 100 like Eddie's song did. Still in the period 1978 - 1983 (!) it was Glen's only top 10 country hit. In 1977 Glen had scored a top 10 hit with "Sunflower". And in 1984 Glen finally entered the top 10 again with "Faithless Love" and " A Lady Like You".