Glen Campbell Forums

Posted on Sunday, September 01, 2013 - 08:22 am:


Plus.. a 4 star review of SYT. Too bad they mispelled Glen's name in the title!

http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/leisure/musi ... pbell__See_" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; You_There__Surfdog_____/?ref=arc

-Cowpoke

Posted on Sunday, September 01, 2013 - 08:14 am:


Thanks so much Mike! That is really helpful. Reading this, I guess there is no other way then to make a separate list for the UK albums on wikipedia. There are just too many differences to merge them into the US album list!

And yes... going through your old albums can be a very nostalgic experience... thanks again!

-Cowpoke

Posted on Saturday, August 31, 2013 - 09:52 pm:


As promised here is the details of the UK album releases.I should explain that Jeffery Kruger of the Jeffery Kruger Organisation obtained a contract to organise Glen's tours and control record releases with Ember records.
In chronological order
1)Phoenix was released in UK as " I wanna live" NR5041 It was the same album and picture except they added I wanna live and Cold December in your heart. This gave the album 12 tracks instead of the original 10 in the US.
2) Hey little one was not released however an Album called "turn around look at me" was NR5042.
This had the same cover as Hey little one, except for the title change. This album had some of the tracks on Hey little one but the order was totally different and it had 14 tracks wheres the US version had 12 tracks.
3) The live double album (New Jersey) was released as a single album ST214444 in the UK.This album had 12 tracks.
3) Oh Happy day was not released in the UK
4) The GC good time album was released as "The GC Album" ST22493, however it was released with the cover from Oh happy day with the new title.
Two additional tracks were also added "Oh happy day" and "You'll never walk alone".
5) Houston I'm coming to see you was released in the UK as "Glen" ESW11293 with a new cover. (a drawn picture of Glen holding a mike)
6) Rhinestone Cowboy ESW11430 was also released in the UK with a new cover.(a drawn picture of Glen, the same shot as on "Glen Travis Campbell" album.
7) It's the world gone crazy EST12124 was also released with new cover design. ( They used the picture of Glen standing by the fence with the horses behind).
EMBER also released a couple of other albums
1)"Words" N5066 1969 This was a mix of songs from earlier albums repackaged.
2)"More words" 1975 NRH1001 again a repackaging of tracks off older albums.
World records also released a boxed set of 6 records but this was basically the EMBER albums repacked with the Astounding 12 string guitar album included as a bonus.

I hope this helps Cowpoke. It was very nostalgic pulling out the album cases and looking through the old records again. I had forgotten some of the stuff I have.

-Mike Joyce

Posted on Saturday, August 31, 2013 - 09:05 pm:


Hi Cowpoke,
Great review, you have obviously taken a lot of time and effort to appreciate the last offering from Glen.I agree with all you say except I was slightly disappointed with postcard from Paris.I felt Glen actually did a better performance during his goodbye tour with just him and TJ on keyboard. However still an improvement on the Ghost version.

-Mike Joyce

Posted on Saturday, August 31, 2013 - 04:57 pm:


Part 2 of my review of See You There (not that anyone is interested... )

4. Postcard from Paris
This is… beautiful. I think it’s the exact same vocal track as they used on Ghost. It sounds slower but I think it’s actually the same tempo. What a difference this arrangement makes though. It’s a near perfect fit. This song is meant to be performed without a strong drumbeat. I also love the fact I can hear Glen’s voice better on this version. The way he pronounces every word with such care, there is really no singer like him.
9 out of 10

5. Waiting on the Comin’ of My Lord
This one really knocks me out. The song is really similar in content that other inspirational song Julian and Glen wrote, “A Better Place”. And although I understand they choose A Better Place instead of “Waiting” to be included on Ghost, this somehow moves me even more. It just starts of with Glen’s voice and his guitar. Then they gently add slide guitar and then banjo. I love the use of banjo here. To me, banjo is such an honest and humble sound, it’s perfect for this song. And it underlines the fact that this is not a sad song, just like blues artists insist that blues is actually happy music. Hard won happiness.
Julian and Glen actually succeeded in crafting a new spiritual, with simple lyrics that echo, but not exactly copy the older ones. Glen’s singing is so beautiful and honest. And when I hear him sing “[Jesus] cleansed the darkness from my eyes” I realize, this is not some contrived formula, like some reviewers suggested, this is a real testimony of what actually happened to Glen. I still get chills when I hear this song. Lastly, the slide guitar solo is exquisite. It’s vunerable and pure. It reminds me of George Harrison.
9 out of 10

6. What I Wouldn’t Give
This is the same vocal track as the bonus cut on Ghost. Just like Postcard from Paris. I absolutely love the original version, so I was really planning to like this version less. However, after a few listens I had to admit that this version had as much a reason of existence as the original did. I love the whole arrangement, the handclaps, the steel guitar, the breezy background vocals in the chorus. And again, the subtleness of Glen’s voice is more audible in this version. It fits in perfectly with the rest of the album and drives home the point that Glen doesn’t need his 40+ years old classics to still sound great.
8 out of 10

-Cowpoke

Posted on Friday, August 30, 2013 - 08:33 pm:


Okay, here's my review of See You There, in several parts.

1. Hey Little One
I like this track. It’s a solid start of the album and lets the listener get accustomed to the feel and instrumentation. The main attraction of course is Glen singing this song again, after, what 20 years (it was on the Goodtime Theater set list). And… he’s still sounding great!
7 out of 10

2. Wichita Lineman
First goosebumps moment. Glen absolutely nails the song (how could he have not?) and the instrumentation just flows so wonderfully. They manage to build an almost dreamlike musical landscape, using simple means (steel, fiddle, organ). A dream from which I am rudely awakened by the drum sound they use during the guitar solo. I
understand they want to give the solo some extra kick, but I would have chosen a different sound. Still, it’s not enough to keep me from thoroughly loving this version.
8 out of 10

3. Gentle on My Mind
To me, this doesn’t sound right. Glen always made this song sound easy (which it is not), now the song just doesn’t flow. It took me a while to figure out what is wrong. My conclusion is... it’s Glen himself. Glen seems to struggle with the lyrics, struggle with the whole song. In my mind, he used to sing this just a little before the beat, now he’s lagging behind it. I do think, after a few listens, that the arrangement is well done, building up the arrangement verse by verse. In the end, I guess this recording is Glen soldiering on through a song that’s become difficult for him to sing. A sad moment.
5 out of 10

to be continued...

-Cowpoke

Posted on Friday, August 30, 2013 - 07:57 pm:

Sounds great Mike. Thanks!!

-Cowpoke

Posted on Friday, August 30, 2013 - 07:55 pm:


I might be able to help a little bit there Cowpoke. I will send you a list as I understand it and hopefully that may be of some help.

-Mike

Posted on Friday, August 30, 2013 - 07:52 pm:


Arlw,
I think that IS standard practice on CD s with bonus material. I have a few James Taylor CDs like that.
Some don't even let you know its there. I remember listening to a CD and left the hifi on as I was doing paperwork and imagine my surprise when about 5 minutes after the CD ended another track began to play which was not mentioned on the packaging at all. I would never have heard it if I had just taken it out and put another CD on.
I understand some CDs have bonus tracks that need to be unlocked by going to fan sites. I guess its all new ways of artist promotion
I couldn't post this on the original thread. I hope this is OK.

-Mike Joyce

Posted on Friday, August 30, 2013 - 07:25 pm:


No I hadn't seen that page yet Mikej. Thanks!
I still want to integrate Glen's UK charting albums into his discography on wikipedia, but the trouble is: a lot of Glen's album were released under different names in the UK. Some studio albums were even merged into 1 UK album, if I'm not mistaken!

-Cowpoke