October 2008
In this set, Campbell does what he does best. He sings simply and without affectation, letting a lyric sell its meaning without pushing it, meanwhile delivering solid guitar work. Hes picked his repertory in order to be "current," so we find him doing tunes made famous by U2 and Tom Petty. Green Days "Good Riddance" is a perfect vehicle for Campbell and is on its way to becoming a successful single. I winced when I saw Lou Reeds "Jesus" on the playlist, but Campbell makes the song very personally his. When he sings about one whos "fallen from grace," he can identify, and so can we. A good portion of Campbells successful repertory was written by Jimmy Webb, so its great news that this CD closes with remixes of "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Galveston," and "Wichita Lineman" (my own personal favorite) as well as "Rhinestone Cowboy" by Larry Weiss, and John Hartfords "Gentle on My Mind." In these, the guitars and drums seem stronger and clearer than before without losing any of the bite of the Webbesque string arrangements. The arrangements for the new songs on the album follow that tradition, too, and are anything but subtle. Theyd swallow up a lesser talent, but Campbell rides them home in a very successful recording comeback. GO BACK TO: |