Released Sept 2011
I read A Review by
By
Ernie R. McHone (Franklin, Ohio) -
This review is from: Ghost On The Canvas (Audio CD)
"One thing I know, the world's been good to me. A better place awaits, you'll see".
The opening track on "Ghost on the Canvas" of "A Better Place", paints a picture of a man who has seen many good and bad times throughout his life. He has accepted that the world has been good to him, and that a better place (Heaven and the twilight of his life) awaits. The title track which was penned by Glen Campbell and producer Julian Raymond sets the tone for this beautiful album.
"Ghost on the Canvas" has a real spiritual quality to it. It is really an open book, where the author (Glen Campbell) takes you on a journey through his life. He doesn't sugar coat his missteps or failings, but learns from them. I don't know if I've heard a more spiritual or heartfelt album than "Ghost on the Canvas".
I have been a fan of Glen Campbell's since I can remember. I was born in the mid eighties and was introduced to Glen as the voice of the rooster "Chaunticleer" from the animated film, "Rock A Doodle". I remember wondering, "Who is the guy that sings so well". It was Glen Campbell. As I grew older, I was introduced to one of his films, "True Grit" which placed him alongside the larger than life western legend, "John Wayne". I still think that his vocals from the title track are amongst his best.
In reality, for many years, from the late seventies through the 1990's, Glen Campbell was largely ignored by the music business and his peers. He was brushed off, as a has-been who couldn't decide whether he wanted to be country, rock, pop, or both. Glen Campbell is what he is, a one of a kind talent. Not only can he sing with the best of them, but plays the meanest and best guitar I have ever heard.
He is a Country and Musicians Hall of Famer, and I believe one day he will also be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Are "Gentle On My Mind", "Wichita Lineman" and "Galveston",classic rock and pop standards? Sure they are, and the very business that Glen Campbell devoted his talent and skill to, will one day, acknowledge his great contribution to it.
This album is lyrically sound from the likes of "I know a place between, life and death for you and me, best take hold on the threshold of eternity" to "Like a Ghost on a canvas, people don't see us, like a ghost on the canvas, people don't know, when their looking at soul" and "Nothing, Nothing, Nothing, but the whole wide world to gain".
The main treat is Glen's vocals. He sounds better here than he has since the likes of "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "Southern Nights". He is truly at the top of his game, and what better way to go, than when you're on the mountaintop. Highly Recommended. A+
Glen Campbell over the last 4 years has created the best two albums of his career since the mid-70's. 2008's, "Meet Glen Campbell" began his re-introduction to a new generation and "Ghost on the Canvas" is even stronger. In fact, in my opinion it will be a crime if this CD doesn't get Grammy consideration next year
He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's during the recording of this CD last year, and announced that this would be his last studio offering. There are not many who are allowed the opportunity to document on record the musings of life as they see the end coming. But Campbell not only gets that opportunity, but invites us to listen as he reflects on a life fully lived.
On the first song, "A Better Place", he encapsulates in less than two minutes his life…the ups and downs…the blessings and the hope of his future. From that point he takes us through a musical tour through his life with musical interludes (written by Roger Manning) that give a dreamlike effect as we pass from one song to the next. Longtime Campbell fans will smile at the musical nods to his past… at the staccato notes at the beginning of the title track that harken back to "Wichita Lineman" or the beginning bars of "Any Trouble" which remind a listener of "Gentle on my Mind".
The last three full songs ("Any Trouble", "Strong", "There's No Me…Without You") are my favorites and perhaps the best on the album. He gives some final reflections on hope, the storms of life, and finally a song for the woman who literally saved him from himself. The last three minutes brings us full circle as we get one more glimpse of the boy from rural Arkansas who loved to pick his guitar…and in the process gave us so much more.
