Glen Campbell
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (Thursday April 29th)
Glen Campbell casually strolls onstage and the Royal Concert Hall audience immediately respond not just with applause, but seemingly with an overflow of deep affection for this near icon of country, and popular music. By the end of the night he will have further endeared himself as he continually lauds Glasgow and Scotland, regales us with anecdotes on John Wayne and Frank Sinatra, and confuses the names of his children who play in his accomplished backing band.
Opening with ‘Gentle On My Mind’ Campbell soon gets toes tapping and hands clapping with sing-along classics including ‘Galveston,’ ‘Country Boy’ and ‘Southern Nights’. He is in fine voice, and in a lively mood as he traverses the stage to meet the gaze of as much of his audience as he can. Slower paced songs such as ‘By the Time I Get To Phoenix’ and ‘True Grit’ calm the mood but are treated as old friends by the diverse crowd, which spans generations of music lovers.
Campbell is indeed often billed as ‘easy listening’ which at the very least belies the adventure in his virtuoso guitar playing. Between a number of fast and intricate solos, there is time for a duet with his multi-instrumentalist daughter Ashley, on Deliverance’s famous ‘Duelling Banjos’ and an extravagant run through Rossini’s ‘William Tell Overture’ aka the theme from The Lone Ranger. He later even pulls the Hendrix-esque move of lifting his guitar in the air and playing an extended solo with the instrument perched on his head, facing the ceiling.
As expected, the undeniable classics ‘Wichita Lineman’ and ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ are saved for the end of the night, the former bringing a lump to the throat and the latter inducing a euphoric mass sing-along. After one last tune, the unfailingly entertaining Campbell richly deserves the crescendo of cheers from his appreciative Glasgow audience, which rises as he finally leaves the stage.
Brian Raghoobur
