Glen Campbell sounded as good live as he does on "Meet Glen Campbell," his return to Capitol Records after a 27-year absence. To celebrate Tuesday's release of the album,Campbell performed at the Troubadour in West Hollywood with an expanded band that included a fair number of contemporary rock musicians, among them Roger Joseph Manning Jr. of Jellyfish.
He has a exceptional command of Travis' "Sing," Tom Petty's "Walls" and the Replacements’ "Sadly Beautiful"; his live rendition of "Jesus" was revelatory, far outdistancing the recorded version.
Conversely, John Lennon's "Grow Old With Me" and Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" are not yet striking the proper emotional chords.
The set played by Glen and his 11 piece band was:
All I Want Is You (U2) / Sing (Travis) / Angel Dream (Tom Petty) / By the Time I Get to Phoenix / Walls (Tom Petty) / Galveston / Jesus (Velvet Underground) / Gentle on My Mind / Sadly Beautiful (Replacements) / Good Riddance (Time of Your Life (Green Day) / Wichita Lineman / Grow Old With Me (John Lennon) / Rhinestone Cowboy / Times Like These (Foo Fighters)