Everybody's talkin' at me - I don't hear a word they're sayin'

Continuing my trip back through the 2017 album charts.

18/08/17 : Adiós - Glen Campbell


There's an argument this should be ignored, but it gets included for sentimentality reasons because it's his last album - I'm such an old softie really. It's also, somewhat surprisingly, our first visit with the man. 

Yeah, no-one's going to claim this is his best material, but things could be a lot worse - it was recorded after he had been diagnosed with Alzheimers and it's a load of tracks he'd always loved but had never recorded. I didn't know most of them, but I was surprised he'd never done "Everybody's Talkin'", best known for the Harry Nilsson version but written and originally recorded by Fred Neil - Glen's version is a bit fussy, but his voice is spot on. As a bonus, the streaming version of the album has been expanded to include some of his classics and things like "Rhinestone Cowboy", "Galveston" and "Try A Little Kindness" always brighten your day, with "Wichita Lineman" being possibly one of the most beautiful songs ever written.

We're at #3 in the charts this week on his tenth week of a nineteen week run, with it having peaked at #2 in its ninth week (after his death). The rest of the top five are Ed Sheeran, an Elvis Presley compilation, Kesha and Rag'n'Bone Man (we'll get to listen to it some day!) and we have two more new entries in the top ten for Dodie (#8) and The Cribs (#6). 

Wikipedia tells us this is his 64th album (impressive!) and was recorded in '12-'13, but only released a couple of months before his death. Interestingly, it was somewhat tricky to record because he couldn't remember any of the words, but he had no problems with the melodies. Critically, people were nice enough it (they couldn't be mean, surely) and commercially, it did best here and in Ireland, where it got to #11 - it only got to #40 in the US.

discogs.com tells us that you can pick up a decent version for three quid - there is a version available for £28, but it's not clear you're getting anything more for your money with it. No-one needs this album (you're much better off with his Twenty Golden Greats) but it was a nice listen which I'm glad I caught up with. 

25/08/17 - A surprisingly successful album

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