Listening to this album, you may get the feeling of being in a time warp -- it's a 1990 release, but parts of it recall Glen Campbell's bluegrass work from the outset of his recording career, nearly 30 years earlier, while other songs echo his country-pop successes of the late 1960s and early 1970s. There's at least one masterpiece here -- "Jesus on Your Mind" -- and a brace of near-classics, including "Tied to the Tracks" and "Cheatin' Is," and the overall recording is as good as such perennial sellers as
Wichita Lineman or
Galveston.
Campbell and
Reggie Young,
Billy Joe Walker, Jr., and
Pat Flynn turn in impeccable guitar work throughout, and
Campbell's voice has aged well across the decades; additionally, he has help from a dozen or so other country stars on "Jesus on Your Mind," including
Larry Gatlin,
Ricky Skaggs, and
Kathy Mattea, while
Lacy J. Dalton and
Steve Wariner join
Campbell in duets on "Woodcarver" and "You Will Not Lose," respectively. The ballads come off well also, and display the same level of virtuosity, and "Woodcarver" is an extraordinary song, with gorgeous singing and playing; but it is the faster numbers -- most notably "Walkin' in the Sun," written by
Jeff Barry -- that come off best here. The multiple guitar workout on the "William Tell Overture" is a lot of fun as well, and it's no surprise that it appeared as a single in its own right, complete with a very humorous promotional video featuring
Campbell playing the Lone Ranger. ~ Bruce Eder