Music Review: Glen Campbell puts stamp on covers

Glen Campbell, "Meet Glen Campbell" (Capitol)

Perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise that Glen Campbell, at age 72, would release a collection of songs as ambitious as this. Still, "Meet Glen Campbell" defies expectations.

The symphonic arrangements aren't unexpected: After all, Campbell hits from "Wichita Lineman" to "Rhinestone Cowboy" featured big, majestic backing tracks.

But his choice of material is as unpredictable as can be. Campbell focuses on ballads written by hard rockers and alternative outcasts, putting his deceptively smooth voice to the Foo Fighters' "Times Like These," Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)," Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' "Walls" and "Angel Dream," and the Replacements' "Sadly Beautiful."

These aren't cheesy lounge renditions or tongue-in-cheek overstatements reminiscent of Tom Jones' covers of dance hits. Much like Johnny Cash's late-in-life work with producer Rick Rubin, these are serious recordings where Campbell locates the emotional thread in meaningful lyrics from those with different backgrounds than his. The best cuts ? his takes on Jackson Browne's "These Days," U2's "All I Want Is You" and John Lennon's "Grow Old With Me" ? own a timeless beauty that bridges generations and cultures.

CHECK THIS OUT: In the late 1960s, Glen Campbell and the Velvet Underground represented two sides of the pop-culture spectrum. One was the smiling, aw-shucks host of a TV variety show, the other was an Andy Warhol-endorsed art-rock band singing of drugs and kinky sex. But when Campbell sings the Underground's unsettling "Jesus," it proves how a good song melts away differences to reveal the connections between all of us.