The highest entry on this week’s Americana music chart (# 17) is “The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams,” a collection of songs built around handwritten lyrics found on the day he died. The mix of artists is remarkable, and includes Bob Dylan, Alan Jackson, Lucinda Williams, Jack White, Norah Jones, Vince Gill, Rodney Crowell, Levon Helm, Jakob Dylan, Sheryl Crow, Merle Haggard and Holly Williams.
Also new to the chart: Bearfoot’s “American Story,” (# 39) Haggard’s “Working in Tennessee,” (# 36) Great American Taxi’s “Paradise Lost” (#37) and Southern Culture on the Skids’ “Zombiefied.” (#39.)
Robert Earl Keen’s “Ready for Confetti” is the nation’s most played Americana music album, moving past the Jayhawks to regain the top spot.
Tag: Jakob Dylan
Glen Campbell’s powerful “Ghost on the Canvas”
Tickets for Glen Campbell’s final show at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Nov. 30 go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 9. It’s part of the “Goodbye Tour,” Campbell’s farewell concert series in the wake of his Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
I respect Campbell and his family, and their decision to face his illness in a public and forthright way. They give the audience a clear understanding of the challenges Campbell faces, and provide context for his new and deeply personal music.
Campbell’s new album “Ghost on the Canvas,” billed as his final release, reflects his condition. The opening song “A Better Place” spells that out: “Some days I’m so confused Lord, my past gets in my way, I need the ones I love, Lord, more and more each day.”
It is a powerful and emotional album, and the last musical testament of a major figure in pop and country music. The songs document both his struggles and hopes, and even songs by Paul Westerberg and Jakob Dylan seem tailored for Campbell.
As fine as this album is, reflections on mortality are not everyone’s first download choice.
If you don’t know Campbell’s work, you might consider a collection of his early hits. In tandem with Jimmy Webb, Campbell created several pop masterpieces, including “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” and “Wichita Lineman,” that rank with anything of their era.