Glen Campbell Duets: Ghost on the Canvas Sessions dropped today. The album is part re-working of Campbell’s 2011 album Ghost on the Canvas and part tribute album. It features 12 of the original release’s 16 tracks with newly added duet vocals from some of the best voices in the music business. Carole King, Sting, Eric Clapton, Brian Wilson, Elton John, and Dolly Parton are among the guests on the new collection.
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Ghost on the Canvas was a special album not just for Campbell but also for the entire music world. It remains the only album written and recorded by someone who was actively fighting Alzheimer’s disease. This resulted in a collection of songs about hope, mortality, gratitude, and accepting one’s fate. The newly released duets album brings another layer to the masterpiece that was Ghost on the Canvas.
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Julian Raymond who co-wrote and co-produced the original album with Campbell spoke about the tribute in a statement. “I just want to thank all of the incredible artists who lent their talents to this project and created such a beautiful tribute to Glen,” Raymond said. “Creating Ghost on the Canvas with Glen was such an impactful and moving experience—it means a great deal to me that so many people came together to honor him and his reconciliation with his diagnosis. I hope this project continues to inspire hope in those faced with Alzheimer’s.
Dolly Parton Joins Glen Campbell on “A Better Place”
Campbell received his Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2011. Six years later, the disease would end his life. Knowing that this album was his way of coming to terms with and working through that diagnosis makes every syllable captured in the original recording that much more emotionally heavy. The addition of Parton’s voice to “Better Place” increases the emotional weight a bit more.
The song, co-written by Campbell and Raymond sees him coming to terms with the fact that his disease will kill him. The lyrics approach the coming end with gratitude and hope. The chorus is a great example of this balance. One thing I know / The world is good to me. / A better place awaits, you’ll see.
Duets: Ghost on the Canvas Tracklist
- Intro
- There’s No Me…Without You –Carole King
- Ghost on the Canvas—Sting
- Hold on Hope—Eric Church
- The Long Walk Home—Hope Sandoval
- Nothing But the Whole Wide World—Eric Clapton
- In My Arms—Brian Setzer
- A Better Place—Dolly Parton
- Strong—Brian Wilson
- A Thousand Lifetimes—Linda Perry
- It’s Your Amazing Grace—Daryl Hall & Dave Stewart
- Any Trouble—X
- I’m Not Gonna Miss You—Elton John
Featured Image by Tony Russell/Redferns/Getty Images
