Maps of Music
Live at the Royal Festival Hall (1977)
Where the lyrics of Live at the Royal Festival Hall take you, and where it was really made.
Glen Campbell's third live album takes its name from London's Royal Festival Hall, and a Royal Philharmonic Orchestra plays behind him.
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Recorded at the Royal Festival Hall (1977)
Recording site Royal Festival Hall — The album's title names the Royal Festival Hall in London as the recording venue. The release credits a Royal Philharmonic Orchestra alongside Campbell's band. The point marks the hall's building location. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: See the map for directions.
Album story
Overview
- Live at the Royal Festival Hall is the third live album by American singer-songwriter Glen Campbell
- Released in November 1977 by Capitol Records
- Four-sided set: Side 1 to Side 4, five tracks per side, 20 tracks in total
- The album title names London's Royal Festival Hall as the setting
- The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is credited on the album alongside Campbell's band
- Producers are credited as Glen Campbell and Gary Klein; engineer Armin Steiner
Background
- This is Campbell's third live release, following two earlier live albums
- The set list mixes country, pop and standards, from Streets of London to Southern Nights and Wichita Lineman
- Side 3 is made up entirely of songs by Jimmy Webb, including MacArthur Park (7:00), the longest track on that side
- Side 2 includes a medley titled Good Vibrations/Help Me Rhonda/Surfer Girl/Surfin' U.S.A.
- Side 4 combines Classical Gas and William Tell Overture with a Rodgers and Hammerstein Soliloquy from Carousel
- Alyn Ainsworth and Jimmy Webb are credited as conductors
Recording
- Band credits: Glen Campbell (vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, bagpipes), George Green (drums), Carl Jackson (acoustic and electric guitars, banjo), T.J. Kuenster (piano), Bill McCubbin (bass guitar), Fred Tackett (acoustic guitar)
- Background vocals by Billie Barnum, Ann White and Stephanie Spruill
- Art direction by Roy Kohara; photography by Brian McLaughlin
- The album's recording location is listed as Royal Festival Hall in London
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Tracklist
Disc 1
| 1 | Medley: Stars/Rhinestone Cowboy | 6:14 |
| 2 | Dreams Of The Everyday Housewife | 2:03 |
| 3 | Medley: (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear/Loving You | 4:55 |
| 4 | Streets Of London | 3:02 |
| 5 | Try A Little Kindness | 1:58 |
| 6 | Southern Nights | 3:16 |
| 7 | Medley: Good Vibrations/Help Me, Rhonda/Surfer Girl/Surfin' U.S.A. | 5:26 |
| 8 | God Only Knows | 2:59 |
| 9 | If You Go Away | 3:23 |
| 10 | Sunflower | 2:51 |
Disc 2
| 1 | By The Time I Get To Phoenix | 2:51 |
| 2 | Galveston | 3:05 |
| 3 | Wichita Lineman | 2:47 |
| 4 | Mac Arthur Park | 7:00 |
| 5 | This Is Sarah's Song | 2:22 |
| 6 | Classical Gas | 2:41 |
| 7 | William Tell Overture | 2:34 |
| 8 | Soliloquy From "Carousel" | 7:12 |
| 9 | That's When The Music Takes Me | 2:46 |
| 10 | Amazing Grace | 3:51 |
Sources: musicbrainz.org
Artist
Formation
- Born April 22, 1936 in Billstown, Arkansas; began as a session guitarist in Los Angeles from 1960.
- Joined the studio group later known as The Wrecking Crew and played on recordings by many major artists.
Career
- Began a solo career in 1961; breakthrough hits included "Gentle on My Mind", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", and "Wichita Lineman" in 1967–1968.
- Hosted The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS from 1969 to 1972.
- Released 64 albums across five decades and sold over 45 million records worldwide.
- Hit "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "Southern Nights" in the mid-1970s were both US number one songs.
- Won four Grammys in 1967 and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.
Personal and final years
- Diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2011; retired in 2013 after recording his final song.
- Died August 8, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee, at age 81.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Reception
At release
- The Pittsburgh Press (26 February 1978) ran an article headlined ‘Live Record Set Shows Campbell's Versatility’
- Billboard Magazine (3 December 1977, vol. 89, p. 70) is cited with its ‘Billboard's Top Album Picks’ feature in the reference list
- The Hour (16 January 1978) carried a piece titled ‘Rock Soloist Tries It With Philharmonic’
- Reading Eagle (29 January 1978) ran a Records column by Robin Welles
Records
- The album has a Billboard album chart entry in the United States
- Released by Capitol Records in November 1977, the third live album in Campbell's catalogue
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Trivia
- Campbell plays bagpipes on the album, credited alongside his vocals and guitars.
- Side 3 is five Jimmy Webb songs in a row, from By The Time I Get To Phoenix to This is Sarah's Song.
- Jimmy Webb is credited as a conductor here, together with Alyn Ainsworth.
- Side 2 squeezes four songs (Good Vibrations, Help Me Rhonda, Surfer Girl and Surfin' U.S.A.) into one track.
- Mason Williams' Classical Gas and Rossini's William Tell Overture both appear on Side 4.
- The album closes with Amazing Grace, at 3:51.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
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