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Ghost on the Canvas

Ghost on the Canvas
The album cover features Campbell wearing a long black coat standing with an open guitar-case to his right and an acoustic guitar to his right. Above him are the words "GLEN CAMPBELL / GHOST ON THE CANVAS" written in white.
Studio album by Glen Campbell
Released August 30, 2011 (2011-08-30)
Recorded 2009–2010, with string arrangement recorded in Los Angeles in April 2010
Genre Country, pop, rock
Length 42:02
Language English
Label Surfdog
Producer Julian Raymond and Howard Willing
Glen Campbell chronology
Meet Glen Campbell
(2008)
Ghost on the Canvas
(2011)
Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb In Session
(2012)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
BBC Music Favorable
The Plain Dealer A
Consequence of Sound 3.5/5 stars
Financial Times 4/5 stars
The Independent 3/5 stars
Pitchfork Media 6.5/10
The Daily Telegraph 4/5 stars
The Washington Post Mixed
Good Times – The Final Farewell Tour
Tour by Glen Campbell
Start date August 31, 2011
End date November 30, 2012
Legs 3
No. of shows 115 in North America
22 in Europe
137 in Total

Ghost on the Canvas is the sixty-first album by Glen Campbell, which was intended to be Campbell's farewell studio recording following him being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The production of the album was announced in March 2010.

Campbell and his wife delayed informing the public about his illness until shortly before he embarked on the "Glen Campbell Goodbye Tour". The Campbells decided to announce his diagnosis so that his audience would understand why the performer might mistake the lyrics to songs or behave erratically. They also wished to combat the social stigma of Alzheimer's, for the benefit of others suffering from the disease.

Campbell first became aware of his affliction with Alzheimer's while recording the music in 2009, although his wife Kim had suspected that his memory was faulty several years prior. Campbell and producer Julian Raymond decided to record one final studio album of original material while he was in good enough health, with Raymond taking the lead to contact other artists for collaboration.

The collaborative album is intended as a companion piece to 2008's Meet Glen Campbell—on that recording, Campbell recorded covers of contemporary songs to introduce himself to a new audience and this album includes younger rock stars to compose and record with Campbell. Campbell worked with Raymond for those sessions and Raymond used a notebook to record Campbell's conversations between takes, so the two could collaborate on writing new material based on stories from Campbell's life, starting with the autobiographical "A Better Place". The title track—written by Paul Westerberg—previously appeared on Westerberg's 2009 extended play PW & The Ghost Gloves Cat Wing Joy Boys.

At the time of the albums release, Campbell expressed interest in possibly recording further material, but thought it unlikely that he would record an entire studio album. He did, however, return to the studio long enough to produce two final albums, See You There and Adiós, in late 2012 and early 2013.

BBC Music reviewer Martin Aston has called Ghost on the Canvas "a fine way to bow out of the business", citing Rick Rubin's production work with Johnny Cash through American Recordings. Aston continued that Campbell's vocal performance remains strong and the instrumental interludes were reminiscent of The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds.Consequence of Sound's Nick Freed also compared this album to Cash's final output, noting that Ghost on the Canvas and Cash's American Recordings material shift from straight country music to different pop genres. Both Freed and Andy Gill of The Independent commented on the themes of mortality and finality in the lyrics.


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