Sings For The King

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Glen Campbell's connection to Elvis was evident but didn't appear to be particularly strong prior to the 2018 release of Sings for the King. As part of Los Angeles' famed Wrecking Crew, he played guitar on the soundtrack for Presley's 1963 flick Viva Las Vegas but that was his only session for Elvis. By the time Presley considered Campbell part of his TCB touring band, Glen's star was ascendant, so he never supported the King. Unbeknownst to the public in 1968, Campbell was wrapping up several years as the unofficial demo singer for Ben Weisman, Presley's songwriter of choice. Weisman penned a few of Elvis' notable songs of the 1960s, including "Crawfish" and "Follow That Dream," which are just two of the 57 Weisman compositions cut by Presley over the years. Between 1965 and 1968, Weisman hired Campbell to sing lead on songwriting demos intended to be heard by no one other than Elvis. These weren't mere guitar-and-voice recordings: Campbell was backed by a full studio band playing arrangements that are very similar to what wound up on Presley's own recordings. Sings for the King contains 17 of these recordings (there is also an opening ringer, "We Call on Him," which is an electronically created duet, that unfortunately kicks the disc off on a bum note). Many of these titles will be familiar to aficionados of Presley's mid-'60s movie soundtracks: "Spin out," "Stay Away Joe," "Clambake," "Do the Clam," and "Cross My Heart" are all here. Much of this is intentionally splashy and silly, yet these versions wind up highlighting Weisman's savvy songwriting, in part because they're leaner than what wound up on Presley's records. Perhaps these recordings lack cinematic pizazz and the Jordanaires, but Campbell is a charismatic, lively presence on these tunes, rarely attempting to mimic Elvis' swagger (he does do a bit of Presley's signature lower-register growl on "Anyone Can Play," though) and just singing these songs with gusto and precision. During the period these demos were recorded, Campbell was in the process of launching his own career as a vocalist, and it's not hard to imagine that he used this opportunity to figure out how to decisively deliver a variety of styles: rock & roll, big ballad pop, blues, vaudeville shuffles, and Hollywood razzmatazz. The variety is a testament to Weisman but the success of the music is down to Campbell, who makes this intentionally frothy material seem compelling -- sometimes more compelling than the King himself, at least as far as these songs are concerned. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine