Night Clubs Reviews

Jun 15, 2000 - Watered-Down Glen Campbell Pleases Large Nugget Crowd

By Jack Neal

The sell-out crowds Glen Campbell is drawing at John Ascuaga's Nugget (Sparks, Nevada) are evidence the still remarkably boyish Campbell continues to bring pleasure to his vast collection of fans.

The reasons for the pleasure of his company are as solid as the ones that would bring even greater pleasure for fans if Campbell were to put forth the effort, and the Nugget management the cash, to make his 90-minute show all that it could be.

At 64, the country star can still sing with almost as fresh a sound as he did over four decades ago when he was new to the business, especially when he sings his own songs. And when he musters the energy for some of those inventive instrumental flashes that set him apart from the also rans in the mid-century country music business, he can still dazzle with down-home virtuosity.

Backed by his five-piece Good Time Band, a terrific but overly loud and synthesized group, the sameness of sound as the star saunters his way through close to two-dozen songs makes the show less than electric for all but the most dyed-in-the-wool lovers of all things Campbell. A real orchestra is sorely missed; less volume is surely in order.

It's clear from the outset of the show, where once-funny comic Kelly Monteith plays exclusively to the geriatric set, that the night is meant for nostalgia and photo opportunities for fans whose star-crossed photo albums and ring-side gift giving are more important than hearing Campbell sing.

Of course, those are merely the musings of a sour critic who wanted to hear Campbell play, sing and chat without pesky interruptions. And the show is loaded with hits worth hearing: "Rhinestone Cowboy," "Wichita Lineman," "Galveston," "Gentle on My Mind," "When Somebody Loves You" (Campbell's favorite Sinatra song), Hank Williams's "Lovesick Blues" and "Your Cheatin' Heart," "Little Green Apples," a series of Beach Boys' hits and several special duets with daughter Debby reminiscent of Bobbie Gentry's glory days. The younger Campbell is a nice addition to the show. She sings well and is as gracious a presence on stage as is her father.

Too bad the show isn't given the star treatment by the star himself and the Nugget's management it deserves. The stage looks cheap, like a neon sign that has nothing to say, but it's the rich sounds of a real orchestra the Glen Campbell Show misses most.

Summing up, the Glen Campbell Show is a fetching wash of nostalgia for fans of the still with-it star and for others into show-business anthologies (lots of entertaining asides into the history of country music) who don't mind a thin, loud sound or waiting for those moments beyond the photo ops, when Campbell exhibits his still impressive way with a song or unique way of turning a phrase on the guitar.

The Glen Campbell Show plays the Celebrity Room at John Ascuaga's Nugget, Sparks, Nevada, nightly at 8 p.m. through June 21, 2000. For information call 1-800-648-1177 or 775-356-3300.