Sometimes it seems like not a year passes without a new
Glen Campbell hits collection, and the simply titled
Greatest Hits -- a title that has been used in some iteration at least ten times since 1971, probably more -- is the 2009 installment in this plan. The impetus for this
Greatest Hits is the growth in digital releases (the collection issued both on CD and digitally), as well as the desire to capitalize on his fine 2008 comeback,
Meet Glen Campbell, represented here by readings of
the Foo Fighters' "Times Like These" and
Jackson Browne's "These Days," which nicely cap a collection of basics, 14 songs that appear on pretty much any other
Campbell collection released in the past four decades or so. As an introduction, it's clean and lean, offering all of the big hits ("Rhinestone Cowboy," "Wichita Lineman," "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," etc.), which will appeal to new listeners perhaps hooked by
Meet Glen Campbell -- and conversely, old fans may be enticed by the two new cuts. However, this is nothing more than basics: there are compilations that are more comprehensive and interesting out there for those who are interested -- but for those who just want the hits, this has them. [
Greatest Hits was included as a bonus disc in the two-CD edition of
Campbell's final album,
Adiós, released in 2017.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine