The title of Glen Campbell's most recent album, Meet Glen Campbell, is more than a little ironic, seeing as the country music legend has been in show business for more than 50 years.

The 73-year-old singer-guitarist-stylist says he has attracted much younger fans since releasing the disc in 2008, which features him doing covers of songs by the likes of Travis, Foo Fighters, U2, Green Day and the Replacements.

"Yeah, I get guys going, 'Right on, cowboy!' That makes me feel good," Campbell said down the line from his Malibu home earlier this week, before his two-night weekend stand at Casino Rama starting Friday.

"It's a different generation. I like more heart in a song rather than a dance song, so to speak. I listen to the lyrics on songs and see if they have something to say."

The idea for Meet Glen Campbell, which also features covers of songs by Velvet Underground, John Lennon, Tom Petty and Jackson Browne, was that of producer Julian Raymond (Rosanne Cash, Wallflowers), who wanted to honour Campbell's legacy and influence. "I went through about 200 songs," Campbell said.

Among those helping in the studio for Meet Glen Campbell were younger rock and alt-country artists, including Cheap Trick's Robin Zander and Chris Chaney from Jane's Addiction.

"(They were) the ones who we thought can cut it," Campbell said. "Everybody brings something to the table. I really like that. Like, the guy you (say) to, 'Who you going to satisfy with that?' And he says, 'Me!' "

Whatever you do, just don't ask about the biblical quote included in the album's liner notes, which begins, "Sing to the Lord, and make music in your heart to Him."

"What did I say? I forgot," said Campbell, when asked about its significance. "I don't know that was in there, or I forgot. I'm getting to where I forget about half of the things I remember."

Campbell's sons and daughters recorded backing vocals on the album, and his eldest daughter, Debby will be with him on stage at his Rama shows.

Campbell tours only a couple of shows at a time these days.

"Extended tours -- I wouldn't last a week," he said. "I did New Zealand, I stayed out about a month and a half, and boy that got old. I'd rather go out and do one or two or three days, and go home."

Campbell said he’s never been approached about making a film about his own colorful life, which has included four marriages, a tumultuous relationship with Tanya Tucker, eight children, and drug and alcohol abuse including an infamous drunk driving mug shot in 2003.

"I don't know if (there are film plans). Of course, I've got stuff lined up for the future, but I don't really count on it that much. Just finish today and then see what tomorrow brings."

When asked which contemporary musician reminds him of a young Glen Campbell, he says: "There's a kid in Nashville. He's married to the tall girl? Keith Urban. I met him when he was a kid, and I was in his part of the country Down Under, and he was just a kid -- he was probably 11 or 12 years old -- and he said, 'Oh, Mr. Campbell, I want to play the guitar just like you!' I gave him a guitar pick."

And his assessment of Urban's guitar playing now?

"He's about as good as anyone out there."

Singer says The King a real prince of a guy

Glen Campbell was a highly respected studio guitarist in L.A., before he became a solo artist in his own right in the late '60s and a superstar in the '70s.

Among the classic songs he played on as a member of the studio clique, The Wrecking Crew, was Elvis Presley's Viva Las Vegas. Campbell said he thinks often of The King, who would have celebrated his 75th birthday on Jan. 8.

"He's with me all the time," Campbell said. "I'll see stuff and it'll remind me of him. He was really, really a nice guy. I knew Elvis when he came in through Albuquerque, and that's where I was at the time (playing in my uncle's band). That's the first time I met him and he opened for Farron Young, and guess how many times he opened for Farron Young? Once. The crowd was saying, 'We want Elvis! We want Elvis!' I think Elvis had more charisma than anybody I've ever played with, ever met or ever seen. He just had it."

It helped that the Arkansas-born Campbell and the Tennessee-born Presley were both small-town Southerners.

"When I started the (Glen Campbell) Goodtime Hour (on CBS from 1969-72), I'd make it a point to go to Elvis, when Elvis was there, and he'd make a point to (come to me). 'Cause we really enjoyed talking to one another and singing. He was born and raised the same way, out in the sticks."