I think Gord is in a category all by himself. He writes great songs, with great words, and he sings them well. Lot's of people can do that, but they're not Gord, he's unique.
To me, Gordon Lightfoot ranks among the very best singer songwriters of the 70's although he began recording in the 60's.
His first album, with original recordings of Early Morning Rain (his most covered song?), Ribbon of Darkness (not in some awful medley), For Lovin' Me and I'm Not Sayin', all re-recorded for Gord's Gold. I don't why WB didn't purchase his catalog when they signed him from United Artists, maybe they tried and failed, so they had him re-record all of it. Released in 1966
So he could mess it up? The second one was not good. The album was very good though, with Song for a Winter's Night, Softly and the incredible Canadian Railroad Trilogy. A Canadian should tell the story behind that last one. Talk about coming through under pressure.
I would single that song out too, because he was trying to write a great song about Canada, and for Canada, and look what he did! By the way, I grew up in New Jersey.
Haaaaaaaaaaaaa you just made my day, eh! I have been to Canada many times, and it's like the USA, just emptier, perfect! Oh Canada, I stand on guard for theeeee
Is that a logging town in the North Woods where everybody comes back with a case of the crabs, eh? I heard there are less crabs fishing in the Maritimes. When I was 25, I worked on a farm near Saskatoon, helping with the harvest. What a great time, and there were some beautiful girls that liked out-of-towner types like myself, eh.
I wish they all could be Northwest Territory girls I could make up a great song, but when I get to the verse that rhymes with Regina, I might get banned for 2 weeks
Gordon himself admitted that Early Morning Rain was first recorded by Ian and Sylvia, and as a matter of fact, Marty Robbins put out Ribbon of Darkness first in 1965.
It all depends on what you have heard. His material ranges from from outstanding to spotty, the David Foster experiment comes to mind, a terrible choice for a producer for his style IMO. I do look forward to the upcoming album.
We don't get the exposure to his music over here as maybe people in the US and Canada, but I've come to rate him quite highly. Hes sort of a Canadian version of Ralph Mctell . I dont know his catalogue well, but I have Complete Greatest Hits and like it very much.
If you don't like the 60s United Artists material either, he is not for you. The UA material is the core of his style.
I don't know the earlier material - just the handful of 70s tunes I mentioned. His voice and his style didn't work for me, so I never dug deeper. I'm sure he's talented - just not for me!
Well, Lightfoot and Fogelberg are half of my “Mount Rushmore” of singer songwriters... Browne and Furay the other half. Music makes no sense to me without them!
