I'm Not Sayin' it's the Gordon Lightfoot listening thread (but it is)...new album every Thursday

Love this album so much. I made my own pilgrimage to see Gordon Lightfoot at one of his Massey Hall love-ins in 1987, and he was still performing about half the songs on this album with new arrangements (Pee Wee Charles on pedal steel, Mike Heffernan on keys). But Sunday Concert does a marvellous job of capturing the sound of that room.

this ones really good hadnt listened to it before

I like Yarmouth Castle a lot as well. I like how its a classic folk ballad style, Woody Guthrie-esque, makes it a nice counterpoint to the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

It might be weird to say but I wish Gord wrote more nautical disaster songs, especially more focused on the great lakes.

Ρεμπετολογια that would have been a great concert to see, I didn't see Gord til after 2000 and his voice was no longer as powerful as it once was of course.

That said, this seems like the appropriate place to ask what Gord concert stories people have?

I saw him in 2010. I heard his voice was pretty shot so I figured I wouldn't drive far to see him but he actually came to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, so what choice did I have? It's true that he didn't sound like he used to but it was still decent...the band was great and Gord himself was pretty affable, telling stories between songs and joking around a lot. It was a pretty varied set, I feel like he probably played at least one song from every single one of his albums, and there were a lot of great deep cuts like "The Watchman's Out". I had reservations but I definitely did not regret going.

I'm so Gord-ignorant I didn't know 'til I looked it up just now that he wrote "I'm Not Sayin'," even though I've had the single by Nico for 20-odd years, and could have looked at the label---and he's joined it to "Ribbon of Darkness" here! Gotta get it.

The more I listen to Sunday Concert, the more I like In A Windowpane. Apology is really great as well. I agree frogbs, its really poetic, I love the double time chorus as well, "I made a grab at anything the earth was gone and I was on a vicious circle then", really excellent.

I think the last time I saw him was the same tour you saw him frogbs, I saw him in Tampa (or St. Petes, I can't remember) in February/March 2010. He played all of the standards and the crowd of mostly snowbirds went crazy (or about as crazy as they ever get). I was also pleasantly surprised.

Kind of a slight era for Gord here, although his technical prowess is increasing. Back Here on Earth is a fine listen; the band is in great form and the simple production is spot-on, but none of the songs is a stone classic to my ears. Same goes for Sunday Concert. There’s something a little distant about the performance (maybe just the ambient sound of the room?) that keeps me from engaging with it too much. Sounds nice, tho.

Sit Down Young Stranger/If You Could Read My Mind - 1970

"Minstrel of the Dawn" – 3:26
"Me and Bobby McGee" – 3:38 (Kris Kristofferson, Fred Foster)
"Approaching Lavender" – 2:56
"Saturday Clothes" – 3:20
"Cobwebs & Dust" – 3:20
"Poor Little Allison" – 2:30
"Sit Down Young Stranger" – 3:26
"If You Could Read My Mind" – 3:48
"Baby It's Alright" – 2:58
"Your Love's Return (Song for Stephen Foster)" – 3:55
"The Pony Man" – 3:27

Here we are in the 70s

This album feels very unique to me in his catalog. Like was said earlier in the thread Ry Cooder, Van Dyke Parks and Randy Newman all worked on this album and I think it shows.

title track sure is something

"if you could read my mind" i mean - didnt realize this was released under two names

pls no one link the Stars on 54 version

but yeah obviously an incredible song

I think this is my favorite Gordon Lightfoot album. Though I suppose in the coming months I will know for sure. "Approaching Lavender" and "Your Love's Return" have long been two of my favorite deep cuts

yeah "Lavender" is a beaut

yeah wow good call on "your love's return"

that string flourish in the chorus ("roses are waiting for dewdrops to fall") is one of my favorite moments in the whole catalogue. Maybe that's why I considered this my favorite...there's a few songs I don't really like that much, like "Cobwebs & Dust" and the "Bobby McGee" cover (maybe because I can't stop thinking about Janis Joplin)

on the other hand "Baby It's Alright" is pretty fun and "Saturday Clothes" kind of has a cheery Sesame Street vibe to it

Summer Side Of Life - 1971

"10 Degrees and Getting Colder" – 2:43
"Miguel" – 4:12
"Go My Way" – 2:13
"Summer Side of Life" – 4:05
"Cotton Jenny" – 3:26
"Talking in Your Sleep" – 2:56
"Nous Vivons Ensemble" – 3:45
"Same Old Loverman" – 3:21
"Redwood Hill" – 2:48
"Love and Maple Syrup" – 3:13
"Cabaret" – 5:49

I didn't spend enough time with IYCRMM last week, partly because its one I've already listened to so many times and partly because of work getting in the way, but I agree about Approaching Lavender, I think it's my favourite. I like Poor Little Alison and Saturday Clothes as well, I agree Saturday Clothes has got a real innocence to it that is appealing. Gord manages to write really innocent songs, The Pony Man as well, yet also write the most worldly and knowing tunes and flip between them with an alarming ease.

I think the album starts slowly though, I am not a big fan of Minstrel Of The Dawn and I agree that the Bobby McGee cover, while competent, just can't stand up to Joplin's so whats the point.

On the flip side I haven't listened to Summer Side of Life in forever, I'll need to give this one a little time. The title track is fantastic and one of my favourites of all of his work. Cotton Jenny is a nice little song. I didn't realize Talking In Your Sleep made it to #64 on the charts in the US.

I never liked the title track much...I don't think those big brassy band arrangements suit him well

I also haven't listened to this one in a long time. Between the bland cover, the fact that I always mix it up with Summertime Dream, and the lack of hits, I kinda forgot about it. But there are some deep cuts on here I like - "Nous Vivions Ensemble" (does Gord speak fluent French?) and "Love and Maple Syrup", which almost sounds like say, Flight of the Conchords doing a Gordon Lightfoot parody (I mean that in a good way, of course). In fact I think the whole second side of this is pretty great ("Same Old Loverman" could be Elvis Presley!). And "Cotton Jenny", of course.

I've come to like this album a lot after listening to it a few times. Miguel is really beautiful and melancholic. Talking in Your Sleep is simple yet effective. That's a great point Frogbs about Same Old Loverman, I really have come to like it and it would fit right into Elvis' wheelhouse. I think Love & Maple Syrup has grown on me the most though, your right about how it could be a parody but it really works and feels very unique.

Some misses though, 10 Degrees and Getting Colder feels like paint by numbers Lightfoot. Go My Way just washes past me.

I think I agree about the second side of the album though, there are no duds at all.

Nancy Griffith’s cover of “10 Degrees & Getting Colder” is pretty great.

i'll have to check that cover out.

also i don't think Gord speaks French. At least that's the implication I get from this old Macleans article https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1968/9/1/gordon-lightfoot

I feel bad about not keeping up with this at all. I've not spent much time with these albums front-to-back but there are amazing songs on all of them. I think the project just seemed daunting and it's more so now that I'm five albums late or so. Will do what I can.

I'm Not Sayin' you gotta start from the beginning (but I am)

I started with The Way I Feel, which I enjoyed pretty well. I was reading while listening so wasn't focusing on lyrics, which I should come back to. I do like his voice and playing a lot. Obv, I knew "Song for a Winter's Night" and "Canadian Railroad Trilogy", which are both classic. The rest was all pleasant. "A Minor Ballad" felt a little proto-Nick Drake in a way. "Go-Go Round" stood out a bit too.

I've never thought of A Minor Balland as Proto-Nick Drake but I can definitely hear it.

new week, new album

Don Quixote - 1972

Don Quixote" – 3:41
"Christian Island (Georgian Bay)" – 4:02
"Alberta Bound" – 3:07
"Looking at the Rain" – 3:40
"Ordinary Man" – 3:19
"Brave Mountaineers" – 3:36
"Ode to Big Blue" – 4:48
"Second Cup of Coffee" – 3:03
"Beautiful" – 3:23
"On Susan's Floor" (Shel Silverstein, Vince Matthews) – 2:58
"The Patriot's Dream" – 6:04

This album has my favourite lightfoot song, Christian Island, so I've listed to it a tonne compared to Summer Side Of Life, that said SSOL really grew on me this past week and I think I'd place it up with Did She Mention My Name? and If You Could Read My Mind. This one might fall in my estimation this week though. Christian Island and Second Cup of Coffee are both excellent, Beautiful is probably the biggest hit on the album and I like it, far more than Softly, which it feels like an update on.

my folks live out in the Georgian Bay area and I've somehow never heard that song. will rectify.

Definitely rectify that!

Also, I totally forgot about Alberta Bound, that might be the most famous off this album.

this is a really solid album - more traditionally folky, despite some strings and harmonies it's mostly stripped back. reminds me of Back Here on Earth, though the songwriting is better. though I dislike the "Skyline of Toronto/is something you'll hold on to" rhyme, it's like he wrote it down but didn't think about how it would actually sound

also, no one holds onto TO's skyline.

That's not how you pronounce Toronto anyways

One of his best albums for sure. Great version of Shel Silverstein's "On Susan's Floor" - I wonder if he ever participated in one of those late night Nashville guitar pulls? I used to play in a cover band that would do "Beautiful", perfect mush for weddings and similar occasions, all those plaintive maj7s.

Yeah, I love the melody and vibe of Alberta bound, but the whole verse about Toronto is clunky, including the bit about the "written guarantee to make you smile". Ugh. Maybe weirdly, it almost offends me that Gord, who spent a whole lotta time in Toronto, gets all hackneyed and big-city-amirite where he could have done a more nuanced job. Otherwise, I have relatives in Alberta, and they love this song, plus it sounds like a folk song that's always existed. So I love it anyways.

I tried to view this album more critically, but I still love it. Certainly one of his best I think.

Aside from Christian Island & Second Cup Of Coffee, I really like Ordinary Man, for a i'm on the road and missing the girl i left behind song it feels very applicable to people not living that life.

Brave Mountaineers reminds me of my childhood so i find it very affecting, especially this verse...

"Born in the country and I like that country way
of the uncles and the cousins and the
card games they would play
While the young ones slept overhead
Beneath the quilts that mother made,
when all the prayers were said"

I feel like Ode to Big Blue should be really corny when I think of it but the song itself really works. Again a nautical song just works for him somehow.

Alberta Bound is not my favourite but I agree that it sounds like its always existed. I agree about the Toronto verse though I do love the 'its snowing in the city and the streets are brown and gritty' line though even though it falls apart after that, I do not miss snow in the city.

Old Dan's Records - 1972

"Farewell to Annabel" – 2:59
"That Same Old Obsession" – 3:46
"Old Dan's Records" – 3:05
"Lazy Mornin'" – 3:43
"You Are What I Am" – 2:37
"Can't Depend on Love" – 3:12
"My Pony Won't Go" – 3:50
"It's Worth Believin'" – 3:24
"Mother of a Miner's Child" – 3:18
"Hi'way Songs" – 3:37

I must admit I don't know this album well at all, its probably the one I've listened to the least of all of his records up to and including Shadows so I am really interested to give it few listens this week. Considering it comes between two albums like Don Quixote and Sundown its strange how little time I've given it.

that's understandable, it's his only 'classic' period LP with no real single on it, and I don't even remember ever seeing it in the thrift store. looking forward to giving this a spin though because I remember it being quite good..."Can't Depend on Love" was a great one wasn't it? plus the pun in the title track is so corny I can't help but love it a little

I can’t believe I’m so far behind on this thread. One album a week shouldn’t be too onerous.

Just spun SDYS/IYCRMM. It’s a fine recording — sonically a lot more hi-budget than anything from the UA years. I’ve never really connected with it, though. Songs, playing, and production are all high quality but it just leaves me a little cold. It’s pleasant all the way through and it’s understandable why it was a hit at the time.

The only real missteps IMO are the busy band arrangement on “Baby It’s Allright”, and “Bobby McGee”, which would be merely inessential except for Gord’s unbearable bungling of the “Salinas” verse.

does anyone else think "My Pony Won't Go" is about erectile dysfunction

i'd never really thought about it but now i can't un-think it

This album doesn't do it for me as much as the last few.

It starts pretty strong with Farewell to Annabelle/That Same Old Obsession/Old Dan's Records (agreed the pun is excellent).

Then I find it really boring until It's Worth Believin' then it trails off. Hi'way songs is a decent closer but nothing special.

There are a pair couplets as bad as the Alberta Bound one for awkward rhymes. I can't think of them of the top of my head now but there are a couple moments I cringe while listening.

I think it's kinda the opposite, Side 2 is pretty strong and memorable, Side 1 sorta drags

Can't Depend on Love is one of his best tunes, happy to rediscover that one

Sundown - 1974

"Somewhere U.S.A." – 2:50
"High and Dry" – 2:12
"Seven Island Suite" – 6:00
"Circle of Steel" – 2:45
"Is There Anyone Home" – 3:15
"The Watchman's Gone" – 4:25
"Sundown" – 3:45
"Carefree Highway" – 3:45
"The List" – 3:00
"Too Late for Prayin'" – 4:15

A straight up classic this one of course.

I really love Circle of Steel, I'll write more later.

Ooooh, it’s sundown time. I’m gonna have to soak in this one a bit.

First thing that struck me was I forgot how excellent Seven Island Suite is. The twinkling between the changes in the 'suites' is a great touch.

I've always loved this couplet...

It's time you tried living on the high side of the bay, you need a rest
Any woman or a man with a wish to fade away could be so blessed

"The Watchman's Gone" is my pick for my favorite Lightfoot track that wasn't a single. Favorite lyric: "If I wait for the right moment/You can bet I'll climb aboard unseen/I've done it before/I know I can do it in my sleep"; kinda like "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" or "Edmund Fitzgerald", you can just picture it when he sings it like that.

Anyway, I think this is my favorite one so far. Every song on this one is great. I think it hits all his strong suits without feeling saturated. And the two singles are great. Classic cover shot, too. I was always amused that such a popular and successful artist would pick a shot that screamed "this is my only nice set of clothes"

ive been keeping up with the listening, not a ton to say. the last couple have been good but in a cherry-pick-a-few-tracks type of way. but.. this one is front to back great, and just enough variance in sound from song to song to separate it from earlier works/sounds. dont think i could ever get tired of the title track.

the production sounds pretty different on this, has a little more punch. lenny waronker still the producer tho. maybe the recording techniques changed for this one? love that synth in the background of seven island suite.

frogbs your whole post is otm. The Watchman's Gone is excellent. His delivery of I've done it before/I know I can do it in my sleep has always been a favourite.

I agree about the production too Spottie, Listening to these albums in succession makes me feel like this one is a culmination of the ideas they started trying on Summer Side of Life, but since that one failed commercially they backed off a little bit, made a couple hit records, then brought things back in for Sundown and its better than all of the others because it captures both sides.

Also, between the two singles I think I prefer Carefree Highway to Sundown, but its really hard to pick, both are top notch. Carefree Highway is unsurprisingly one of the better driving songs ever. But Sundown feels like you are being let in on a secret. Tough choice.

Circle of Steel is a favourite of mine, not only is it placed in and around Christmas it feels like a Chritmas Carol in parts. Especially the first verse. Something about the simplicity of the delivery, feels like anyone could pickup and sing it at someone's door. He has a great skill for writing songs that are both very specific in content but generic enough to feel relatable. I don't feel like a Canadian artist had that skill again (at least not used consistently) until the Rheostatics came along.

Just a couple more notes about Sundown... I love the triangle sound way down in the mix in CoS. The List is a really underrated track. I think the only song on Sundown that doesn't really do it for me is Too Late For Prayin' but I get why he wanted to end on a quieter note. If you switched Too Late For Prayin with It's Worth Believin' I think Sundown is pretty much perfect but it gets close enough anyway.

On to the next!

Cold On The Shoulder - 1975

"Bend in the Water" – 2:59
"Rainy Day People" – 2:48
"Cold on the Shoulder" – 3:00
"The Soul is the Rock" – 5:49
"Bells of the Evening" – 3:56
"Rainbow Trout" – 2:51
"A Tree too Weak to Stand" – 3:22
"All the Lovely Ladies" – 3:35
"Fine as Fine Can Be" – 2:58
"Cherokee Bend" – 5:02
"Now and Then" – 3:09
"Slide on Over" – 3:43

I feel like the change from Side 1 to Side 2 on this album marks a change in Lightfoot's music into the Adult Contemporary world.

This was the first one I got on LP. Really loved "Bend in the Water" but that song skipped a lot. I guess this one is a bit like Old Dan's Records - no real hits (I guess "Rainy Day People" was one?) and it's not quite as good as his better-known albums but it's still pretty good, despite having some odd stuff on it ("Bells of the Evening" - the only Gord song with no guitar?). It's maybe his most outdoorsy album, like half the songs come back to fishing somehow. Always loved "The Soul is the Rock", one of the most 'epic' tracks he did (outside of the obvious ones), and probably the best tune here.

Side 2 is sort of a bore to me...the music is pretty as always but I don't find many of these songs memorable ("Fine as Fine Can Be" maybe but it's sappy as hell). "All the Lovely Ladies" has that "wish I could know them one by one" line which kinda skeeves me out. "Now and Then" is a great tune though.

https://vimeo.com/228122562