Gordon Lightfoot is a musician whose work has helped define the singer/songwriter genre. He wasn’t the only Canadian in this field either, in fact our country has consistently punched above her weight in producing artists who have enjoyed international success with this type of popular music. However, there are significant differences between Gordon Lightfoot and many of his contemporaries. For instance, he didn’t conspicuously decamp for Los Angeles or Nashville in order to “further his career”. He has maintained consistency in the quality and style of music he wrote and performed, not feeling the need to constantly “re-invent” himself to stay relevant. So when it comes to an overview of Gordon Lightfoot, where does one start with an artist whose impact has been so profound?
Interestingly, when you google “Gordon Lightfoot”, two of the first website addresses that are appear on your screen; “www.lighfoot.ca” and “gordonlighfoot.com”; appear to have been created by fans. (In researching this article, I was unable to determine if Mr. Lightfoot maintains his own website, however seeing that there are already domains registered using his name, it would appear that he probably doesn’t, and there isn’t one listed in his Wikipedia entry. But I’ve been wrong before! He does have an official Facebook page though). However, despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that the two aforementioned websites are maintained by fans of Gordon Lightfoot, both are thorough and well worth reading. While they are obviously a labour of love, they do in fairness lack the professional appearance that a commercial site would have.
Something else that became apparent while conducting research for this article concerned the paucity of live video of Gordon Lightfoot performances (at least in commercially available DVD format). The one that seems to be most available is the “Live in Reno” DVD. I have a copy and can vouch for its excellence. It is from 2000 however, and it is an older Gordon Lightfoot that we watch performing. To see him perform in a concert setting during the time period when he was at the height of his creative powers, and enjoying his greatest commercial success, we must turn to the BBC. They recorded Gordon Lightfoot in front of a live audience in one of their studios in England in the spring of 1971, and subsequently broadcast the concert in January, 1972. For some reason, a DVD of the program has not been released here in Canada, although it can be ordered (or watched, if you so inclined) on line. This particular concert features Gordon Lightfoot accompanied by only his bassist Rick Haynes, and lead guitarist Red Shea. Reviews of the performance are uniformly excellent. Additionally, one of the websites I referenced earlier provides a comprehensive listing go all of his television appearances, of which their are more than a few.
Gordon Lightfoot has an extensive discography, with a recording career spanning several decades. He has released nineteen studio albums, three live albums and sixteen (!) greatest hits albums. It is an indication of the strength and quality of his musical career that he has had released almost as many compilation collections of his material as he has actual studio recordings. His first real commercial success as a performer of his own material came in the early 1970’s when he was signed to Reprise records, with his breakthrough as an international star occurring with the release of single “If You Could Read My Mind”. Perhaps not surprisingly, he initial success came as a songwriter in the mid 1960’s when Peter, Paul and Mary recorded some his songs, and had a hit with “Early Morning Rain”. This leads me to a couple of interesting facts about two of his earlier compilation recordings; “Gord’s Gold” and “Gord’s Gold Volume 2”. Gordon Lightfoot decided to re-record the first 10 tracks on Gord’s Gold. These were songs that were recorded when he was signed to a different record label than Reprise. The same thing happened on Gord’s Gold Volume 2. On that specific album, 14 of the 18 selections were re-recorded live in the studio. I’m withholding any commentary on whether or not this is a good or bad thing. For the casual fan, they may not even notice. For a more dedicated fan, you have the option of hearing two versions of the same song (the original recording, and then the version recorded for the Gord's Gold compilations).
Which brings me to “Gordon Lightfoot Complete Greatest Hits”. For someone who wants a retrospective on Gordon Lightfoot’s career, this is the compact disc to have. There are a few noteworthy aspects to this recording. Most importantly, this disc was put together by the good folks at Rhino Records. To my mind, they are the gold standard when it comes to compilations. The degree of care put into this album is typical of their work. The disc is accompanied by a 15 page booklet, which contains an interview with Gordon Lightfoot featuring his commentary on each of the 20 tracks on the disc. The booklet also contains a comprehensive listing of the albums from which the songs on the disc came from, and the musicians that were on the albums. It is important to note that unlike the other greatest hits packages I mentioned, these are the original recordings. Equally important, they were remastered for compact disc release, and the sound quality is superb. This package was meant to reflect the full extent of Gordon Lightfoot’s career, so there are some songs that were left out that some of his fans may have wished to have been included. That should not dissuade anybody from picking up this disc up though. It is a fitting tribute to one of Canada’s most accomplished singer/songwriters.
I would like to focus on two of Gordon Lightfoot’s earlier compositions that are featured on this disc; “Go-Go Round” and “Pussy-willows, Cat-Tails”. These were songs recorded in the mid 1960’s while he was still signed to the United Artist record label (prior to being signed to Reprise). The first song, Go-Go Round, was written while Gordon Lightfoot was living and working in Toronto. The song itself is relatively straightforward, regaling the listener with a girl falls in love with boy theme. It is wonderfully reflective of the Yonge Street nightlife of bars and clubs in the mid to late 1960’s. The album that contained this particular track was recorded in Nashville, and it was the first recording collaboration between Gordon Lightfoot and the great guitarist Red Shea. Red would play on virtually all of Gordon Lightfoot’s albums from this point forward, and would also tour with him until the early 1970’s. Red was a virtuoso finger style guitarist, and wove his lines with incredible delicacy and feeling into Gordon Lightfoot’s songs. Red’s contributions on guitar are on display quite clearly on this track. The song features a sparse arrangement, typical of pop songs of the time. The song’s theme and Gordon Lightfoot’s clear and excellent singing voice to my ear are very indicative of much of the tremendous music to come. You can easily draw a direct line from this song to many of the later hits he would have, such as “Summer Side Of Life”, “Sundown” and “Carefree Highway”. While Gordon Lightfoot would still be considered a “folk singer”, Go-Go Round was a well constructed pop song that could be played on top forty radio.
Pussy-willows, Cat Tails is a standout, killer track. Here Gordon Lightfoot moves from the folksinger with a guitar musical vein into the songwriter par excellence category. The song features very atmospheric finger style guitar along with delicate string accompaniment. This was something very different from his earlier work, and foreshadowed such songs as “If You Could Read My Mind” and “Beautiful”. The lyrics bring the listener to a quiet, rural setting, and seem to speak of youth. While there is nothing specific in the lyrics that speak to loss or missed opportunity, the song conveys beautifully that sense of melancholy and understated emotion that is so prominent in much of Gordon Lightfoot’s work.
Gordon Lightfoot is a national treasure for us Canadians, like such contemporaries as Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings. He has a body of work that is as good as anything from any other artist, from any other nation. "Complete Greatest Hits" is a fitting tribute to this outstanding Canadian artist.
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