[RockyF]

This is a very nice topic! Gord has always had a great band, and wonderful guitar players. And the arrangements are always so tastefully done. But I do have a few favorite songs when thinking about the guitar work.

Rich Man's Spiritual -- Nothing fancy, but very nicely done. From the days when the arrangements were sparse and clean. You can hear the guitar back there, noodling around, throughout the entire song.

Miguel -- My goodness. How could Red keep up that pace of playing for so long? I would love to have seen him in action on that during a concert -- assuming that Miguel was actually played during a concert. That one would be a highlight for me.

Don Quixote -- Wonderful intro work on this song. Very light and fanciful! When you hear that lead in, you know you're about to hear one of Gord's finest songs.

Me and Bobby Magee -- Okay. So this isn't one of Gord's songs. But I think he and the band might have provided the definitive performance of it. And how about Ry Cooder on that bottleneck guitar? I think that is the best use of that technique that I know of. Not too much, not too little. Just exactly right.

If You Could Read My Mind -- Again, an immediately recognizable guitar intro. If this was the only song Gordon had ever written, he would still have to be considered a 'monster' song writer. And the guitar work is perfect. It is not too showy, and never gets in the way of the lyrics. But it adds greatly to the overall impact of the song. Couldn't be any better.

That's 5, and I'm going to quit now. These lists have a way of growing until you start thinking -- okay, which song doesn't have really fine guitar work? And that list would be pretty short, I think.

Best regards,
Rocky Fugate