[Don Quixote]

Finally got the chance to look at this interview. It's outstanding, and the host, although often reading from notes, was also very knowledgeable, and did a great job of moving through the chronology. You can also tell he's a fan.

It's the first time I've heard any real comments about "A Passing Ship", and I'm glad that Gord likes it as much as I do. On a thread some time ago, I think I called it his last truly great song (now don't take offense--I love a bunch of the later stuff, but we're talking top 10-20 among his very best, even though the "Give me no lip" line rubs some the wrong way).

Where we disagree is on the first recording of the Trilogy. The energy generated by the speed of the middle perfectly reflects the tone of the song--slowly speeding up to the velocity of a train running at full speed, relentless like the destiny of the growing country. Sorry, Gord, but what do you know about music? ☺ I do agree with the tempos (or "tempi", as my wife the violinist would say) of the "Gord's Gold" recording, and I also think that the orchestration is too lush and overdone, that it loses its momentum before the final part of the song and never really gets it back.

Great interview; many thanks for finding it.
DQ