am I re-inventing the wheel

[Baz]

I'm very new to this BBS. It's wonderful to be able to share admiration and pleasure with folks across the continent.
I'm sure this has come up in previous Posts, but I thought I'd re-new the view.

Gordon struck a chord with me on a very personal level when he released his 2nd album, and then I was able to catch up by buying the first. I'm 50 years old, so he has been a 'companion' for some time.
What I find extraordinary about Gordon is that he has always represented a marvelous blend of masculinity with sensitivity. That type of man became a stereotype, often in a dirisive manner, when an '80's guy' (probably 90's too??) was used to conjure up a guy's sensitivity. In his music and lyrics, Gordon presents himself as a strong voice, a voice we often associate with the masculine side......we can hear it in songs about whiskey and women, about crossing Canada, about topics with which we as fans are very familiar. But to listen to "Softly" and scores of other songs, there is not just that softness in his voice, words, and sentiment, there is a civility. With that, of course, a humanness as well.
Like most of you, I couldn't pick a favorite 5 or 10 songs without somehow recalling another that should be added to the list. Oh, but those songs of love and self examination.
Personally, my voice is rather deep, like Gord's....my physique has always been athletic. How refreshing to hear a man's sensitivity, all these years, mixed with the other baggage we guys bring to the world, and who can criticize Gord for this picture. He wears it quite naturally, at least as an artist, I'm not familiar with details of his private life; maybe some of you are.

Oh yes, the world.....not the fun place it was when I was younger. Gord continues to be an important 'friend'....a bit stressed out today, I took a drive and spent 2 hours listening to early, middle, and new Lightfoot.
My best to you all.

[brink]

That was one of my great attractions to Gord. That he was a man's man but yet he was the sensitive kind of guy that women love to love.

Gord can help through most any day. His music has done wonders for a lot of us here.

[pirateNC]

Plain and simple the man writes great songs...nothing more nothing less...Think Twain with a touch of Joyce

[searam]

I grew up in Atlanta. That was about 45 minutes from the start of the Appalachian/Blue Ridge mountain ranges. When I first discovered Gord in the early seventies, I would drive into these hills, with their beautiful scenery and winding roads, and his songs seemed to fit into those experiences. When I still listen to them, they bring back those young, incredible experiences for me.
He shaped the way I viewed music and taught me that writing my own experiences down in music/lyrics was what I was meant to do. I was fortunate in that I sold my first song to Kenny Rogers the weekend I got out of high school. But it was Gord that showed me that being a guy with feelings for beauty, love, or a lady, was OK to write about. This man shaped my life. Please don't think that's "corny", it is still my honour to think of that, and I wish I could thank him personally. He is a man with a real soul that shines through with his music.
Sean

[Janice]

Sean, being someone who enjoys many of the songs Kenny Rogers sings/sang, I'm very curious to know what song it was of yours that he recorded - if you're comfortable sharing that with us, of course.

Janice

quote:Originally posted by searam:
I grew up in Atlanta. That was about 45 minutes from the start of the Appalachian/Blue Ridge mountain ranges. When I first discovered Gord in the early seventies, I would drive into these hills, with their beautiful scenery and winding roads, and his songs seemed to fit into those experiences. When I still listen to them, they bring back those young, incredible experiences for me.
He shaped the way I viewed music and taught me that writing my own experiences down in music/lyrics was what I was meant to do. I was fortunate in that I sold my first song to Kenny Rogers the weekend I got out of high school. But it was Gord that showed me that being a guy with feelings for beauty, love, or a lady, was OK to write about. This man shaped my life. Please don't think that's "corny", it is still my honour to think of that, and I wish I could thank him personally. He is a man with a real soul that shines through with his music.
Sean

I feel that very way most days. Yesterday evening before sunset I drove into town to pick up a few things and rent a movie. The fog was coming up over the pass and spilling out onto the lake and you could see the mist in the air and the sky was this amazing blue against our huge old pines. And I had Lightfoot playing the whole drive. His music fits better here than it ever did in the flatlands.

quote:Originally posted by searam:
I grew up in Atlanta. That was about 45 minutes from the start of the Appalachian/Blue Ridge mountain ranges. When I first discovered Gord in the early seventies, I would drive into these hills, with their beautiful scenery and winding roads, and his songs seemed to fit into those experiences.

[Baz]

Gordon's talents are more than just a good sound....but no one is minimizing that. I too take Gord with me, in fact all of my music, in the car......Heaven to me is driving in the country (I'm suburban) with a car mug of coffee and the musical score of my life playing aloud.....Kenny Rankin...Dylan....Joni....Ronstadt, Beatles, Paul Simon, JT, and so on.....Singular talents, but no one can write a hook and lend a sense of masculine warmth and romance to a song like Gord....I'm not into saying anyone is the best, too much glorious talent in my life and its collection (2000 LP's, 600 cd's, and tapes, who counts), but I can say there is no one BETTER....Gord is up there...
Barry

[searam]

I wrote a song called "Summer Rain".
Thanks,
Sean