Much to My Surprise

[mercedes]

Hi Shazia,

Look at it from this perspective .... someone, somewhere, surrendered their ownership of an indispensable (and now rare) recording by one of music's most respected artists ....

..... and you are the beneficiary of that questionable decision ...

Mike

[Erika]

Watchman -

You have GOT to be kidding. My first GL show was the VERY SAME SHOW. Chautauqua Institute, 1993, right? My family and I were second row center. We showed up several hours early, since it was general admission. It was a beautiful evening; I love the amphitheater setting there. I keep hoping he'll book a show there again.

[Travis]

Watchman -

You have GOT to be kidding. My first GL show was the VERY SAME SHOW. Chautauqua Institute, 1993, right? My family and I were second row center. We showed up several hours early, since it was general admission. It was a beautiful evening; I love the amphitheater setting there. I keep hoping he'll book a show there again.

[Sheryl]

I love that one, too! My first copy was supposedly new, but, it never played quite right. My second copy I bought a month later, freaking out because my first one was skipping alot. I put a cleaning disc in my CD player and, sure enough, that was the problem, whew! However, I was really scared about not being able to listen to WFY anymore, so I feel much better owning two now. I'm starting to feel weird about this in a way. I have a cousin who would buy two of everything, just in case the first one broke. That's weird. But, hey, this is Gord, so.. it's all good, right?!

[ricky Jay]

Well, I had put my WFY album aside for several days, because I wanted to find out what I would think of it when I came back to the album after those several days.

I decided that those 4 songs that I had been questioning my "liking" for have become good songs now. I am a bit undecided on Welcome to Try, but all in all, I like this album much much better now, after having put it aside and coming back to it to see if I would like it better. The best thing is, I did not have to force myself to like this album.

I think the only thing that put me off is that this is the first album since Salute in which his vocals are so different, and I had to take some time to accept this change. But at the same time, I always tell myself that is still the very same man whose music and lyrics I love so much.

I'm half asleep while typing all this, but anyway

[Shazia]

Well, I had put my WFY album aside for several days, because I wanted to find out what I would think of it when I came back to the album after those several days.

I decided that those 4 songs that I had been questioning my "liking" for have become good songs now. I am a bit undecided on Welcome to Try, but all in all, I like this album much much better now, after having put it aside and coming back to it to see if I would like it better. The best thing is, I did not have to force myself to like this album.

I think the only thing that put me off is that this is the first album since Salute in which his vocals are so different, and I had to take some time to accept this change. But at the same time, I always tell myself that is still the very same man whose music and lyrics I love so much.

I'm half asleep while typing all this, but anyway

[Sheryl]

Good deal, Shazia. Smart move. I came into DSR first, then went fast-forward to Live in Reno DVD, then up to Harmony, then backwards... so, yeah, it was a bit of a rocky ride, getting used to the vocal changes, as you said. I totally felt the same -- it's the same guy, get over it (to myself). I love the Man so that's it! Well said (to you!)...

[2Much2Lose]

IMHO, WFY is his second best album since Shadows. I give Harmony the edge over WFY. BTW, I wish he'd do "River of Light" in concert, and I asked him about it, but Gord says he has trouble remembering the order of the lyrics on that one. LOL

Back to WFY, Restless may be the best song he's written since the Shadows album -- it's my favorite --and it's 10 times better in concert than on the album, as long as dopey fans don't interrupt the last chord.

I think "Welcome to Try" has angry, hurtful lyrics, with notes too high for Gord's voice, and I hate hearing it. I think "Wild Strawberries" is ok, but awfully awkward and disjointed.

"I'd Rather Press On" is pure gold Gord, IMO. One of my favorites on the album. And straight into "Drink Your Glasses Empty," another great one. Anyway, I listen to WFY a lot, skipping "Welcome to Try"

I generally agree with the comments about APPT. When I first listened to the album, my three favorites were Drifters, Country Singer and Red Velvet. That says a lot when the covers surpassed most of the originals. Since then, I've moved the title cut above these two in my estimation, and Ringneck Loon has equalled them, but Yonge Street is horrible and Uncle Toad is a throwaway. Gord does "Country Singer" in concert a lot, and it's good, but it's also clear that his reason for doing so is the analogy to his own declining voice. I give APPT a listen every once in a while -- mainly due to the fact that Gord often has songs that sneak up on you after repeated listening to become favorites (including the entire East of Midnight album, which I hated at first, and now love) -- but nothing in APPT has grown much on me, except as noted above.

David