I finally gortmy copy (1 of 3)

[muklucannie]

Well I was hoping Gord would drive 40 minutes out to my place and deliver my copy but since he didn't Linus did...

Here's my take after a couple of listens and reading of liner notes and lyrics...
the photos by Rick are gorgeous...The hands /guitar one must have been back
in the day...'70's. I recognize the shirt, the necklace, the watch with the
turquoise inset on the band...and those are the hands of a young man.....not
like the hands in the video of InspirationLady. The hands of experience.
Then the full shot of a man, one man, with talent beyond measure...

Imagine - from those hands has come countless hours, years actually of
entertaining millions of people...the guitar playing stands alone...as do
the other talents----voice, songwriting, arranging....and the band boys are
the perfect compliment...it's just too much to absorb sometimes...so much of
my life and Lightfoot has been there for all of it.
makes me kinda weepy...

Love the pic of him walking downtown Toronto...last summer I assume. Looks
like Movenpick reastaurant....

Harmony - it seems that the album isn't about finding and having Harmony -
it's about still looking for it. me and him both...

River of Light - I imagine at times of hurt and confusion he misses his
canoe trips and being out on a peaceful river, able to think and write....

Jessie Jo- In Flyin' Blind - it sounds like he's talking about his mum
giving him advice...about his canoe trips in the sub-arctic......maybe when
she was ill? And can be seen as advice in relationships as well....And a boy
always needs his mum. I always teared up when he would introduce her at
Massey-he seemed so proud of her being proud of him!
lol

No Mistake About It - oh dear- about one specific love or Elizabeth?
hmmmm.....sounds like the kind of girl he needs to stay away from for the
rest of his life!
LOL

End of All Time - geeze - I could have written that....some things are just
universal....endings of relationships, loneliness....sad song. I think he
needs a hug!

Shellfish - Never rest until you find, what is best to be forgot. Holy
crap...what a line.

I love No Hotel - the kids were dancing in their seats at lunch to
it....Since Zoe never hears anything else on the stereo here she knew who it
was when I asked her! poor kid....brainwashed at 2!

Inspiration Lady - the songs - the phrases, words, images that make their
way into his songs... could this be what his true Inspiration Lady is???

Clouds of Loneliness....well that one's a tear jerker for sure...possibly at
a time when his marriage was coming apart...again it's universal...but I
hurt for him. Not that he's perfect but it still hurts to hear his hurt in a
song. I hope he finds someone at this time of his life.....maybe his real
mistress and love always will be the music....kinda sad.

So many of the songs evoke sounds of previous songs.....little bits here and
there.....except Couchiching. That was always a name that captured my
imagination.....as do so many native names that Lakes and towns are named
for in these parts..geography class was a hoot!

and then there's Sometimes I Wish - jumpin jaysus-that one just kills
me....he's reading my mind. scary....

Did you hear me clapping at the end of No Hotel and Shellfish???LOL!

I'll have to listen a few more times to absorb all the bits and pieces of
musical stuff---not being a musician I tend to go with the voice and the
lyrics first.....music is one big sound for me..I have learned to listen
better and more selectively in the last few years after knowing so many of
the Lightfoot folks who talk and play music!

I hope Gord and everyone involved in making this album are proud. It really
is marvellous and I do like the fact it wasn't over-produced...It has a
truer sound...not as contrived or studio-ish...It's a nice album...now he
just needs to release some more live stuff from over the years....oh my-what
a treat that would be!

well that's my take so far.....GL - gotta love him. I know I do!
Char

[Char1]

Well I was hoping Gord would drive 40 minutes out to my place and deliver my copy but since he didn't Linus did...

Here's my take after a couple of listens and reading of liner notes and lyrics...
the photos by Rick are gorgeous...The hands /guitar one must have been back
in the day...'70's. I recognize the shirt, the necklace, the watch with the
turquoise inset on the band...and those are the hands of a young man.....not
like the hands in the video of InspirationLady. The hands of experience.
Then the full shot of a man, one man, with talent beyond measure...

Imagine - from those hands has come countless hours, years actually of
entertaining millions of people...the guitar playing stands alone...as do
the other talents----voice, songwriting, arranging....and the band boys are
the perfect compliment...it's just too much to absorb sometimes...so much of
my life and Lightfoot has been there for all of it.
makes me kinda weepy...

Love the pic of him walking downtown Toronto...last summer I assume. Looks
like Movenpick reastaurant....

Harmony - it seems that the album isn't about finding and having Harmony -
it's about still looking for it. me and him both...

River of Light - I imagine at times of hurt and confusion he misses his
canoe trips and being out on a peaceful river, able to think and write....

Jessie Jo- In Flyin' Blind - it sounds like he's talking about his mum
giving him advice...about his canoe trips in the sub-arctic......maybe when
she was ill? And can be seen as advice in relationships as well....And a boy
always needs his mum. I always teared up when he would introduce her at
Massey-he seemed so proud of her being proud of him!
lol

No Mistake About It - oh dear- about one specific love or Elizabeth?
hmmmm.....sounds like the kind of girl he needs to stay away from for the
rest of his life!
LOL

End of All Time - geeze - I could have written that....some things are just
universal....endings of relationships, loneliness....sad song. I think he
needs a hug!

Shellfish - Never rest until you find, what is best to be forgot. Holy
crap...what a line.

I love No Hotel - the kids were dancing in their seats at lunch to
it....Since Zoe never hears anything else on the stereo here she knew who it
was when I asked her! poor kid....brainwashed at 2!

Inspiration Lady - the songs - the phrases, words, images that make their
way into his songs... could this be what his true Inspiration Lady is???

Clouds of Loneliness....well that one's a tear jerker for sure...possibly at
a time when his marriage was coming apart...again it's universal...but I
hurt for him. Not that he's perfect but it still hurts to hear his hurt in a
song. I hope he finds someone at this time of his life.....maybe his real
mistress and love always will be the music....kinda sad.

So many of the songs evoke sounds of previous songs.....little bits here and
there.....except Couchiching. That was always a name that captured my
imagination.....as do so many native names that Lakes and towns are named
for in these parts..geography class was a hoot!

and then there's Sometimes I Wish - jumpin jaysus-that one just kills
me....he's reading my mind. scary....

Did you hear me clapping at the end of No Hotel and Shellfish???LOL!

I'll have to listen a few more times to absorb all the bits and pieces of
musical stuff---not being a musician I tend to go with the voice and the
lyrics first.....music is one big sound for me..I have learned to listen
better and more selectively in the last few years after knowing so many of
the Lightfoot folks who talk and play music!

I hope Gord and everyone involved in making this album are proud. It really
is marvellous and I do like the fact it wasn't over-produced...It has a
truer sound...not as contrived or studio-ish...It's a nice album...now he
just needs to release some more live stuff from over the years....oh my-what
a treat that would be!

well that's my take so far.....GL - gotta love him. I know I do!
Char

[Tyler]

Great review Char, you need to write for the papers. I take it that the 1 of 3 means copies! Fabulous CD, I love reading your reviews.

[brink]

Great review Char, you need to write for the papers. I take it that the 1 of 3 means copies! Fabulous CD, I love reading your reviews.

[SilverHeels]

quote:Originally posted by brink:
Great review Char, you need to write for the papers. I take it that the 1 of 3 means copies! Fabulous CD, I love reading your reviews.

Yes indeed, great stuff, Char.

'Never rest until you find, what is best to be forgot'- Shellfish. That line is so ...gives me goosebumps!

[Station Master]

>>Did you hear me clapping at the end of No Hotel and Shellfish???LOL!

sure did, cw ...also heard your holler during Nobo intro following "Dr. David Suzuki..."

wonderful first impressions, thanks for the refreshing read and the very best to you, Gordon and company in the coming years...

(and no, i am not employed by hallmark )

[jj]

>>Did you hear me clapping at the end of No Hotel and Shellfish???LOL!

sure did, cw ...also heard your holler during Nobo intro following "Dr. David Suzuki..."

wonderful first impressions, thanks for the refreshing read and the very best to you, Gordon and company in the coming years...

(and no, i am not employed by hallmark )

[Borderstone]

Except for myself at Phoenix in 2002,I think Char is the guy who shouts out at every Gordon concert!! Great review!

------------------
"A knight of the road,going back to a place where he might get warm." - Borderstone

[searam]

Stellar review!! You are an excellent writer! Do not dtop here at the Forum! Absolutley fab!!!
Sean

[Char1]

Nope - not me. I don't like people yelling out song requests or people who sing along. I pay to hear Lightfoot and that's what I want to hear. If you want to sing along and annoy others then stay home with your family and put on a CD!
lol
I jokingly refer to Massey Hall as The Church of Gord. I've even told him so. But I mean it..When I enter Massey Hall I am entering it for a soul reaching experience and any nob that thinks he is a better singer than Gord will hear it from me....At times I think repeat requests for songs he hasn't done in a long, long time are more for the benefit of the goof that yells them out. He wants all to know that he knows some of Lightfoot's older songs and thus must be the ultimate fan...and the rest of the people sitting and listening collectively think he's a nob. True - sometimes Gord will break down and sing a request - but for the majority of time he doesn't it and I think it throws him off...He is nothing but prepared and organized...for our benefit.
Just my opinion, I may be wrong...
Char
Charter Member of The Church of Gord.

[GJA]

I had the exact same opinion of "Flying Blind". He misses his mother and her advice.

[jj]

have no idea what that guy is hollering, certainly was just joking about it being char - but so loved your rebuttle, lol!

these quotes could have already been shared here so forgive me if so, but just in case:
>>>
I GET EMBARRASSED . . . when people shout for the same song at concerts 50 times and it's a song I've put aside for a while. Cotton Ginny comes up all the time.

MY FIRST SINGING COMPETITION . . . was when I took part in the Kiwanis festivals when I was between 10 and 12. I was coached and was quite serious about it. The judges were very astute, so it was a good test. My mom and dad would bring me to Toronto and we'd always go to one of the city's super restaurants, which I loved doing.

I OFTEN FORGET . . . to wash my hands, but usually somebody close by is quick to remind me.

MY FAVOURITE MEAL . . . is any kind of pasta dish, something I can whip up for myself. I like spaghetti a lot.

THE BEST ADVICE ANYONE EVER GAVE ME . . . was when I was taking a music course in Los Angeles. One of the guys running the course told me I was too lazy and that I'd never make it. I was 18 at the time and took him pretty seriously. That guy was about 100 per cent right on.

IF MY VOICE FAILED ME . . . I would have done a layman's work. I might have been a truck driver. I certainly wasn't brilliant in the sciences so I would have been a working stiff, which is how I ended up anyway.
>>>

back to topic, I've always really enjoyed his tunes which are structured without a definitive chorus - I'd say Shelfish is one

[johnfowles]

quote:Originally posted by Borderstone:
I think Char is the guy who shouts out at every Gordon concert!!

OOps "B" One day hopefully you will get to meet arch-fan Char when you will no doubt be very red-faced when you discover that in no way could she be described as a "guy"
In fact "char" is short not for Charlie (of which you are a proper one) but Charlene



------------------
My Gordon Lightfoot webring
starts at
http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/lightfoot

[Char1]

LOL!
Yes John, Char is short for Charlene which is the female name for Charles...I'm named after my grandfather...
However I will lay a "guy" styled whoop-ass on any crooner at a Lightfoot concert other than Gord himself.!
lol
Jimmy Buffet concerts are a whole other thing-I LOVES the sing-a-longs to J.B.'s party songs! (not the ballads)
I do wish JB would come back to Toronto...it's been too long! He loves Gord too!

[Gaby]

Harmony arrived yesterday (Thursday) morning and I am just stunned! I’ve just lain on my bed listening over and over again – getting to ‘know’ it.
It is such an incredible album..
Mature, reflective; and, yes, the sadness and wistfulness for past loves and youth comes through but, overall, I think it is an amazingly optimistic collection.
River Of Light (my favourite track, at the moment) says it all, for me.
Our man has ‘been away from the river too long’ and now he’s ‘heading off on a river of light’ and, hopefully, will travel on for a long time to come.

[SilverHeels]

My copy arrived today ... what can I say that has not already been said? It is wonderful, fantastic! I love his voice, I love the simplistic production and I love the songs. At the moment, Shellfish is engraving itself into my brain 'never rest until you find, what is best to be forgot'.
Wow!
It is so good to have him back!

[Next Saturday]

I'm with you on that one, SilverHeels. I think Shellfish might be the best one on it.

[SilverHeels]

quote:Originally posted by Next Saturday:
I'm with you on that one, SilverHeels. I think Shellfish might be the best one on it.

It's kinda mesmerizing, isnt it?