It's been forever since I've been around here.....I'm starting my GL collection again

[ricky Jay]

I don't remember the last time I was here, but I was once asking about how to expand my collection of Gordon Lightfoot albums, but I had first wanted to begin with the albums before his voice changed.

John Fowles provided me a huge illustrated guide with where to begin. I still have the link to the topic in which he provided me this guide.

I had, for some time, mysteriously drifted away from GL, and I don't know why. I think that perhaps I listened so much to the albums that I did have, that my brain got saturated, and I drifted way for some time. But I think that with expansion of the GL collection, I can expose my ear to a greater variety of his work, and that can enable me to feel less saturated or less confined to only 4 albums that I have so far...After a year of exploring a couple of more artists, my interest in GL's music is starting to re-emerge and I have become officially serious in expanding my GL collection.

I ordered 3 albums from Amazon last night....3 of them were not GL, but I had wanted those 3 for a long time.....and I did not want to go over the $40 limit that I had placed on my purchased. After the 3 albums, I still had room to purchase another one.....

I had decided to purchase "Lightfoot/The Way I Feel," the debut one from 1966, I think. This is the one that you, John Fowles, had shown to me a very, very long time ago:



My next purchase will be the following two:




I am interested in acquiring GL's work in chronological order, so this is the way I am going about this....and if John Fowles is still here, thank you VERY much for providing me the huge illustrated guide for how to collect GL albums. I used this guide for ordering the 1966 album last night and I am going to continue using this guide for future collection.

[This message has been edited by Shazia (edited March 27, 2005).]

[Shazia]

I don't remember the last time I was here, but I was once asking about how to expand my collection of Gordon Lightfoot albums, but I had first wanted to begin with the albums before his voice changed.

John Fowles provided me a huge illustrated guide with where to begin. I still have the link to the topic in which he provided me this guide.

I had, for some time, mysteriously drifted away from GL, and I don't know why. I think that perhaps I listened so much to the albums that I did have, that my brain got saturated, and I drifted way for some time. But I think that with expansion of the GL collection, I can expose my ear to a greater variety of his work, and that can enable me to feel less saturated or less confined to only 4 albums that I have so far...After a year of exploring a couple of more artists, my interest in GL's music is starting to re-emerge and I have become officially serious in expanding my GL collection.

I ordered 3 albums from Amazon last night....3 of them were not GL, but I had wanted those 3 for a long time.....and I did not want to go over the $40 limit that I had placed on my purchased. After the 3 albums, I still had room to purchase another one.....

I had decided to purchase "Lightfoot/The Way I Feel," the debut one from 1966, I think. This is the one that you, John Fowles, had shown to me a very, very long time ago:



My next purchase will be the following two:




I am interested in acquiring GL's work in chronological order, so this is the way I am going about this....and if John Fowles is still here, thank you VERY much for providing me the huge illustrated guide for how to collect GL albums. I used this guide for ordering the 1966 album last night and I am going to continue using this guide for future collection.

[This message has been edited by Shazia (edited March 27, 2005).]

Excellent, Shazia! Welcome back and enjoy! We will all be awaiting your comments on the albums as they arrive and you hear them! Everyone on the site is very helpful and warm.

Excellent, Shazia! Welcome back and enjoy! We will all be awaiting your comments on the albums as they arrive and you hear them! Everyone on the site is very helpful and warm.

[Borderstone]

Hey Shazia! Long time no see! Well, you're off to a good start and at least you get to go in order of release.

My gathering of his works was all over the chronological map! I just bought them as I found them. Started with Sundown and ended with Shadows. Good luck!

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

[ricky Jay]

Hey Borderstone! You're actually one of the first people I remember from this place, I don't know why.



[This message has been edited by Shazia (edited March 28, 2005).]

[Shazia]

Hey Borderstone! You're actually one of the first people I remember from this place, I don't know why.



[This message has been edited by Shazia (edited March 28, 2005).]

[ricky Jay]

I have a question, it isn't just for you Borderstone, it could be for anyone.

Since I am going to start collecting stuff again, I would like to ask..........does the fact that GL has such a similar style throughout his albums make anyone feel that his songs all sound the same or similar, or when they get to know each and every single album, they can discern different songs over a span of time and enjoy each album in its unique way?

Sorry, by no means do I mean anything bad by this question, I am just asking.

[Shazia]

I have a question, it isn't just for you Borderstone, it could be for anyone.

Since I am going to start collecting stuff again, I would like to ask..........does the fact that GL has such a similar style throughout his albums make anyone feel that his songs all sound the same or similar, or when they get to know each and every single album, they can discern different songs over a span of time and enjoy each album in its unique way?

Sorry, by no means do I mean anything bad by this question, I am just asking.

[closetcanadian]

This is a fair question and Lightfoot has been criticized in music publications for some of his songs sounding very similar. One wag even labeled him "Three Chord Gord." Successful songwriters often do follow a tried and true formula. James Taylor has been accused of this as well. But for those of us that are fans, that doesn't detract from our enjoyment of the music. Personally, I think Lightfoot is one of the finest songwriters of the past 50 years! He is a consummate wordsmith and writes great melodies as well. But for me, it's his lyrics that I find truly moving. And though some of the melodies might be very familiar, the lyrics are always insightful and provocative. Sometimes you need to listen to an album several times to really begin to appreciate it. I know I have changed my opinion about a few of GL's albums over the years. Go ahead and build your colllection - I don't think you'll be disappointed!

[ricky Jay]

quote:Originally posted by closetcanadian:
He is a consummate wordsmith and writes great melodies as well. But for me, it's his lyrics that I find truly moving. And though some of the melodies might be very familiar, the lyrics are always insightful and provocative.
I think that's what keeps me eventually going back to his albums. Some of the melodies sound familiar but at the same time they are GOOD melodies. If they weren't good melodies, that would be an entirely different story

[Shazia]

quote:Originally posted by closetcanadian:
He is a consummate wordsmith and writes great melodies as well. But for me, it's his lyrics that I find truly moving. And though some of the melodies might be very familiar, the lyrics are always insightful and provocative.
I think that's what keeps me eventually going back to his albums. Some of the melodies sound familiar but at the same time they are GOOD melodies. If they weren't good melodies, that would be an entirely different story

[Minstrel Man]

I now have the pleasure of owning all of his studio albums. I find that, while there are some similarities between some songs, there is a real range throughout the collection. Various albums take on different sounds, orchestration, moods, and lyrical topics etc. I guess as Gord worked through different stages in his musical career, the songs he wrote, the sound of his voice, the way he arranged the music changed. For me, this means, when I reach for the Gord section of my cd rack, I pull the cd that fits my mood for the day. Sometimes its Harmony, recently I've been enjoying East of Midnight, then I moved back to Old Dan's Records. Even these three examples have very different sounds and moods. What I'm trying to say is that I think every album is unique and that means that every time I change which cd I'm listening to, I get a new and different experience. I don't ever feel like the albums blend together in an unrecognizable mix of tunes. In fact, I recently acquired the collection of previously unreleased songs that are on the Songbook collection. I found as I listened to these songs that I could identify what albums the songs were recorded for without researching because I recognized the instrumentation and sound of the album. It's neat to own all the cds and have that kind of variety at my disposal. I never get bored of listening to Lightfoot.

[ricky Jay]

Your mention of Old Dan's Records made me think of something.

I am awaiting "Lightfoot/The Way I Feel" in the mail. So far, I've got Sundown, Summertime Dream, Dream Street Rose, and Old Dan's Records.

Now that I think of it, all these albums are different from one another in atmosphere, no matter what the similarities in some of the styles are.

Dream Street Rose is quite different than Old Dan's Records. I consider Summertime Dream to be quite different than Sundown, etc. Summertime Dream is nothing like Dream Street Rose, or Sundown, Dream Street Rose is nothing like Sundown, etc., even if the styles of a lot of his songs bear similarity.

I think your reply is helping me see this situation the way I had hoped.

[Shazia]

Your mention of Old Dan's Records made me think of something.

I am awaiting "Lightfoot/The Way I Feel" in the mail. So far, I've got Sundown, Summertime Dream, Dream Street Rose, and Old Dan's Records.

Now that I think of it, all these albums are different from one another in atmosphere, no matter what the similarities in some of the styles are.

Dream Street Rose is quite different than Old Dan's Records. I consider Summertime Dream to be quite different than Sundown, etc. Summertime Dream is nothing like Dream Street Rose, or Sundown, Dream Street Rose is nothing like Sundown, etc., even if the styles of a lot of his songs bear similarity.

I think your reply is helping me see this situation the way I had hoped.

[Borderstone]

Shazia! In my opinion,it's not important wheather or not they sound the same. I think it's great to have an artist you can enjoy in many different ways,without them having to trade in what made them special in the first place.

I like the fact that I can listen to each of his albums and have something on each one that stands out....sound-alike or not!

In other words,Gordon's dependable in making good music withoutout going overboard. I could care less that Sundown and Baby Step Back are similar,what I do care about is hearing my favorite singer do what he does best. Write good lyrics and sing the way only he can sing. Later!

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