Underrated Songs

[2Much2Lose]

Which Gord songs do you think are the "most unappreciated gems"?
The song(s) with the greatest disparity between the greatness of the song and the amount of play / attention the song generated. Great songs that neither Gord nor the record companies have promoted as much as they should have been.


Any song which has been placed on Gord's Gold, GG2, Songbook or Complete Greatest Hits is automatically ineligible unless the anthology is the ONLY place the song appears. Any song which has been released as a single (A or B side) probably also would be ineligible.

My list would start with Farewell to Annabelle, Somewhere U.S.A.,and
The Watchman's Gone.

"I'd Rather Press On" and "Drink Your Glasses Empty" would probably be on the list too except they are new enough that they may eventually show up in another collection.

Sixteen Miles would be on there too except the Bear Family stuck it on the Singer Songwriter anthology in 2001.

Anyone else wanna chip in?

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"And the laughter came too easy for life to pass me by."

[This message has been edited by 2Much2Lose (edited May 05, 2003).]

[Ordinary Man]

My first Gord CD was "Gord's Gold". Anyone who thinks that by purchasing a "greatest hits " cd will get you all the jems then that person would miss out on some really "Great Non-Hits".

If I hadn't bought the "Don Quixote" cd I would never have heard "Ordinary Man" or the "Sundown" cd with "Is There Anyone Home" and "The Watchman's Gone". These songs to me alone are worth more than the price of a full cd or greatest hits.

[formerlylavender]

I agree, Ordinary Man is awesome. I often wonder why that didn't get more attention. Also, Go My Way from Summer Side of Life is great - simple but uplifting.

"The House You Live In" and "Too Many Clues in This Room" are 2 songs that I think sound good. They only appear on the Summertime Dream album. I wish he would've rerecorded these 2. Even if they don't sound as good as the originals, I'd still would've like to hear them.

[Dan O'Malley]

I'm always surprised a classic like "The Patriot's Dream" was left off of "Songbook". Other lesser known gems I rate highly are "Miguel" and "Tattoo". Also not on "Songbook"!

[SilverHeels]

Good topic, 2M2L.

I never hear enough of 'On the Bright Side'
(from the Songbook)and from way back 'A
Minor Ballad'.

[Brenda]

Ordinary Man -- I agree completely with your comments about buying Gord's Gold thinking you're getting the best there is of Gord's music (even though it is a great collection of songs). I made that mistake years ago, missing until recently the awesome music on Sundown and the rest of the albums that came before it. The bright side of that mistake is that I have had tons of "new" GL music to discover and enjoy during the past three years!

I would add "I'm Not Supposed To Care" to "The Watchman's Gone" and "Miguel". "If Children Had Wings" also holds a special place in my heart.

[joveski]

crossroads
if i could
cabaret
farewell annabel
the list
dream street rose
heaven help the devil
a passing ship
i'd rather press on
much to my suprise

[gwen snyder]

whisper my name
hey you
i'd rather
much to my surprise
heaven help the devil
you are what i am
i'd do it again
farewell to annabel
tattoo (i am not sure when I first heard this but it just runs through me continuously)
hi'way songs
GSS

[TheWatchman]

The Watchman's Gone
Farewell To Annabel
Seven Island Suite
A Passing Ship
Much To My Surprise
14 Karat Gold
Heaven Help The Devil
Restless

[brink]

Watchman's Gone (this month's fav)
Heaven Help the Devil (last month's fav)
I'm not supposed to care
Ordinary man (probably next month's fav)
Dreamland
East of Midnight - don't know if that qualifies though

Brink

[Borderstone]

Make Way For The Lady / Sea Of Tranquility / Walls / Endless Wire / That Same Old Obsession / Summer Side Of Life / (The Whole Shadows LP!) / Anything For Love / Morning Glory / Old Dan's Records / It's Worth Believin'....actually I'm writing this from the point of view of the public in general. Most of them have either no knowledge of his music or just know the songs played on the radio. As for critics,well,I don't think I have to go there. Gordon,to us,is right up there with Elvis & The Beatles & other biggies. To others,unless they discover him,Gord will always be underated or an also ran. It's too bad that people define performers by a few single hits or that they pigeonhole them into one frame of reference. They just don't know what they're missing when they don't try to broaden their horizons. Either in music or anything else. Well,it's been I and or me and I'll catch ya on the flipside of Sundown!

[SilverHeels]

I forgot to mention two of my especially faves both of which have been neglected,
IMO.

I'm Not s'posed to Care
It's Worth Believin'

I know there are more...

Yesterday I read in another topic that "High And Dry" would probably have bin a hit had it not bin put on the same album as "Sundown" and "Carefree Highway". It was "buried" by those 2.

On the Songbook GL said that after "Too Much To Lose" didn't make it on the movie that they didn't want it either and that it was one of the coolest songs they had gotten out of the vault. When he said cool did he mean the cool as in "Iwas a cool dude" or did he mean hot and cool, in which hottest songs out of the vault sound the best and cool is bad?

[Auburn Annie]

Cool as in similar phrases of the forties/fifties/sixties (the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, that is) like 'neat.' I'd say he meant 'cool' as in better than he'd remembered it being.

[SilverHeels]

And I'd agree with him. Too Much to Lose
is a great song.

[ambrose]

knotty pine ....

ambrose

[brink]

I guess I never really "got" Knotty Pine, I know it is weird and is written like Knotty Pine and Naughty Pine. I don't know I saw him sing it and it passed over me.

[SomewhereupinMichigan]

Brink: Sorry...if you didn't get it, I'm afraid I'd be hard-pressed to 'splain it to you!

[Rebecca]

Mother of a Miner's Child

[christinefrommichigan]

A Passing Ship

This song reminds me of being in the norhtern part of michigan up around the straits of mackinac all the way up into the up of michigan.

[Borderstone]

I was under the impression that,"Knotty Pine" was Gord simply saying that some unamed woman is as beautiful as the trees in his opinion. At least that's my take on it. Later!

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Borderstone

[brink]

Good thought there Borderstone, I think I'll print out the words and read it.