All Live

Gordon Lightfoot is our Canadian institution. He was born on November 17,1938 in Orillia, Ontario. He has a lengthy recording career, starting with the album Lightfoot on United Artists label (1965) and ended with Harmony in 2004. If you live in Toronto, you will remember two major record stores, A&A and of course, Sam the Record Man. I still remember that in 1975, I braved heavy rain and went to A&A to get Gordon Lightfoot’s The Best of Gordon Lightfoot vinyl record for 99 cents in a midnight sale. Of course, we in Ontario are also blessed with the yearly Gordon Lightfoot’s concert at the very intimate cozy Massey Hall downtown.

Rhino Records/Warner Brothers from US have done a great job, extracting 13 great live recordings between the years 1998 and 2001. The recordings have not been technically altered and are authentic live mixes. The sound is pretty good for a live recording from the late nineties, and the songs are very well remastered. You can hear Gordon Lightfoot’s voice distinctly, although because of aging, his voice sounded a little strained. I would have preferred that Rhino Records did not put a two-second pause between songs. Even though the recordings were taken from different concerts, listening to the entire album with no pause is still preferred.

Song listing (with date of recording, chart position, year and source):
01 14 Karat Gold (Thursday, May 7, 1998)(from album Shadows, 1981)
02 If You Could Read My Mind (Thursday, May 7, 1998)(US 5/1970)(from album Sit Down Young Stranger, 1970)
03 Fine As Fine Can Be (Thursday, May 7, 1998) )(from album Cold on the Shoulder, 1975)
04 Baby Step Back (Friday, May 8, 1998)(from album Shadows 1981)
05 Early Morning Rain (Friday, May 8, 1998)(from album Lightfoot, 1966)
06 Restless (Friday, May 8, 1998)(from album Waiting for You, 1993)
07 A Painter Passing Through (Thursday, May 24, 2001)(from album A Painter Passing Through, 1998)
08 Rainy Day People (Friday, May 8, 1998)(US 26/1975)(from album Cold on the Shoulder, 1975)
09 Ringneck Loon (Thursday, May 7, 1998)(from album A Painter Passing Through, 1998)
10 Shadows (Thursday, November 11, 1999)(from album Shadows, 1981)
11 Sundown (Thursday, May 7, 1998)(US 1/1974)(from album Sundown, 1974)
12 Carefree Highway (Thursday, May 7, 1998)(US 10/1974)(from album Sundown, 1974)
13 Christian Island (Saturday, May 26, 2001)(from album Don Quixote, 1972)
14 The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald (Thursday, May 7, 1998)(US 2/1976)(from album Summertime Dream, 1976)
15 Canadian Railroad Trilogy (Thursday, November 11, 1999)(from album The Way I Feel, 1966)
16 Let It Ride (Saturday, may 26, 2001)(from album East of Midnight, 1986)
17 Blackberry Wine (Friday, May 8, 1998)(from album Shadows, 1981)
18 Song For A Winter’s Night (Friday, May 8, 1998)(from album The Way I Feel, 1967)
19 Old Dan’s Records (Friday, May 25, 2001)(from album Old Dan’s Records, 1972)

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Our Gordon Lightfoot has a very illustrious career, writing songs for other artists, and also with a large collection of treasured hits. So far, I have managed to collect 19 CDs of Gordon Lightfoot. My favourite is the 4-disc box set called Gordon Lightfoot Songbook, released in 1995. If you are looking for a single Greatest Hits disc, then, I would recommend Gord’ Gold (1975) or the recent release Complete Greatest Hits (2002). But don’t buy Gord’s Gold Volume 2, because the songs were re-recordings. But if you like to listen to Gordon Lightfoot live, this set is for you, and is recommended for all Gordon Lightfoot fans.

I hope the above review is helpful to you.

Gordon Lightfoot has been performing, recording and entertaining audiences far and wide for 50 years now – since the early 1960s in Canada. He has recorded 20 original albums, for which he has written almost all of the songs, and has released innumerable collections and compilations. His songs have been in the folk, folk-rock and the country genres, and many other prominent performers have recorded his songs and have contributed to Lightfoot tribute albums. His music has been appreciated by multiple generations of listeners, his fan base continues to grow and he has received many awards. He has become a national treasure in Canada. This CD – All Live – is a collection of songs that Lightfoot recorded live and in concert at Toronto’s Massey Hall between 1998 and 2001. I believe that Lightfoot himself reviewed the concert recordings and selected the songs for the CD.

In his younger years Lightfoot’s songs were immediately recognizable for his strong, rich baritone voice. Now, after 50 years of performing, Lightfoot is no longer young and his voice is no longer the same strong, rich baritone. That is to be expected, although the performances on the CD remain honourable and creditable. Age changes us all, and we long-term fans have been aging and changing with Lightfoot. There is a certain comfort in going through life’s changes with those who we know and respect, and we find ourselves reflected in Lightfoot and his life, voice and performance.

With 19 songs, this CD contains many of Lightfoot’s best-known and best-loved songs, including If You Could Read My Mind, Early Morning Rain, Rainy Day People, Shadows, Christian Island, The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald, Canadian Railroad Trilogy, and Song for a Winter’s Night, among others. As usual, the instrumentation is as it should be – perfectly played and appropriate for each song and for Lightfoot’s voice. Lightfoot’s voice itself is warm, well-controlled, comfortable and soothing. Overall, the CD presents a relaxed, intimate feeling. As I write this review we are approaching mid-October and the freezing temperatures of fall. This is the perfect time to curl up with a cup of hot chocolate, or something stronger, and listen to Gordon Lightfoot “All Live”.

I bought this disc for my father as a gift and ended up really, really enjoying it. This is a nice disc for people who don't know too much about Lightfoot and want to give him a try. I thought he was more 'folky' than this disc shows, this is something I could see myself listening to on the porch drinking a beer. Great renditions of "Wreck", "Sundown", etc. and a bang up version of a song I had never heard, "14 Karat Gold".

Purists may scoff, but as a casual observer, this made me want to buy more of his stuff - and that's the ultimate compliment I can give.