Summer Side of Life

 

 

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I wholeheartedly agree that Gordon Lightfoot's music has a timelessness to it that cannot be beat. I am 57 years old and I love SUMMER SIDE OF LIFE as much today as I did in 1971 at the age of 17 when I first purchased it in vinyl at a Canadian music store in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
I had the privilege of first seeing Gordon Lightfoot in concert in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1994. I was single then and ended up enjoying the concert all by my lonesome. Years later I took my husband to see Gordon in concert in Savannah, Georgia where we currently live (my husband a retired American soldier still works for the American Army at Fort Stewart). He wasn't as familiar with Gordon Lightoot's music as I was and there were some songs that were not played during the concert. I don't know why I didn't think SUMMER SIDE OF LIFE did not exist in some form on Amazon but when I found you could still not only get in CD but it still existed in vinyl I was ectastic! This was one of the first records I EVER bought.
Some of my favortes that were not sung at the concert were 10 DEGREES & COLDER, MIGUEL, TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP, NOUS VIVONS ENSEMBLE , SAME OLD LOVERMAN and CABARET all on this CD. Luckily the SUMMER SIDE OF LIFE, also on this tape, was sung at the concert.
10 DEGREES & COLDER is a song about a hitchiker, a road musician in Boulder, Colorado, standing in the freezing cold trying to come home to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It reminds one of days in the 1970s where hitchikers with signs were much more of a common sight than what you see today.
MIGUEL is a sad, tender song about geographically seperated lovers and their tragic parting. Miguel, a young man born in Mexico who accidentally kills a lawman resulting in his fleeing for his life and his true love who bears his child while he is sent to his death. "Oh my sweet Miguel, listen to the bell. No one will ever know what I know too well. I have no fear. I am waiting for you, cross the border, swim the river, because you've done that before, to see your true love's smiling face a hundred times or more. Oh my sweet Miguel, I love you till I die." Such sweet lyrics and the way that they are sung--really touches you deep inside.
TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP along with MIGUEL are probably my favorites songs on this tape. In the former tape a man learns of his woman's implied infidelity. "I heard you softly whisper. I reached out to hold you near me. Then from your lips came that secret I was not supposed to know..." I especially love the guitar in this song.
NOUS VIVONS ENSEMBLE sung partially in French about "staying together". "If you need me and I need you there is nothing else worth saying."
THE SAME OLD LOVERMAN is about the man was "born to believe" that he "never could deceive."
The last song on the tape, CABARET, has special meaning for me, a displaced northerner, living in the Deep South. After all I was born and raised in suburban Detroit in the north country. Most of my relatives lived in or near Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Therefore the words in this song "still I like to tell her that I miss her so, North Ontario" truly express how I really feel.
The heartfelt way in which Gordon Lightfoot sings these songs make them really special. You find yourself singing along with them while driving in a car or being a passenger in it. In fact listening to them now has a way of making one feel young again! Thanks Gordon for reliving those feelings in me. Anytime I want to feel that way again all I have to do is to play this CD and I am back!

Buy this CD right now! If "Miguel" isn't one of the top 100 most beautiful songs ever written on the planet Earth, then I've never ever heard a gorgeous Gershwin or Cole Porter or Lerner & Lowe or Paul Simon or Bob Marley or Woody Guthrie or Joni Mitchell or Bob Dylan or Lennon & McCartney song in my life!! Curiously, "Miguel" isn't on GL's relatively recent 4-CD boxed set (which is complete craziness!). The rest of this album features some of Gordon's most compelling writing, as well, with "10 Degrees and Getting Colder," "Cabaret," "Cotten Jenny" (a textbook example of metaphorically perfect lyrics), "Nous Vivons Ensemble," and "Talking in Your Sleep" being absolute keepers. From 1966 to 1982, Gordon put out about 12 perfect albums, where you wanted to hear every melodic, literate, high-quality song (with no "filler" on any of the records). Summer Side of Life is definitely one of the "magnificent dozen!" But "Miguel," all by itself is worth the price of the CD. By the way, I'm a songwriter myself, and I guarantee I would sell my soul to old Mr. Scratch and/or any of his minions for the privilege to have written such a compellingly memorable tune!!!

This is a great CD, probably his finest. Ironically, "Cotton Jenny" - the one song that most will be familiar with - is the weakest song here. The second "side" in particular is far more diverse than most Gordon Lightfoot tends to be. Songs like "Same Old Loverman" and "Love and Maple Syrup" are just as good if not better than his singles from the era. Even if you have the Complete Greatest Hits, this is well worth owning!

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5.0 out of 5 stars This is Lightfoot's Best
The first artist I ever got into was Gordon Lightfoot and bought many of his albums in my early years of music listening. Read more

Published on Nov 22 2003 by Kilgore

5.0 out of 5 stars Forget the compilations - buy this
This is a dazzling set of gorgeous accoustic guitar playing, strong, moving lyrics and beautiful melodies galore, all held together by Lightfoot's warm and expressive... Read more

Published on Oct 2 2002 by Brett Simpson

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best of the best
Every year from 1970 through 1976, Gordon Lightfoot released a string of superlative albums. This is one of the best of them, as well as being one of the most unusual. Read more

Published on Jun 5 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars My Favourite Gordon Lightfoot Album
Gordon Lightfoot does not write bad songs. I'm glad that he is still out there on the road and performing. Read more

Published on Feb 13 2001 by Randolph A. Notestine

5.0 out of 5 stars Lightfoot Reaches His Peak
As Gordon Lightfoot's fame grew, his music evolved and gradually reached its peak with Summer Side of Life and its follow-up smash, Don Quixote. Read more

Published on Dec 28 2000 by Kurt Harding

5.0 out of 5 stars Memories
I was born after this album was released and was raised to it playing in the background. I have great memories of these melodies playing throughout my childhood and I am still... Read more

Published on Oct 29 2000 by Joseph Mikitish

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Beginnings for Gord at Warner/Reprise
Gord's first album for Warner/Reprise is evocative of the artist's period of greatest musical strength, beginning with this album and going through Salute. Read more

Published on July 31 2000 by Al Bevens

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best
By far and away the BEST Lightfoot album he made. The music contained is timeless, folksy and simple.

Published on May 23 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite Album by My Favorite Singer
This album came along just as I was becoming aware of Gordon Lightfoot in 1971. Every song is worth of inclusion..there is no "filler" here. Read more

Published on Jan 12 1999 by r_rainey

5.0 out of 5 stars The most enduring music I have ever owned
This is the best example of Lightfoot's vast talent. The music is varied and rich in melody, with a lot of subtle support instrumentation. Read more

Published on Sep 29 1998

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