Gordon Lightfoot - Complete Greatest Hits (2002)

There are too many singer-songwriters born with sub-standard vocal chords. I've always said they should just compose and leave the singing to those who can. Fortunately, the recently departed Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (1938 - 2023) was never one who needed to avoid a microphone because his elegant baritone always enhanced his highly literate songs.

I've thought many times about adding some Lightfoot to my already large CD collection, but for reasons that can't be explained, I never did. So, proving that death is often a good career move the recent, sad news about the beloved, Canadian star's passing finally spurred me into action with my purchase of Complete Greatest Hits. 

This excellently re-mastered, 2002 compilation from Rhino Records is loaded with Lightfoot's most popular songs. For the majority of music lovers this outstanding, twenty song collection - that clocks in at almost an hour and fifteen minutes - should be enough.

Complete Greatest Hits includes six songs from Lightfoot's early United Artists years with fourteen more from his later, Warner Brothers period. Previously, to get everything on this album you would have needed to purchase multiple compilations.

Two inferior "best of" releases preceded this one. Both are still available and were originally issued as LPs and later CDs. Gord's Gold, Volumes 1 & 2 included an abundance of early tracks that Lightfoot re-recorded for those albums. The updated versions were mixed in with some later tunes, not all of them hits. If authenticity or familiarity is something you desire you're better off with this highly recommended Rhino set.

"Sundown" - Lightfoot's only American #1 - has always been among my favorite soft-rock, singer-songwriter records. That chartbusting, #1 single is here of course, along with "If You Could Read My Mind," "Carefree Highway," "Rainy Day People," and the unlikely #2 hit, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." Also included are two of his early folk songs that became better known when they were covered by Peter, Paul and Mary in the mid-sixties: "For Lovin' Me" and "Early Morning Rain."

Comments

  1. Casey9:28 AM, May 12, 2023

    I see that "Cotton Jenny" is included (upbeat and feelgood song) and the song always brings back memories of singing in the car with my dad. If I could add one more song to this offering..."Circle Of Steel" would be my choice. Stark and cold imagery that still haunts me long after hearing the song and it evokes memories for other reasons. I only have a couple of Lightfoot albums myself. "Summer Side Of Life" and "Sundown" so a good compilation is definitely in my forecast. Oh yeah,..."Miguel" is another favorite I would have to add. I need to stop. Thanks for posting. ~casey

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

WHAT'S HOT TODAY!

Slower Than Slow: 16 RPM Records

Image
Have you ever heard of a long forgotten vinyl format, the 16 2/3 RPM record? They were half the speed of the 33 1/3 RPM albums that were the traditional standard for recorded music. Most record players in the 1950s and 1960s came with a speed setting to play these long forgotten discs that were considered novelties even during the years they were available. Because most, but not all, 16s had big holes and were 7" in diameter many of them were mistaken for 45 RPMs and at that size the speed allowed for up to 20 minutes of playing time per side. However, there was no true standard size and they were also manufactured to be 9, 10, or 12 inches in diameter, and these larger records played even longer. Just like the other speeds and formats 16s could be played one record at a time or stacked on a changer for continuous play. Radio stations often used the discs for pre-recorded radio shows containing interviews, dramas, and documentaries. More frequen...
Read more

The Butties -12 Greatest Carols (2005)

Image
This is a word for word reposting of a Christmas album review originally published here on December 20, 2008 with a YouTube video added. It's for British Invasion and Beatles fans everywhere. Yesterday, while listening to Little Steven's Underground Garage on Sirius XM Satellite Radio, I was suddenly taken in by a version of "Joy To The World" that I never heard before. The song opened with John Lennon's famous harmonica introduction to The Beatles' first English #1 single, "Please Please Me," before morphing into one of the world's most famous Christmas songs. While the lyrics and melody were true to the original carol the arrangement screamed early Beatles. With my interest piqued I conducted an Internet search where I discovered, The Butties, a Beatles tribute band who released a CD, 12 Greatest Carols , in 2005. All of the songs were arranged in a way The Beatles may have recorded them. The lyrics and melody of "Let It Snow" fit ...
Read more

Jonathan Foster - Snow Globe Angels (2024)

Image
There are a lot of Winter songs that have nothing to do with Christmas, but that hasn't stopped many of them from becoming fully embedded into the standard holiday music repertiore. So many songs about snow, sleigh rides and the weather have been beaten to death that I understand why some people hate Christmas music. To any singers and musicians out there who have a desire to add "Baby, It's Cold Outside" to their concert setlists or new albums this year, all I've got to say to you is, please don't. We've had enough! Thankfully, folk singer Jonathan Foster  - who has six full-length albums to his credit - has just released a new single, "Snow Globe Angels," for this 2024 Yuletide season. This pleasant, original song is available digitally on iTunes and  Bandcamp . The song tells the tale of people happily playing in the snow as the singer is entertained by the show happening outside his window while he's staying toasty...
Read more

Why Do 45 RPM Records Have Big Holes?

Image
Today we're going to find out why 45 RPM records have much larger holes than 78s and 33s. Believe it or not I often wondered about this burning question when I was collecting hundreds of these little seven inch gems back the 1960s. According to several websites, including Answerbag , the reason for the large hole used by 45s was simple. It was difficult for the old 78s, with their smaller holes, to find their way onto jukebox spindles. The large hole effectively eliminated that problem. Strangely, seven inch 45s were often pressed with the smaller holes used for LPs in many countries outside the United States, especially in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Overseas the inserts (commonly know as spiders) were manufactured into the large holes at the factories but they could be punched out if desired. The Beatles' British single of "Love Me Do," pictured here, is a typical example. Why were the spiders built into English 45s? I was unable to fi...
Read more

Laurie London - He's Got The Whole World (In His Hands) (1958)

Image
Today we're going to discuss an almost totally forgotten hit record along with a little bit of related Billboard chart history. The inspiration for this post came about while sorting through some extremely old 45s that I didn't remember I owned. I've had "He's Got The Whole World (In His Hands)" by Laurie London - a rare, popular, gospel hit - in my record collection since my childhood, even though it wasn't really mine. The single belonged to either my mother or my grandmother who lived with us. I played it once in awhile because I was always allowed free access to their records, and it was eventually absorbed into my collection. Despite the name, teenager Laurie London (born January 19, 1944) was a boy singer who - at age thirteen - became a one-hit wonder in his native UK and in America the following year. Information about London is sparse. Details vary depending on the particular website you're reading, but according to Wik...
Read more