amerpie's Full Review: The United Artists Collection by Gordon Lightfoot
Folk Music fans have learned that they are likely to find songs written by Gordon Lightfoot practically anywhere. Lightfoot wrote hit songs for Peter, Paul & Mary, Ian & Sylvia, and Marty Robbins. The Toronto born Lightfoot was the first folk music star to come from the Canadian music scene. Followed by fellow folkies from up north, Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen, Lightfoot's influence can also be heard in the music of Jim Croce, David Buskin, and George Hamilton IV.
The United Artists Collection is actually a compilation of the four studio albums that Lightfoot recorded in the 1960s. This collection packs nearly 50 songs on two jam packed CDs. It contains gentle folk arrangements made smoother by Lightfoot's soft burr of a voice as well as transitional folk-rock tunes.
With two notable exceptions, Lightfoot wrote all of the songs in this collection. The first of the two covers is The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Ewan McColl. It is as pure of a folk song as has ever been recorded. There's nothing there but Lightfoot's voice and a guitar. McColl's lyrics perfectly capture the feeling of brand new passionate can't live without you love.
The second cover is Changes by the under appreciated Phil Ochs.
Sit by my side
Come as close as the air
Share in a memory of gray
And wonder in my words
and dream about the pictures that I play
of changes
Other notable tunes are Early Morning Rain, which has been covered by Tom Paxton, Elvis, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, and the Kingston Trio among others. Like many of Lightfoot's songs, many people think they are listening to traditional folk music without realizing that a modern artist wrote the tune.
For Loving Me is hilarious in its campy cruelty.
That's what you get for loving me
That's what you get for loving me
Everything you had is gone
As you can see
That's what you get for loving me
I ain't the kind to hang around
With any new love that I've found
Cause moving out is my stock in trade
I'm moving on
I won't think of you when I'm gone
Other notable songs in this collection include the magnificent (some say epic) Canadian Railroad Trilogy and the protest tune Black Day In July, about the Detoit riots in the late 60s.
The comrehensive Internet music site, All Music Guide, rates this collection as one of the best of its genre. Well, there's no doubt about it. Many of these songs are so well written that they've been covered literally dozens of times. Once you listen a few times, you'll no why.
Tracks
****Note****
When I review an album, I normally like to write a sentence or two about each song. Sorry, but I can't do that with a collection of 49 songs. My fingers would fall off before I got to the end.
1. Rich Man's Spiritual (Lightfoot) - 2:44
2. Long River (Lightfoot) - 2:46
3. Way I Feel (Lightfoot) - 3:43
4. For Lovin' Me (Lightfoot) - 2:25
5. First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (McColl) - 3:10
6. Changes (Ochs) - 2:30
7. Early Mornin' Rain (Lightfoot) - 3:04
8. Steel Rail Blues (Lightfoot) - 2:48
9. Sixteen Miles (To Seven Lakes) (Lightfoot) - 2:05
10. I'm Not Sayin' (Lightfoot) - 2:28
11. Pride of Man (Camp) - 2:41
12. Ribbon of Darkness (Lightfoot) - 2:39
13. Oh, Linda (Lightfoot) - 3:09
14. Peaceful Waters (Lightfoot) - 2:01
15. Walls (Lightfoot) - 2:51
16. If You Got It (Lightfoot) - 2:28
17. Softly (Lightfoot) - 3:23
18. Crossroads (Lightfoot) - 2:56
19. Minor Ballad (Lightfoot) - 3:13
20. Go-Go Round (Lightfoot) - 2:37
21. Rosanna (Lightfoot) - 2:39
22. Home from the Forest (Lightfoot) - 3:02
23. I'll Be Alright (Lightfoot) - 2:25
24. Song for a Winter's Night (Lightfoot) - 2:58
25. Canadian Railroad Trilogy (Lightfoot) - 6:19
26. Way I Feel (Lightfoot) - 3:02
27. Wherefor & Why (Lightfoot) - 2:51
28. Last Time I Saw Her (Lightfoot) - 5:10
29. Black Day in July (Lightfoot) - 4:10
30. May 1 (Lightfoot) - 2:19
31. Magnificent Outpouring (Lightfoot) - 2:20
32. Does Your Mother Know (Lightfoot) - 3:33
33. Mountain and Maryann (Lightfoot) - 3:35
34. Pussywillows, Cat-Tails (Lightfoot) - 2:48
35. I Want to Hear It from You (Lightfoot) - 2:22
36. Something Very Special (Lightfoot) - 3:19
37. Boss Man (Lightfoot) - 2:10
38. Did She Mention My Name (Lightfoot) - 2:27
39. Long Way Back Home (Lightfoot) - 3:02
40. Unsettled Ways (Lightfoot) - 1:51
41. Long Thin Dawn (Lightfoot) - 2:57
42. Bitter Green (Lightfoot) - 2:42
43. Circle Is Small (I Can See It in Your... (Lightfoot) - 3:26
44. Marie Christine (Lightfoot) - 2:54
45. Cold Hands from New York (Lightfoot) - 5:16
46. Affair on 8th Avenue (Lightfoot) - 3:25
47. Don't Beat Me Down (Lightfoot) - 3:16
48. Gypsy (Lightfoot) - 2:45
49. If I Could (Lightfoot) - 4:02
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