Gordon Lightfoot - Sundown
Gordon Lightfoot’s well had seemingly run dry leading up to the release of his 1974 album Sundown. He had released a string of folk albums of little to no consequence since his last great outing, 1970's Sit Down Young Stranger, and he could tell that it was time for a change. Lightfoot new well enough to keep what worked about his songs; evocative lyrics and catchy folk by way of country by way of adult contemporary. Instead, he decided to flesh out his songs a little bit, instilling chimes, English horns, recorder, Moog synthesizer, accordion, and even electric guitar. The changes paid off and the track demonstrating Gordon Lightfoot’s new production most definitely, “Sundown”, also ended up being his first and only number one hit. The rest of the songs here don’t exactly rival “Sundown”, as a well-crafted pop tune but a lot stretch out the possibilities of his folkie side. “Seven Island Suite” and “Circle of Steel” are eclectic and infectious as the best folk songs can be, while “The Watchmen’s Game” and “Too Late for Prayin’” are minor pop gems that inflict enough starry-eyed lyricism to blend right in. Gordon's overall sound on this album is more scattered and diverse than his earlier albums with songs like “Somewhere U.S.A,” “Carefree Highway” and “High and Dry” demonstrating the worst of his milque-toast inclinations. Still, these tracks only ever border on harmlessly bad and at least “Carefree Highway” is catchy enough to get “Sundown” out of your head. Released at a time where any languid ballad could climb its way up to the top of the charts, and most did, Lightfoot no doubt was a breath of fresh air. Sundown is not his finest album, but it’s probably the one that most people have heard, and certainly his most popular. That’s a good thing.
~7.0
Gordon Lightfoot’s well had seemingly run dry leading up to the release of his 1974 album Sundown. He had released a string of folk albums of little to no consequence since his last great outing, 1970's Sit Down Young Stranger, and he could tell that it was time for a change. Lightfoot new well enough to keep what worked about his songs; evocative lyrics and catchy folk by way of country by way of adult contemporary. Instead, he decided to flesh out his songs a little bit, instilling chimes, English horns, recorder, Moog synthesizer, accordion, and even electric guitar. The changes paid off and the track demonstrating Gordon Lightfoot’s new production most definitely, “Sundown”, also ended up being his first and only number one hit. The rest of the songs here don’t exactly rival “Sundown”, as a well-crafted pop tune but a lot stretch out the possibilities of his folkie side. “Seven Island Suite” and “Circle of Steel” are eclectic and infectious as the best folk songs can be, while “The Watchmen’s Game” and “Too Late for Prayin’” are minor pop gems that inflict enough starry-eyed lyricism to blend right in. Gordon's overall sound on this album is more scattered and diverse than his earlier albums with songs like “Somewhere U.S.A,” “Carefree Highway” and “High and Dry” demonstrating the worst of his milque-toast inclinations. Still, these tracks only ever border on harmlessly bad and at least “Carefree Highway” is catchy enough to get “Sundown” out of your head. Released at a time where any languid ballad could climb its way up to the top of the charts, and most did, Lightfoot no doubt was a breath of fresh air. Sundown is not his finest album, but it’s probably the one that most people have heard, and certainly his most popular. That’s a good thing.
~7.0
Comments
Post a Comment