Customer Reviews

East of Midnight

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a wonderful Lightfoot album, different in that some songs have a clear David Foster influence. My favourites are those that are just Gordon, in particular "Morning Glory" and "A Passing Ship," although there are no songs that I skip over. Some of the songs, such as "A Lesson in Love," it's hard to know what he's singing about, with lyrics like "First to come are the midgets, a monkey and a kid, followed by those two one-eyed jugglers, the ego and the id." Huh? But the songs are so smooth, it doesn't matter. You will notice that Gordon's voice is a little thinner than the more rich sound on "Salute" only three years earlier, but it is a real pleasure to listen to the entire album. Gordon will say that now he has difficulty reaching the higher notes on the song "East of Midnight" without some rearrangement, so certainly after this album his voice has lost some range. But, I own his last two recordings, from 1993 and 1998, and they too are a pleasure to listen to. Gordon put a lot of work into "East of Midnight," and it shows. It is meticulously well-crafted and he certainly maintains the standard of excellence of his other recordings. Turn out the lights and enjoy!

Like many others I have been a fan of Gordon Lightfoot and his highly entertaining music since his first album. The fact that he writes the music AND performs it both vocally and instrumentally has elicited my respect as well as great pleasure.

I purchased this CD when it was published back in the early 80's, listened to it just a little and decided I didn't like it. It was quite different from what I had come to enjoy about Gord's music and I suppose that was why it just didn't seem to click for me. Some years later, though, I dusted off the CD and listened again. At first it was just one tune that caught my ear, then others followed. As I listened more I found that the songs were wonderfully melodic with catchy syncopation, and, typical of Lightfoot, the lyrics were meaningful. I found myself walking around with these "new" songs playing in my mind for hours on end. The more I listened the better the tunes seemed to get Most of the tracks on this album have their own specialness that shows up only after "getting to know them" a bit more. Gordon has hidden gems in each tune. As you become familiar with the songs on this CD you start to feel he cut and polished them just for you.

If you enjoy Gordon Lightfoot at all I strongly suggest you purchase this CD. You might feel, as I do (though belatedly), that this just might be his best album.

A thoroughly excellent Lightfoot package that I would have given a three star rating to if not for the great "A Lesson In Love". It's a hidden gem that I discovered for the first time when I bought his boxed set in 1999. In fact, that song's what made me purchase East of Midnight in search of more songs of that quality. Alas, there are none on this CD, however, most of the rest of the songs are quite good in their own right.

I actually dont have this cd, but instead his box set which several of the songs are on. And those songs alone are enough to buy this album which I plan on doing soon enough. I would rank the song "East of Midnight" as my second favorite Lightfoot song right behind "Song for Winters Night" so either through the box set or this cd, I suggest getting a recording of that song. I also love the song A Passing Ship, which is just vintage Gordon. And Morning Glory is a song that I listen to over and over again, even though it didnt make my top twenty Lightfoot songs, but thats just how good he is. If you cant tell, I do consider him the greatest songwriter of all time.

Imagine my surprise... not one song from this 1986 effort was included on Gord's Gold Volume II. There's several gems here. My favourites include I'll Tag Along and Morning Glory. Long-time Lightfoot fans might be a bit put off by the added production work (witness David Foster's hand on Anything for Love), but give the pride of Orillia, Ontario credit for trying something different. But Ecstasy Made Easy has to be one of the worst songs I've ever heard Gord do. Still there's plenty to enjoy here. Fans would have to wait another seven years before Gord released his next album of new material, Restless, in 1993.

Up front, I will take this over late-period Bob Dylan any day. The lyrics here are much more poetic and playful than the cut-and-paste jobs Dylan has forced us to endure in his latest, Modern Times.

Lightfoot's melodies and hooks are strong, his singing is strong, the song structure is solid. What is a little off-putting at times is his apparent attempt to remain radio-friendly in the 1980s by adopting the common synthesized drums and synthesizers common to the era. Anything For Love, co-written and produced by David Foster, is the worst example of this tendency. Apart from that fiasco, I find these songs hold up on repeated listening, even though this particular style of pop music sounds especially dated.

If East of Midnight had been produced in the style of Dream Street Rose or Sundown, it would be hailed as one of Gord's masterpieces. In spite of its admitted flaws, this is an album to which I can return repeatedly for enjoyment. For his next record, he returned to the more standard "Lightfoot sound" but the songs weren't as strong. I can't give it five stars, but it is worth owning unless you absolutely detest the obvious use of synthesizers and programmed rhythm tracks.

This album is a bit of a departure for Lightfoot, whose mainstay has always been folk-flavored original music. He still writes all the songs here, but the style has shifted to mainstream pop, with just enough of the familiar acoustic framework to keep the singer within his comfort zone. Although some loyal fans may be put off by the slick, synthesized arrangements, I must admit Gordon himself seems quite at ease, and delivers the new sound with confidence and style.

"Stay Loose", the opening cut, sounds like familiar stuff, with a laid-back beat, electric guitar & bass, much like "Never Too Close" from the "Summertime Dream" album. Then comes "Morning Glory", a moderately fast, relaxed tune just made for sipping your morning coffee. The Travis-style finger picking is made brighter and more modern-sounding by an acoustic/electric guitar, enhanced with a delightful phasing effect.

Then come the real surprises: a full synthesized string section and (gasp!) saxophones, on "A Lesson In Love", "Anything For Love", and "You Just Gotta Be." The latter sounds like mainstream rock, in the tradition of Huey Lewis or Phil Collins.
Again, you wouldn't think so, but Lightfoot really can pull it off. That one is one of my favorites, perhaps because it's so unique. Other standout tracks include: "Let It Ride", a cruising, snappy, yet subdued philosophical song, with the modal chord progressions so familiar to Lightfoot fans, and "A Passing Ship", which I think is the best song on the album, and one of my all-time favorite Lightfoot tunes. According to Gordon, the subject is his search for a satisfying family life, cryptically disguised in a nautical metaphor. As always, the music is perfectly matched to the lyric. The total effect is loneliness blended with hopeful determination. There are a couple of tunes I sometimes skip: "A Lesson In Love" is even more melodically redundant than John Denver's "Rhymes & Reasons" (Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge JD fan, but I never cared for that song.), and the title song is very ordinary and seems to go nowhere.

Overall, this is a bold project for Gordon, and it reminds us how versatile he can be. With eight keepers and only two skippers, it's definitely a worthy investment for any Lightfoot fan.

Not the best lightfoot recording, but certainly not the worst, East of Midnight boasts some catchy tracks and a very laid-back feel. This album was my re-introduction to Gord in the mid-eighties and inticed me to search out other recordings by this talented Canadian artist. A wonderful album to relax to in the bath or have as background music at a candle-lit supper.

Gordon Lightfoot makes an interesting and sonically slick LP which departs from the traditional sound of the Lightfoot band. Gord updates his sound for the 80's, using synths, saxes, drum programming and background vocals and does it without compromising his musical integrity. The album opens with Stay Loose, a laid back ode to not letting adversity overtake us, and follows with 9 more solid Lightfoot originals including the wistful Lesson in Love, leadoff single and David Foster collaboration Anything For Love, the melodically infectious title track, and the beautiful acoustic closer I'll Tag Along. This record is an overlooked gem.

This was the toughest Gordon Lightfoot album for me to rate. My deep admiration for this great songwriter/singer wants me to "Let it Ride" and push the rating up to 4 stars. But despite having some really good songs, it's a very inconsistent album, and it's hard for the listener to get into a "mood" while listening to it in its entirety.
It starts off with a GREAT, but simple opening track "STAY LOOSE". In the same manner that he offered advice to the listener on his song "THE HOUSE YOU LIVE IN" (From the Summertime Dream album), Gord sings off some decent advice on dealing with the rough parts of life and love.
He moves to an almost comical tone in his next song "MORNING GLORY" "I found out what love was all about /Morning Glory threw me out!"
Then Gord leads you into a very heavily (overly) produced title track. It has some decent lyrics, but they're mostly allegorical to the point that I bet only Gord really knows what he's talking about there.
One of the greatest entertainment disappointments was to watch Gord sing "A LESSON IN LOVE" on his TV appearance years ago on the now defunct TV show "Hotel" This is a very weak, basic song with clumsy references to P.T. Barnum, and Jenny Linn. Anyone born after 1970 won't know who that lady is. This is one of Gords weaker songs in his career.
ANYTHING FOR LOVE, is a 5-star mainstream song, it still sounds great to play even today as it contains the classic Lightfoot "visual lyrics" "...Not long ago as I remember/Once upon a dark and windy day..."
The next song "LET IT RIDE" is a great track. Lots of Canadian references, and a cool tune.
The next four songs are rather tame, and basic. It's a good album, but I bet most Lightfoot fans listen to it a lot less than his other more contemporary works. Buy this one way down the road if you're a Lightfoot collector/fan.