Summertime Dream

Gordon Lightfoot | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002KCK
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #43,309 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

CD reissue of this 1976 album from the legendary Canadian Folk/Rock singer/songwriter who has had numerous Billboard charting albums throughout his career, which began in the mid '60s. His most commercially successful period ran through the '70s, although he remains one of the most influential and admired songwriters of the Rock era. Summertime Dream hit the #12 spot on the charts and features the #2 hit 'The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald'. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Powerful songwriting, April 10, 2000

By 

"humdat" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Summertime Dream (Audio CD)

This album is Gordon Lightfoot's biggest commerical success in America, due in no small measure to "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald". This piece is Lightfoot's narrative of the November 10, 1975 loss of the Fitzgerald in Lake Superior, and it is haunting, eerie, and quite beautiful. This song actually reached number 2 on the US singles chart in late 1976, which is unbelievable because the track is over 6 minutes long.

Of course, there are other powerful moments. "I'm Not Supposed To Care" is as sad a ballad as you'll hear, and drips with an honesty and resignation that'll break your heart. "Prodocol" is another haunting, minor-key ballad. Lightfoot also shows he can kick it out a bit when compelled, as "I'd Do It Again" aptly displays. The lighter stuff, such as "The House You Live In" and the title track, provide relief against the more somber pieces.

This album is indeed a must-have. "Fitzgerald" does tend to dwarf the rest of the songs, but Lightfoot's other songs exhibit an emotional quality that is rarely heard today.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Of Gordon's Five best Single Offerings!, August 6, 2000

By 

Barron Laycock "Labradorman" (Temple, New Hampshire United States) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Summertime Dream (Audio CD)

This is one of Lightfoot's best and most popular albums, produced when he was at the height of his incredible popularity in the mid 1970s. For a while Lightfoot, like his fellow troubadours James Taylor, John Denver, and Van Morrison, could seemingly do nothing wrong. In fact, over a fifteen period, Gordon Lightfoot produced so many superior albums populated by such uniformly outstanding songs that we've become inured to the fact that he is such a singular, talented and singular talent. Every single song on this album is extremely well written, sung and arranged, from the opening "Race Among The Ruins" into the fantastically popular smash hit "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald" soft, wry, and thoughtful "I'm Not Supposed To Care" on into the balance of the album, which is consistently sweet, well-sung and artfully arranged. My personal favorites here are "The House You Live In, a captivating, poetically versed, and thoughtfully complex song quite typical of how opinionated and philosophically provocative Lightfoot could sometimes be, "Never Too Close", a satiric recollection of loves won and lost, and "Spanish Moss", a haunting and beautifully sung melody along the lines of much of his earlier folk tunes. Gordon Lightfoot is an incredibly talented singer/songwriter who is in the process of leaving us dozens of terrific albums for our continuing entertainment and edification. This is certainly one of the best of them. Enjoy!

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gord's Last Great Album, April 19, 2000

By 

Kurt Harding "bon vivant" (Boerne TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Summertime Dream (Audio CD)

Contrary to why many others have bought "Summertime Dream", I bought the album despite the presence of "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald". Its not that I dislike the song, its just fine. If ever a song was overplayed, WOTEF has to be contender for the crown. This album just happens to be Lightfoot's best since "Don Quixote". His talent not only lies in his rich voice, his evocative guitar and his tremendous storytelling ability but also in his credibility as a writer. When Lightfoot sings, you can imagine that yes, he does feel that way or yes, he has been to that place and experienced those things. Those qualities tell the world that he is more than just another hack cranking out tunes even if that was all that he is. On "Summertime Dream", those talents are on display again. Just listen to the musicianship and wordsmithing in such songs as "Race Among the Ruins", "Protocol", "The House You Live In", and on the title cut. Gordon Lightfoot is still making fine music, but in my estimation this is the last album that really stands out and as such is worthy of a place in your collection.