Customer Reviews

Sunday Concert Plus Extra Studio Cuts

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Of all of Gordon Lightfoot's many, many, albums, this, SUNDAY CONCERT, is the most brilliant-shining of them. And, it seems, it is nearly always the one I pick first when I'm wanting to listen to a "little bit of Lightfoot"!

Over his long career, I have, like many other "Gord-Guru's", traveled great distances to see him in person, have collected all his many albums, in all their "incarnations" over the years, and, along the way, have had a few meetings or interviews with this great entertainer/songwriter/singer.

This album has such an electricity to it, such a wonderful flow of the items contained on it from one to the other, and just has so many great performances on it, that it is sort of like a "live" greatest hits collection. There is not a single "bummer" on here, and this release contains one of his most fabulous songs that has never been released on other albums, namely, "The Ballad of Yarmouth Castle".

At two of the many live concerts (years apart) that I have seen Gordon at, I asked him if he could, or would, sing "Yarmouth Castle" (and both times he sort of "hedged" that he did not really do "that one" anymore). Then, in the middle of both concerts, he stepped up to the mike and introed "Yarmouth Castle" and dedicated it to me, by name! How Cool Is That?! This, great, great song is in the vein of "The Edmond Fitzgerald", and is, truly, one of his greatest story songs. If you've not heard it, you're in for a real, real, treat!

Anyway, by all "grading" standards of his albums, this is the most "energized", even though it does not contain many of his real biggest hits. Of course, all good "Gordofiles" will want ALL of his albums, but if you're not familiar with this album, or if you're just "starting out", this is the album I would single-handedly most recommend! Do enjoy this great album by "Canada's Greatest Natural Resource"...Gordon Lightfoot!

PS: Another Very Special Bonus that you get with this album, is the Knock-out live performance of "Canadian Railroad Trilogy"...certainly one of the very greatest songs EVER WRITTEN! ~Do Pick Up And Enjoy This Great Album (you're gonna love it!). ~operabruin

This CD's title is taken explicitly from a live concert Gordon Lightfoot performed at Toronto's Massey Hall, March 30th, 1969. From the beginning Lightfoot's performance grabs you: In a Windowpane almost plangently pushes the listener to take a personal accounting. Gord touches us with mournful notes (The Lost Children), followed by futility and hope (Leaves of Grass). He includes here his perennial favorites of I'm not Sayin', Ribbon of Darkness, Bittergreen, Pussywillows, Cat-tails, and Canadian Railroad Trilogy, all done with energy, enthusiasm, and Gord's ringing 12-string guitar. If I have a complaint up to this point, it would only be a mild one: the sound, rerecorded from old analog master tapes suffers slightly during the band's crescendos.

Gordon Lightfoot has always enjoyed a kind of bashful intimacy with his audience, whether they share his artistry from a fourth-row seat or the privacy of their homes. They love him the more for it. He was (possibly still is) an unashamed folkie, lover of nature, distruster of war, the military, and industry, which comes out over and over in his work. None of this detracts one bit from the musicality of this concert, which has been lovingly edited to bring the immediacy of Lightfoot's performance to the listener.

Why then, did the CD's newest editors add four "bonus tracks?" These awful tracks have a jarring quality that immediately conflict with the more delicate artistry of the concert. Two of the four sound almost exactly alike.

This album would have easily rated 4-or-5 stars had they not tried, lamely, to "improve" on an album that was quite good enough, thank you, when Gord recorded it for the United Artists label. In this case, a bonus was not a bonus.

It is very likely there will be some Lightfoot fans who will prize this auditory detritus for its rarity. For them, I will be pleased. For me, I was, and still am, pleased to listen to Gord's Sunday Concert album sans "bonus." If you feel as I do, just have your stop-button-finger ready. Join me at the concert.

Gordon Lightfoots' fifth and last album under the United Arts label was 'Sunday Concert' recorded live, March of '69 in Toronto. With longtime companions Red Shea (lead guitar) and Rick Haynes (bass) at his side, we are treated to -16 tracks- combining a nice mix of both old and new songs. This is a unique album for any Lightfoot collection since it is the only live performance available out of his 21 albums/CD's (he does have another concert recording on DVD titled, Live In Reno).

In many ways this concert recording clearly marks a shift about to take place in Gordon's musical career. Not only did he drop UA after this album and sign with Reprise, but his next album, 'Sit Down Young Stranger' contained his first major hit in the U.S.A., 'If You Could Read My Mind.' No longer just a Canadian phenomenon, his lyrics slowly broadened in scope in harmony with his new found popularity. His band also grew, adding a drummer and other musicians, thus losing the intimacy once provided by the legendary threesome.

Don't get me wrong, he still continued to have many great songs and albums with Reprise and later Warner Brothers for years to come. Lightfoot was still Lightfoot. He just didn't solely belong to Canada anymore.

So here we have a reissue of Gord's only live album "Sunday Concert". The album itself has always been a treat and really shows you a taste of an early live set. Not a bad point here at all. The bonus tracks are treats as well. The cover of Dylan's "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" is exquisite (and not available anywhere else for you completists). Definitely worth a spin.

I originally bought this album to get a song I once had on vinyl, Ballad of Yarmouth Castle. Ended up really loving the whole thing. All the cuts are classic Lightfoot. There's even a Bob Dylan cover in there. If you like Gordon Lightfoot this should be in your collection.

You won't find it on iTunes, Amazon is the only place I was able to get it.

I recently purchased this CD, the last one I needed to convert my Lightfoot LP collection.....and was pleased to hear the collection of live material, much of which I hadn't heard in years and it was remarkable how fresh and marvelous it sounded......along with the bonus tracks, this is a fine collection of older material and Red Shea's guitar work on Canadian Railroad Trilogy and others is incomparable. Lightfoot is in fine voice and the recording, while absent any modern technological enhancements that make live recordings as good as studio versions, is full of body and the feel of a live concert performance. You will be as enthusiastic as the crowd.

Although I don't have this pressing of "Sunday Concert" I do have the EMI "Acoustic Highway" CD from 1996 of this album and the liner notes on that pressing are great, the sound is great on the album, and it features Gordon performing a sampling of his "best" early songs and it features a few great songs that are not on the "UA Collection" including "Ballad of Yarmouth Castle," "Leaves of Grass," "Lost Children," and "In a Windowpane." This collection does also introduce 2 songs he did record separately originally in a medley which he did later record in the studio in 1975 for "Gord's Gold" for "I'm Not Sayin'" and "Ribbon of Darkness." If you actually have this pressing, you may or may not enjoy the bonus tracks that appear on this issue.