Gordon Lightfoot - Summertime Dream (10 tracks) +Album Reviews

Powerful songwriting

humdat | 04/10/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Gord's Last Great Album

Kurt Harding | Boerne TX | 04/20/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."

One Of Gordon's Five best Single Offerings!

Barron Laycock | Temple, New Hampshire United States | 08/06/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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!"

How does he do it?

3rdeadly3rd | Brisbane, Queensland Australia | 06/05/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I used to think I hated folk music - until I discovered Gordon Lightfoot. He might not be as well known as Bob Dylan but he can sing a lot better than Dylan (especially with no nasal voice - THANK GOD). On "Summertime Dream" Gordon proves again that he has the goods as a singer/songwriter.To begin with, we have the monster that is "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald". The steel guitar here (played by Pee Wee somebody or another - don't you just love the names?) is great listening in itself, as is the rest of the instrumentation - it really evokes a mood of desolation everytime I here it. Gordon's lyrics here (delivered in his customary understated style) are brilliant. From "the legennd lives on from the Chippewa on doown/of the big lake they called Gitcheegumee" it is clear that this won't just be another song - it will be an experience. The rest of the epic doesn't disappoint, as Lightfoot tels the true story of the sinking of an ore transport vessel in Lake Superior.The rest of the album is of equal standard to that song. "Too Many Clues In This Room" is a very slow-burning song, so slow in fact that I didn't much like it until the 5th listen - now it's a real favourite. The title track and "The House You Live In" are also great examples of Lightfoot's work.My favourite song here would have to be "Race Among The Ruins". In typically cryptic style, Lightfoot seems to be singing about love gone wrong (well, he does to me): "When you wake up to the promise of your dream world coming true/with one less friend to call on, was it someone that I knew?/Away we'll go sailing in a race among the ruins/If you plan to face tomorrow, do it soon." This song really struck a chord with me the first time I heard it because I was trying to express the same sentiments but couldn't find the words to do so.In fact, all the songs here feature Lightfoot's writing at its best. From love-songs, to political messages, from epics to moral songs, it's impossible to pick a duff track here - and that really should be the way that it works all the time.In short, another classic offering from a criminally under-rated singer/songwriter that just has to be heard and treasured."

Good-for-All

3rdeadly3rd | 07/29/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A few months ago, my sophomore Honors English teacher played "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" for my classmates and I, and instructed us to analyze the song. All the while as I was listening to it, I couldn't help but shake the feeling that I'd heard the song somewhere before. However, I completed the assignment and put Gordon Lightfoot out of my mind. Just recently I went to a music/bookstore in pursuit of Gordon Lightfoot CDs, hoping to find "The Wreck..." on an album. To my surprise, there were quite a few Gordon Lightfoot albums, and it took me a while until I found the one I was looking for. Now although I bought the album for "The Wreck...," I have since listeded to other tracks, and find that I enjoy them all. I am a fifteen year old high school student from California, and find Gordon Lightfoot to be an incredible musician. I know I will never tire of his voice, and in twenty or thirty years, when the albums of Christina Aguilera and NSync have since been shoved into a basement somewhere, Gordon Lightfoot will still have a place on my CD rack."

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	Gordon Lightfoot Summertime Dream Genres: Country, Folk, International Music, Pop, Rock Track Listings (10) - Disc #1 Race Among the Ruins The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald I'm Not Supposed to Care I'd Do It Again Never Too Close Protocol The House You Live In Summertime Dream Spanish Moss Too Many Clues in This Room
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