Me, the Missing, and the Dead by Jenny Valentine

In particular, his ability to transport the listener to some distant place and time - whether we are talking about the doomed Great Lakes freighter in “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” or back to “when the green dark forest was too silent to be real” in “Canadian Railroad Trilogy” - is simply unparalleled. While his once-incredibly rich and luxurious vocals changed over the years, growing more reedy though no-less-poignant with age, the one thing that never varied was his ability to write a song that felt amazingly timeless. Yet, he’d keep right on delivering outstanding albums through the decades, with what now appears to be his final offering - “Solo” - hitting shelves in 2020. His popularity in this country peaked with the 1974 full-length “Sundown,” which was Lightfoot’s sole No. Yet, none of this changes the feeling that Gordon Lightfoot is with me.ĭuring his recording career - which dates back to the early 1960s and really took off with the release of the debut album “Lightfoot!” in 1965 - the incomparable artist just gave us so many reasons to remember him.

But both times, the shows were postponed.Īnd now we know that they won’t be happening at all. I had hoped to see Lightfoot again earlier this year, and made plans - not once, but twice - to travel down to see him play in Southern California, which was as close as he was scheduled to get to the Bay Area on his tour. “Every time I hear a song of his, I wish it would last forever.” I can’t think of any Gordon Lightfoot song I don’t like. “I think he probably still is to this day. “Lightfoot has been a mentor for a long time,” Dylan has been quoted as saying. Dylan has long been a very vocal champion of Lightfoot, raking him among his all-time favorite songwriters, and saying that he learned a lot from the Canadian tunesmith. Lightfoot’s most notable fan is, of course, Bob Dylan - a guy who clearly knows a little something about writing memorable tunes. It also includes newer acts like the Dandy Warhols, Diana Krall, Belinda Carlisle, Sarah McLachlan, Jane’s Addiction and, most recently, Depeche Mode.

Me, the Missing, and the Dead by Jenny Valentine