Songbook & A Look Back.

[Borderstone]

Had I had the time last year,I'd have done a thread marking the 10th anniversary of the Songbook box set. ( Not to mention the 5th anniversary of "Harmony" last May).

Hard to believe isn't it? For me it's not so much because I didn't know of it until 2001. Still,this upcoming August 7th,2010 will mark *gulp*! 9 years since I made my final "layaway payment" and brought it home.
That's without knowing more than about 10 songs on it for that matter.

I had spotted it that June at the now long gone Sam Goody's store at the mall (the one next to the library I used to post at.)
I thought,"A Gordon Lightfoot box set?"
"Are they kidding?"
"He only has 6 hits!" LOL! I used to think if you didn't have many hits,the rest of your stuff must be gosh awful. :biggrin:

Somehow though,my curiosity got the better of me,because my next thought was,"Well....there's got to be some reason they bothered". Especially with the big price tag of $60 + tax. So I took a big gamble that paid off thankfully. I mean,what if I had hated what I heard?

Record stores don't always readily accept," I think the music I heard was lame",as a reason for return. When I got home,on that oddly overcast day in August.....
I played all four CDs in one sitting and as we know,this was the beginning of me becoming a Lightfoot fan for life. Over a year before I came to this site.

Aside from being a fan,do any of you guys have a story to go with your "Songbook"? ;)

[RM]

Aside from being a fan,do any of you guys have a story to go with your "Songbook"?

Sort of......I was blindsided by 'Canary Yellow Canoe'......my faith was tested.

[imported_Ordinary_Man]

Sort of......I was blindsided by 'Canary Yellow Canoe'......my faith was tested.

Amen to THAT! When I heard the loons at the beginning I was expecting another "Whispers of the North"....Yipes!

[johnfowles]

Aside from being a fan,do any of you guys have a story to go with your "Songbook"? ;)
OK I'll bite
Yes I do have a story about getting the fabulous Songbook boxset.
Having discovered the old Chat room and the wonderful fans therein sometime in May 1999 we were soon spending a lot of time chatting about the upcoming box set and against the perceived wisdom of the assembled motley crew of American ladies ( I was still living in Dorset England) I decided to risk ordering my copy on line from a CD dealer in Florida. I remember being able to use the completely new to me UPS tracking system that one takes so much for granted nowadays and was quite thrilled to be able to see that my package had been sent out on the Monday (the day before the official release date I seem to remember then it traveled initially to the UPS hub in Memphis thence to their UK hub at the Midlands Airport at Castle Donnington then remarkably quickly the final 200 miles South to me at my office address arriving on the Wednesday morning in a Brown delivery van .
I was so impressed that I posted on the Newsgroup (this being BC Before Corfid) of course in a new thread catchily entitled:-
"A Box Set arrives in England (http://www.corfid.com/group/alt.music.lightfoot/browse_thread/thread/89af821ebdc9ac7a/4191840792550503?/l4191840792550503)"
which you can read at:-
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.music.lightfoot/msg/4191840792550503
one by one many of my fellow chatters acquired their own Songbook copy; including of course a certain young lady from New Jersey and Susan, yes it was she, soon had us all counting down to press in unison the play buttons on our computer CD players so that we could all be listening to the same track on the same CD at the same time. Read her great posting in another new thread on June 15 2000 almost exactly a year later and a week before our wedding in England during which we had three Gordsongs played "Whisper My Name" "Pussywillows Cattails" and "Same Old Loverman" to which of course we danced
http://groups.google.comIgroup/alt.music.lightfoot/msg/fbb5211542c70802
In 1999 the following November I made the pilgrimage to the House Of Gord and met up with Susan and the other synchro players
most of whom are in this Orillian picture
http://johnfowles.org.uk/LIGHTFOOT/9.jpg
and on the first night Remembrance day November 11 I was very lucky to get backstage as Jenney's guest. In my coat pocket I had a fine tip white marker pen and both my own and Susan's Songbook booklet,which are now both nicely autographed by the entire Orchestra
http://johnfowles.org.uk/LIGHTFOOT/songbook.jpg
[SIZE=2] I was extremely fortunate to be selected to be Jenney's guest, that night my friends pushed me forwards as they thought that this might very well be the only chance I would get of meeting my hero of so many years (since 1967 in fact)

[TC]

Aside from being a fan,do any of you guys have a story to go with your "Songbook"? ;)[/QUOTE]

I bought my Songbook at the now defunct Tower Records. I don't remember what the release date was but I drove to Tower at a few minutes before midnight so I could get my copy at 12:01 am and start wearing it out.

[Dave, Melbourne,Australia]

I wasn't aware of "Songbook" until after I discovered this website, which was around the start of 2008. I ordered it through Basement Discs in Melbourne for around Aust$100 and it remains the only box set I've ever bought. I think Gord and the producers got the selection of songs about right. Every major fan would say it omitted some of their favourites. (In my case, "Is There Anyone Home?", "Spanish Moss", "Whispers Of The North", "Restless", etc.) I found the best feature, along with Gord's notes about the songs, was the previously unreleased tracks. An album of these alone would have stood up and passed the test of time. Of these, my favourites are "Never Say Trust Me", "Always On The Bright Side" and "Stone Cold Sober". I now listen to "Songbook" more than any other Lightfoot album.

[timetraveler]

Had I had the time last year,I'd have done a thread marking the 10th anniversary of the Songbook box set. ( Not to mention the 5th anniversary of "Harmony" last May).

Hard to believe isn't it? For me it's not so much because I didn't know of it until 2001. Still,this upcoming August 7th,2010 will mark *gulp*! 9 years since I made my final "layaway payment" and brought it home.
That's without knowing more than about 10 songs on it for that matter.

I had spotted it that June at the now long gone Sam Goody's store at the mall (the one next to the library I used to post at.)
I thought,"A Gordon Lightfoot box set?"
"Are they kidding?"
"He only has 6 hits!" LOL! I used to think if you didn't have many hits,the rest of your stuff must be gosh awful. :biggrin:

Somehow though,my curiosity got the better of me,because my next thought was,"Well....there's got to be some reason they bothered". Especially with the big price tag of $60 + tax. So I took a big gamble that paid off thankfully. I mean,what if I had hated what I heard?

Record stores don't always readily accept," I think the music I heard was lame",as a reason for return. When I got home,on that oddly overcast day in August.....
I played all four CDs in one sitting and as we know,this was the beginning of me becoming a Lightfoot fan for life. Over a year before I came to this site.

Aside from being a fan,do any of you guys have a story to go with your "Songbook"? ;)I didn't know that it existed until fairly recently. I ordered mine through Barnes & Nobles Bookstore, and like you, I had no idea what to expect. I was thouroughly blown away after hearing it, and it marked the first time I'd ever heard Canary Yellow Canoe. There were numerous other tunes in the collection that I absolutely fell in love with, and I got to thinking afterwards that, like the first time I ever saw The Man in concert, that was the best money I'd ever spent. And for what it's worth, like you, I paid a little over $60 And I STILL get a thrill out of it every time I put in a disc.

[Borderstone]

You guys have neat stories too. :) Cool. :cool:

I guess though , I'll never see why poeple don't like Canary Yellow Canoe. :rolleyes:

[Wes Steele]

All EXCELLENT posts everyone... I especially liked yours John.

I have just gotten the time to read them all, and I enjoyed every one.

I don't have a story on my end, but I can remember how happy I was to pick up the set. I cannot believe it is 10 years. YIKES!

I really wonder what thoughts were going thru GL's mind when he was going thru the old recordings and picking out the ones he wanted for the set. So many memories, I can only imagine.

[jj]

I really wonder what thoughts were going thru GL's mind when he was going thru the old recordings and picking out the ones he wanted for the set. So many memories, I can only imagine.


for those who don't have the collection, the liner notes are interesting (just an excerpt here):

"Some earlier judgment calls had to be reversed and emotions kept at bay. By the time the sleuthing was done, we had uncovered a number of tracks that surprised even me. Shocking, too, was the possibility of some of these tracks finding their way into the ether. I finally realized I shouldn't worry so much--some of the rarities were a little too rare and wound up, so to speak, on the cutting room floor. Within two months we had uncovered 18 respectable rarities, and the anthology wheels were, at last, in smooth rotation."

GL also echoes some of these thoughts when commenting during the MMM 1999 appearance

anyhow, nothing much to add here...picked up the set at Sam the Record Man's on Yonge St. the morning it was released then read the liner note/booklet at work...that night I went to an old friend's who has the best audio setup I know of and premiered the tracks in order and not allowing a repeat of any track (even the new rarities) until we'd made it through the entire comp...we did pause between a few tracks and chat...once done, was anxious to go back and take in a select dozen of the rarities once again...next morn had a musical buzz lingering as if i'd been at a GL concert the night before

i really enjoyed hearing the remastering of the many productions...i figure GL assumed the type of fan putting out substantial cash for the set would already own the UA collection plus GG1 and GG2...some omissions still puzzle me, same true of a few of the inclusions

i imagine he wanted to avoid many of the less than optimal production efforts and to be sure to include those that would showcase his impressive versatility in songwriting, arranging, etc

here is a question: with the above in mind, which few tracks (or none) from Harmony would you append to Songbook?

note to GL: we are all more than ready for the Massey Live release

[johnfowles]

for those who don't have the collection, the liner notes are interesting (just an excerpt here):

"Some earlier judgment calls had to be reversed and emotions kept at bay. By the time the sleuthing was done, we had uncovered a number of tracks that surprised even me. Shocking, too, was the possibility of some of these tracks finding their way into the ether. I finally realized I shouldn't worry so much--some of the rarities were a little too rare and wound up, so to speak, on the cutting room floor. Within two months we had uncovered 18 respectable rarities, and the anthology wheels were, at last, in smooth rotation."


Ahem Ahem I say to you all again see the old thread at:-
http://www.corfid.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=15319&highlight=songbook+booklet
in which I gave what are still functioning links to all the text from the various sections of the songbook booklet
especially
2 A Word From Gordon Lightfoot (http://web.archive.org/web/20030317182238/http://www.rhino.com/features/liners/75802lin3.lasso)
(background to the compilation in Gord's own words)
quick easy to remember link to the complete archived Rhino pages
http://www.songbook.notlong.com

[jj]

terrific the way you archive those now extinct pages but i actually go to the http://www.lightfoot.ca/songnote.htm typically, mainly cos the font is a bit bigger (even though i do prefer black text on white background)...i do find the Songbooklet itself hard to read

aside, i find it quite irritating that so many cd booklet liner notes are printed on backgrounds that have a watermarked image (some sections even have colours that are the same as the superimposed text!) behind the text...and with the smallest fonts sizes you could imagine...that's one reason i will spend $9.99 for an album download WITH liner notes from iTunes..v ery readable even without manipulating fonts in your viewer

[charlene]

I think I went to the local SAM's and bought my set..

I do remember opening it and loving that the discs were all coloured to match the changing maple leaves (symbol of canada) over the seasons.. very well thought out visual for an audio compilation spanning a recording career and its changes from beginning to end. (what was the end at that time that is).

[Wes Steele]

I thought I was the only one who couldn't read the titles on CD's and their covers. I don't feel so alone anymore...LOL.

[RM]

I do remember opening it and loving that the discs were all coloured to match the changing maple leaves (symbol of canada) over the seasons..

I didn't know that. Thanks.

[charlene]

you're welcome...

[Wheels]

I thought I was the only one who couldn't read the titles on CD's and their covers. I don't feel so alone anymore...LOL.

There's something to be said for cheapo reading glasses-"the kind the drug stores sell"

[Wes Steele]

There's something to be said for cheapo reading glasses-"the kind the drug stores sell"


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... Thats the ONLY kind I use!!!!!!!!!

[Miss B. Haven]

here is a question: with the above in mind, which few tracks (or none) from Harmony would you append to Songbook?


Clouds of Loneliness

[charlene]

Clouds of Loneliness

that's my pick too...

[Jesse Joe]

I saw mine being advertise on TV & sent for it got a poster to go with it. Then maybe about a month later found it @ my favorite music store.

Wondering if those of you who bought it @ a music store also got the poster ?

My song would be Flyin' Blind.

[charlene]

I have the poster..

[Dave, Melbourne,Australia]

Which tracks from "Harmony" would I add to the Songbook compilation?

1. End Of All Time
2. Clouds of Loneliness
3. River of Light.

[formerlylavender]

From Harmony to Songbook:

River of Light
Sometimes I Wish

[Rob1956]

I just wish they had used the larger format packaging like Cat Stevens' Box Set, or the Moody Blues "Time Traveler" set. Would have made for a larger book. But, that would have probably increased the price.

[RM]

Wondering if those of you who bought it @ a music store also got the poster ?


I didn't get the poster.

[charlene]

I got mine a few years after I bought the set at a posters/paper/albums sort of show/sale.. lots of interesting stuff at those sorts of shows..

[jj]

I just wish they had used the larger format packaging like Cat Stevens' Box Set, or the Moody Blues "Time Traveler" set. Would have made for a larger book. But, that would have probably increased the price.

ah, those large format boxes fit nowhere...as for the Moodies, i expected that set to be remastered, bad assumption but terrific compilation

interesting Harmony picks, guys...taking all criteria into account i would go with Inspiration Lady, Harmony and River of Light....Sometimes I Wish has a quite noticeable blip before last verse or would be nice to see close out the set

never saw any poster...I dont especially like the Gord box set cover pic but love the one they used for the booklet. classic

[vlmagee]

I did not get the poster when I bought the boxed set in a store, but I did get one in the mail from Thane Tierney, thoughtfully autographed by Gord. That was a complete surprise! I had it framed (of course). Gosh, such sweet memories!

[jj]

I didn't know that. Thanks.

i didnt know that either...out this way the leaves are green in Spring, green in Summer, orange in Autumn and none existent in Winter

i will have to check out those disc cases again...the Songbook box is here but empty, they could be anywhere... typical of my entire cd and dvd collections

[jj]

I did get one in the mail from Thane Tierney

a nice gesture...and well deserved

just saw one on ebay (not autographed) ...looks nice, a bit busy in the bottom right corner...cant make it out but could be some logos ...i dont have any GL posters but do have some canoe ones that make me think of GL

[Andy T.]

I don't remember any poster! I don't see any art credits in the booklet for one either. Maybe a record-store-issued promo item?

My box and booklet are also apart from my CDs, and they are in much better condition than the CDs are too!

I'm reminded from seeing the price tag that I had ordered this via a local record store. I heard that store recently closed, yet another casualty of internet shopping. Too bad, I got a lot of my GL stuff there over the years, all the way back to my very first copy of Sundown. I'd not been in there in a couple of year but then again, I don't live in that town anymore.

-Andy

http://members.trainorders.com/android/pics/GL-SONGBOOK.jpg

http://members.trainorders.com/android/pics/SundownPriceTag.jpg

[charlene]

the poster is what's on the front of the Songbook box..

[timetraveler]

You guys have neat stories too. :) Cool. :cool:

I guess though , I'll never see why poeple don't like Canary Yellow Canoe. :rolleyes:
There are people who don't like Canary Yellow canoe? You've GOT to be kidding me? What is there about it to NOT like?

[RM]

There are people who don't like Canary Yellow canoe? You've GOT to be kidding me? What is there about it to NOT like?

Oh.....lyrics and melody come to mind.

[BendRick]

A long-time GL Fan, I balked at buying Songbook in 1999 because I already had everything on CD or vinyl; yet I was curious about those unreleased recordings. Finally, this year, upon hearing that old GL recordings are going up in price, I decided to buy Songbook. Oh wow, what a surprise. Those new recordings were amazing.
Here is my "review" of Songbook.
Message to the wind--nice.
You'll still be missing me-- OK.
Mama Said-- Perfect.
Station Master--don't like.
Too much to lose--Perfect. Classic GL.
Heaven don't deserve me--OK. An angry tone here.
Stone Cold Sober--a personal letter to someone
Borderstone--why does a song about a small town sound so dark?
Canary Yellow Canoe--sorry don't like
Keepin' on yearnin'-- Very good, should've been on album
Betty called me in--good
Always on the bright side--plodding and slow
Forgive me Lord--OK
Lifeline--OK

[johnfowles]

All this enjoyable reminiscing about Songbook has reminded me that I really must complete my ongoing project to create a mockup of the complete "Not Songbook" alternative box set that I had previously revealed in a December 2007 posting to the "Question" thread at:-
http://www.corfid.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=11951
http://johnfowles.org.uk/LIGHTFOOT/images/not_songbook_front.jpg
　
　
http://johnfowles.org.uk/LIGHTFOOT/images/not_songbook_back.jpg

[stargazer]

I first heard of the Songbook boxed set on the old Lightfoot newsgroup. I ordered mine from Amazon - they had the best price at the time IIRC. I too loved the notes from GL, but missed some of my favorite songs like Cabaret and Black Day in July. Among the many previously unreleased songs, my favorite is "Heaven Don't Deserve Me", especially because of the lyrical double entendre. At first I didn't care for Yellow Canoe, but it grew on me. For one thing, it's a great example of Gord and the boys rockin' out. Secondly, the lyrical Canadian geography lesson is a nice Canadian response to Johnny Cash's "I've Been Everywhere". Songbook came out a few months before Gord did a benefit concert up near Baltimore. Although it cost me double the normal ticket price and a six hour round trip drive for an abreviated concert, it was well worth it because the admission included admission to a reception with Gord and the band after the concert. This was my one and only (so far) chance to meet the man and the band. Gord was swamped by admirers so there wasn't much chance for anything but an autograph and a handshake, but I had a nice conversation with Barry - real nice guy. To make a long story short, the Songbook booklet I brought with me to that concert now contains autographs of Gord and all the band members

[BendRick]

I'm not sure if I understand Sir John Fowles' reply to my message, it seems to be a very sarcastic British tone. I could be wrong. At any rate this is a Forum to discuss GL, and yes I've searched most of "Songbook's" posts on this site.

[johnfowles]

I'm not sure if I understand Sir John Fowles' reply to my message, I could be wrong.
I could have chosen a private message to respond to Rick's reply to my alleged sarcastic "reply" on the 22nd to his original posting on the same day,
but since he chose to flame me in public I will reply in kind.
You may not be sure you understood my message; am certain that I do not understand yours!
Yes Rick you are quite wrong on several counts
Firstly I did not specifically reply to you per se but added what I considered to be a relevant GL orientated flashback for discussion,partly for the benefit of newbies but also let's face it because I was quite pleased with my efforts to bind together the series of wonderfully funny mock GL albums.
I had come up with the idea of "Not Songbook" in tribute to an old BBC comedy series that starred Billy Connolly's NZ born wife Pamela Stephenson and was of course designed to extract the urine from the mainstream Nine O'clock News
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/37/Not-the-Nine-Oclock-News.jpg/464px-Not-the-Nine-Oclock-News.jpg
Next your snide reference to "a very sarcAstic British tone".
Yes I am British, and Canadian and American and proud of all three citizenships
I maintain that there was nothing in my March 22 posting that was itself sarcastic as it only repeated part of an earlier referenced thread.
If anything I was being sarcastic about my own procrastination in completing some artwork. For sure that old thread was inherently sarcastic about Gord in a most respectful way right from the moment it took off thanks to a Canadian, one Jimmy Jones with his wonderfully inventive mock Christmas album
http://johnfowles.org.uk/LIGHTFOOT/glclaus.jpg
I have now loaded some software preparatory to completing my GL Japanese CD
I'll be back

[BendRick]

Thanks, John Fowles for your reply. I took your reply to my message as sarcastic, and for that I'm sorry. (I misunderstand people all the time, and it's affecting my job)
I don't want to flame you in public. We've been on this forum a long time, back when I lived in Reno. Let's shake hands and go on.

[johnfowles]

and for that I'm sorry. We've been on this forum a long time, back when I lived in Reno. Let's shake hands and go on.

Many thanks Rick for your fulsome apology gladly accepted
OK let's shake hands or shake something see below and move right along
The rest of you please excuse my basic British sense of humour its ar its best at the lavatorial level as in this one of the funniest sketches that I know of
YouTube- Funny Public Toilet Handshake
Highly sarcastic British toned video!!
You have reminded me that I have been coming here now for as you intimated a very long time almost 11 years in fact I am preparing a celebration for my upcoming 4000th message by resurrecting my very first new thread (with the catchy subject title "Someone has to be second" made under my original member name John Fowles (with a space) made on September 20th 1999

[BendRick]

Songbook is a great compilation, but there are some GL songs which should've been on it. Of course everyone has their personal, subjective favorites, here is a list of what I would've liked to hear on Songbook:
Home from the forest
Unsettled ways
Miguel
Redwood Hill
It's worth believin'
Is there anyone home
Summertime Dream
Wild strawberries
Uncle Toad said

[jj]

... that old thread was inherently sarcastic about Gord in a most respectful way right from the moment it took off ...

thanks for emphasizing that, John, in case the tone of the thread and those song title parodies didnt come across that way to any new folk...nice work on the cover, i have no idea what to expect with the Japan release

bendrick, interesting impressions of the rarities...we have had some sort of Fave Rarities polls was back when they came out but cant find the results...i differ in my faves from your list by a fair degree...if you are looking for a set of those GL stamps and postcard or whatever, looks like i have an extra and can help you out if you missed that boat...pm me or whatever, before they disappear back into the dusty box they just popped out of...if i dont put them away then my son will probably stick them on his toys or body parts

cheers

ps) miss B havin, there is a section at www.lightfoot.ca that has Gord Geographical song references compiled...i personally dont think of that Canoe song as a tribute to Canadian geography but more as a tribute to Canadian whiskey