Quote:
Originally Posted by RM
Between podunklander and The Rez, this is like taking a musicology course. I love the wealth of knowledge and perspectives.
I tend to agree with Jesse Joe, and consider Dylan more of an influence than inspiration. It's pure speculation on my part, but I believe Lightfoot was going to make music whether Dylan existed or not. Lightfoot has mentioned the effect of Dylan's work on him, but I'll be dipped if I can remember where I read it.
Like podunklander, I really can't hear the effect in Lightfoot's tunes. I assume it was lyrical rather than musical.
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Well it's nice to find that the music appreciation course I took in college still comes in handy at times...other than in a Jeopardy category
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Now that you've mentioned having read something about Dylan/Lightfoot...it occurred to me that I had read something about Lightfoot/Guthrie. And like you, I was similarly dipped.
After I wrote about not being able to pick out these 'influences' etc., in Gord's songs I really meant that in a general manner-and that I'm not readily able to do so. I actually have picked out a few things here and there throughout time. These are things that I consider to be the exception to the rule, so to speak. It requires me to be nit-picky and having to take a more cerebral approach when listening, which ends up making me feel like I'm back in my music appreciation class. [Which was fun and interesting for sure -and served to hone my critical thinking skills].
Anyway -after giving this a little more thought (all I could afford time to do on that today) it occurred to me that there was one song that made me think of Guthrie -Borderstone. So I was listening to it with a more critical ear and thought that there was something Guthrie about it.
Then I felt like listening to my Dust Bowl Ballads CD since I hadn't in so long. After which I decided that there really wasn't much Guthrie in the song Borderstone afterall. Though I changed my mind again on that slightly when I tried to 'hear' Guthrie singing that song.
Just for ha-ha's I googled Lightfoot/Guthrie and the liner notes for Songbook came up on Wayne's site. Well of course, I had gotten Songbook for Christmas and did read the notes soon after. With much struggle as I seem to have lost my bifocals. Had I known it was on the website...much easier on the eyes to read.
Yeah, so here Gordon states that, "It's sort of an old-fashioned song, the kind of thing Woody Guthrie might have done". Gordon also adds here that the line, "It's been good to know you" (from The Wreck), "That's right from a Woody Guthrie lyric, "So long, it's been good to know you."" [from Guthrie's song, "So Long It's Been Good to Know Yuh." 'yuh' is sung as 'you' in one version]
So now I really can't tell you if the 'Guthrie' thing I had picked out -I had on my own or if that had been 'influenced' by the liner notes I had read!
RM -I'm guessing the Songbook liner notes is where you may have read about Dylan...for Station Master, "It has a very strong Bob Dylan undercurrent. He's been a very big influence on me throughout my career, and this song is about as close as I get to showing it."
Well, that answers some questions here! "Influence"..and "a very big" one at that! Gord refers to 'career' -this is all encompassing.
Sometime soon, I really need to take the time to read through Wayne's and Valerie's websites again and more thoroughly. Got to find my prescription bifocals first
. I'm still not well-adapted to this over 40 stuff like bifocals and not being able to readily recall having read something and where. I went to CVS last night and 'forgot' to buy, "Core4Life Advanced Memory Formula"...had cut out a $5 off coupon for this in the Sunday paper.