REVIEW: Gordon Lightfoot fans happy to share in his presence
By Wallace Chappell, correspondent :: UPDATED: 23 March 2014 | 10:29 am
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On Friday night, Gordon Lightfoot conquered the Paramount Theatre in downtown Cedar Rapids.
The 76-year-old singer-songwriter filled the house with fans - most in their 60s and 70s - who grew up with the songwriter's melodies and were happy to share in his presence.
A woman sitting next to me told me that her husband had given her a tape of "You Are Beautiful," when they were courting.
Another audience member said that "This is my 19th concert with Gordon. I hope to God this isn't the last time." He had a picture of himself with the Canadian legend on his cell phone.
Lightfoot opened with a quote from Mark Twain, "Rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated." Indeed, he has had lots of health problems over the years and came close to death 12 years ago.
Looking for all the world like a pleasant Ichabod Crane, tall and thin, Lightfoot generously offered the audience more than 30 songs in 90 minutes on stage, including "Rainy Day People" and "Carefree Highway."
The audience was quiet, listening carefully, singing along softly.
Lightfoot has a handle on the ironies and the disappointments in relationships, and a masterful way with the expression of regret. His finest song is "The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald," recorded in 1976, about the sinking of an iron freighter in Lake Superior in which 29 lives were lost. This song is a righteous anthem and one of his sustaining hits over the years. The music includes angry, mournful guitars and a strong Indian drum beat.
Bob Dylan, who wrote his share of anthems as well, is a big fan of Lightfoot. Unfortunately, Lightfoot at times sings with a Dylan-esque incomprehensibility. It was difficult to understand the lyrics. But, given that the audience knows most of the songs, it didn't seem to matter.
The four-piece band that accompanies him is terrific, always in balance, always blending beautifully. While the arrangements are not contemporary, these guys play very well together. The sound ranges among country, folk and rock, and is most successful in the "rockabilly" mode.
I particularly enjoyed the arrangement for "Sundown."
Cedar Rapids,Iowa-Paramount Theatre-March 21-2014
