Fan POLL: Massey Hall Live CD Wish List

[jj]

If it's a double CD, there could be as many as 25 songs but let's assume it would be a 12 song Live CD - which 12 would you choose?


Word has it that the 15 Massey Hall performances from 2001 to present have been recorded - the list below shows how many times each song has been performed (thanks to set lists archived at www.lightfoot.ca)

I assume the more times a song has been performed and recorded, the better chance that Gord is going to be satisfied with a specific recording of a song, but not necessarily

As joveski suggested, it would be nice to hear Live selections that are not already included in the more 'recent' Live Reno DVD (or CBC TV, MuchMoreMusic TV, Live 8 DVD or Harmony CD) so I've noted these to the right of each song
__________________________________________________

13 Ribbon Of Darkness
12 Cotton Jenny
12 Triangle
10 Clouds Of Loneliness
8 Hangdog Hotel Room
8 The Watchman's Gone
7 All The Lovely Ladies
7 Christian Island
6 Minstrel Of The Dawn
5 Sea Of Tranquility
4 Harmony
4 If Children Had Wings
4 On The High Seas
4 Spanish Moss
4 Couchiching
4 I Used To Be A Country Singer
3 Sit Down Young Stranger
3 The Pony Man
3 Ghosts Of Cape Horn
2 Bitter Green
2 Nighttime
2 Ring Them Bells
1 Forgive Me Lord
1 Heaven Don't Deserve Me

15 Baby Step Back (Reno Live DVD 2000)
15 If You Could Read My Mind (Reno Live DVD 2000)
15 Sundown (Reno Live DVD 2000)
15 The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald (Reno Live DVD 2000)
15 Waiting For You (Reno Live DVD 2000)
14 Early Morning Rain (Reno Live DVD 2000)
13 A Painter Passing Through (Reno Live DVD 2000)
13 Old Dan's Records (Reno Live DVD 2000)
12 Canadian Railroad Trilogy (Reno Live DVD 2000)
12 Don Quixote (Reno Live DVD 2000)
12 Restless (Reno Live DVD 2000)
12 Shadows (Reno Live DVD 2000)
10 Rainy Day People (Reno Live DVD 2000)
9 Carefree Highway (Reno Live DVD 2000)
8 Blackberry Wine (Reno Live DVD 2000)
4 Song For A Winter's Night (Reno Live DVD 2000)
3 Cold On The Shoulder (Reno Live DVD 2000)
3 For Loving Me/Did She Mention My Name (Reno Live 2000)
3 I'll Prove My Love (Reno Live DVD 2000)
2 Make Way For The Lady (Reno Live DVD 2000)
1 The House You Live In (Reno Live DVD 2000)
14 Beautiful (Reno Live CBC 2000)
7 Let It Ride (Live 8)

15 Never Too Close (Intimate & Interactive Live MMM 1999)
12 In My Fashion (Intimate & Interactive Live MMM 1999)
8 14 Karat Gold (Intimate & Interactive Live MMM 1999)
5 Alberta Bound (Intimate & Interactive Live MMM 1999)

3 Shellfish (Harmony CD Live Recording)
3 The No Hotel (Harmony CD Live Recording)
__________________________________________________


My choices (it was a tough task):

Ribbon Of Darkness
Clouds Of Loneliness
The Watchman's Gone
All The Lovely Ladies
Christian Island
Minstrel Of The Dawn
Harmony
If Children Had Wings
On The High Seas
Sit Down Young Stranger
Nighttime
Heaven Don't Deserve Me

Lastly, I agree, joveski: I also would just love to hear a compilation of clean Massey Live audio recordings from the 60's right up to and including the WFY tour

[Jesse Joe]

My choices (also a tough task)

1... 14 Karat Gold

2... Never Too Close

3... In My Fashion

4... Let It Ride

5... The House You Live In

6... For Loving Me/Did She Mention My Name

7... Make Way For The Lady

8... Ribbon Of Darkness

9... Early Morning Rain

10... Restless

11... Don Quixote

12... Sit Down Young Stranger

[jj]

[QUOTE=Jesse Joe;142688]My choices (also a tough task)

interesting you included these 4 even though they are already on the Reno live DVD

The House You Live In
Early Morning Rain
Restless
Don Quixote

nice picks, and presented in a set-like order (unlike my own, which is dominated by mostly mellow tunes, oh well)...thx for the feedback, jjo

[Dave, Melbourne,Australia]

Thanks for starting this excellent thread, JJ.
I think we can take it as a "given" that such an album would include Wreck, Sundown, IYCRMM, Carefree Highway, Early Morning Rain and Canadian Railroad Trilogy.
If it were a 12-track album and the available songs are as you listed, I would vote for the other 6 songs to be Shadows, Restless, If Children Had Wings, Clouds Of Loneliness, Ring Them Bells and Harmony.

[seafarer62]

When Char spoke with Gordon backstage on Sept. 21, he said that the Live CD is not ready for release.

I would imagine he needs to put some of the biggest hits on the CD to influence the fringe fan who may buy it. (Fitzgerald, Sundown, If You Could Read My Mind).

Hoping the CD would be 16-18 songs like Gord's Gold Volume 2.

Ideally, the CD would be from Massey throughout the years and may have a couple rarity or even unreleased songs. Gord should put something like Fine as Fine Can Be, If Children Had Wings, That Same Old Obsession on it.

Songs like "Bend in the Water," "Now and Then," "Last Time I Saw Her," "Whispers of the North," "Broken Dreams," were outstanding when I heard them during the 1980's. I thought I read where Massey concerts have been recorded for many years. Don't know if the recordings go back that far.

Songs that I like better live than on the record include:

House You Live In
In My Fashion
Race Among the Ruins
I'll Tag Along
Waiting For You
Ode to Big Blue

No matter what he puts out... someone will disagree with one or two of the selections. Let's just hope he releases it.

[jj]

Originally Posted by Dave, Melbourne,Australia

Thanks for starting this excellent thread, JJ.

lol, well, it hasn't taken off as one might have thought

thanks for feedback thus far... thought it would be fun to compare predictions & wishes to what finally unfolds on the CD

[RM]

Originally Posted by jj

lol, well, it hasn't taken off as one might have thought

Yes, that's one of the great mysteries of this forum. It's sort of like Letterman's "Will It Float" segment. The remains of many of my ideas for a thread now litter the sea floor of Corfid.

[jj]

a poetic and very fitting metaphor, rm

(and comes across far less pouty than my sour grapes)

although your fine Meet + Greet, Q+A thread does periodically resurface...as a matter of fact, i attempted CPR on it quite recently

on the bright side, a thread slowly sinking is far less painful than it's being thrown from the top of a rooftop and splatting on the pavement

...i guess, besides polling the members, i was mainly wondering if others, like myself, were hoping we didn't get a massive overlap of live recordings (radio hits or otherwise) on the new CD which we already have at our fingertips on the relatively recent Reno DVD ...my feelings would differ if there were alternative arrangements

what i'm saying, is "we the faithful deserve some of the more obscure gems from these Massey setlists ...and to heck with pleasing the fringe fan"

[RM]

Originally Posted by jj

although your fine Meet + Greet, Q+A thread does periodically resurface...as a matter of fact, i attempted CPR on it quite recently

It was duly noted, and the Croce/Lightfoot/"Thursday" question is on my list of three. I can promise nothing, but I will try.

[jj]

Originally Posted by RM

I can promise nothing, but I will try.

agh, so you're really not a political candidate after all...or you would have promised, then not tried

[RM]

Originally Posted by jj

agh, so you're really not a political candidate after all...or you would have promised, then not tried

Exactly. I'm glad you've caught up with the rest of the class.

[Peter Bro10]

Originally Posted by jj

what i'm saying, is "we the faithful deserve some of the more obscure gems from these Massey setlists ...and to heck with pleasing the fringe fan"

My 2 cents worth...

interesting thread...

Not that I'm disinterested in "lists" of songs, but what I'm longing for is "new" stuff that I haven't heard before! The "Obscure Gems" album! (coin that title!!)

Whether or not that the recordings are live, doesn't really matter.

I realize that I've digressed yet once more.... straying from the original idea of a "Live Massey Hall Recordings" to something different. So, in conclusion, I'll take one of each, thank you very much!

[davidgledhill]

don't forget the live recordings done at Massey Hall in the mid 70s with Elliot Mazer in charge of the recordings - I wrote about it in an earlier thread - I was working as an usher there and he announced at each concert that it was being recorded for a possible album but later on it was discovered that a broken fingernail had marred the sound quality - something I am sure that could be rectified today, if the tapes still exist

[jj]

Originally Posted by davidgledhill

don't forget the live recordings done at Massey Hall in the mid 70s with Elliot Mazer in charge of the recordings - I wrote about it in an earlier thread - I was working as an usher there and he announced at each concert that it was being recorded for a possible album but later on it was discovered that a broken fingernail had marred the sound quality - something I am sure that could be rectified today, if the tapes still exist

your post excited me til the reality of those last 5 words hit, hard

[davidgledhill]

Maybe some music industry expert among us with knowledge of typical recording contracts from that time period could answer the question - if Lightfoot recorded the concerts at Massey Hall in the mid 70s - would his record company at the time still own the rights those particular recordings or would the tapes remain the property of Lightfoot?

I guess you could always call him up and ask him if the tapes still exist. Given the response to Neil Young's Massey Hall Cd recorded a couple years previously and the fact that Lightfoot was in his prime - I think there would be more interest in those 70s tapes than ones of concerts from the last couple of years.

David

[davidgledhill]

I had a spare moment yesterday and decided to give it a go with the internet and try to contact Elliot Mazer regarding the status of the recordings from Massey Hall in the mid 70s. He was in charge of the recording sessions, and lo and behold, I found his website - www.elliotmazer.com - sent him an email and got a reply within 12 hours. Here is his take on the quality of those recordings.

First my email to him


On Oct 20, 2008, at 3:04 PM, david gledhill wrote:


Dear Elliot,

I was a young usher at Massey Hall in Toronto during the time you were
overseeing the recordings of Gordon Lightfoot for a planned live album
that was never released - I think maybe it was 1975 March. I met you
up on stage between concerts and I remember you showing us, a bunch of
ushers, the sound recording equipment. Thanks for taking the time.

Unfortunately, the recordings were never released due to Lightfoot
having a broken fingernail. With all the technology available today it
must be possible to clean up the slight marring of sound a fingernail
would have created.

There is talk of Lightfoot releasing his live recordings since 2000
but I am just wondering ,considering he was in his prime back then
whatever happened to the tapes? What was your opinion of them?

Neil Young released his Massey Hall concert to great aclaim - do you
think Gordon will ever do the same?

thanks in advance
David Gledhill

his reply

Dear David,
Thank you for this note.

You are correct. Gordie was not pleased with his performances.

I don't think technology could repair the problems with those recordings.

There are many wonderful moments but I must agree with Gordon.

I have not heard anything about these tapes in years.

cheers

Elliot

[RM]

Thanks for trying. I guess they were beyond repair. Darn it.

[charlene]

that's quite interesting..those Lightfoot/Massey 1975 concerts were the first ones I ever attended..I fell in love with that singer onstage..

[joveski]

there's an audience recording of one of the Massey 75 shows. i'll pull it out and have a listen for the fingernail saga

[imported_Next_Saturday]

Just wondering if the future Massey album will be on Rhino, Linus or another label? GL has stated that he's done with Warner/Reprise...

[joveski]

i'm listeng the 22nd March 75 show now and there's no evidence of a problem fingernail.. yet

i like one of the lyrics that were changed. During Bells of the evening, he sings "i'm not one to bullshit, i'm not one to boast"!

[jj]

Originally Posted by davidgledhill

Unfortunately, the recordings were never released due to Lightfoot
having a broken fingernail. With all the technology available today it
must be possible to clean up the slight marring of sound a fingernail
would have created.
...
You are correct. Gordie was not pleased with his performances....

I don't think technology could repair the problems with those recordings...
Elliot

David, below is a GREAT find by jessi jo (RE: 1974 broken nail )

it was posted in a similar thread but thought I'd link here also

http://www.corfid.com/vbb/attachment...0&d=1224946172

[MikeNZ]

I've never been lucky enough to attend a Gord concert so anything would be a thrill, but I'd love to hear Cherokee Bend live.

Mike