Disc One, Two, Three, or Four?

[gathrb]

If you had to pick your favorite disc from the Songbook box-set which would it be? It is a very difficult decision because I really like Gordon's later work. For some reason disc two is the one I reach for most.

[Tom]

If you had to pick your favorite disc from the Songbook box-set which would it be? It is a very difficult decision because I really like Gordon's later work. For some reason disc two is the one I reach for most.

[Steve R]

Well, I usually listen to 4. Sometimes for
a change of pace I'll listen to 4. But there
are other times when nothing except 4 will do. That #4 is one complete package as far as I'm concerned.I paid $65 for the set and
I would've been thrilled with just #4 and that great book. Nice touch. Honestly, trying to pick your favorite Lightfoot song
is much like trying to pick your favorite tulip in Holland..... - Kate B.

[PhiladelphiaKate]

Well, I usually listen to 4. Sometimes for
a change of pace I'll listen to 4. But there
are other times when nothing except 4 will do. That #4 is one complete package as far as I'm concerned.I paid $65 for the set and
I would've been thrilled with just #4 and that great book. Nice touch. Honestly, trying to pick your favorite Lightfoot song
is much like trying to pick your favorite tulip in Holland..... - Kate B.

[gathrb]

I really would like to know what other fans favorite CD is from "Songbook". They are all great in there own ways. I choose Two because:
One - very folky older songs
Three - another awesome disc, "Sundown" "Carefree Highway" "7 Island Suite" "...Fitzgerald" "Circle is Small" [only charted #33 in 1978 but shoulda been a hit] "Dreamstreet Rose"
Four - the only disc I was a little disappointed with, the selection of songs taken from "Salute" don't even reflect what THAT album was all about, also they missed alot of classics in his later era "Only Love Would Know" "Anything For Love" "I'll Do Anything" "My Little Love"
Two - it has a little of everthing, social conscienceness "Sit Down Young Stranger" "Ode To Big Blue" , country "Old Dan's Records" pretty ballads "Beautiful" "Poor Little Allison" "Nous Vivons Ensemble" personal songs "Same Old Loverman" "Stone Cold Sober" "Can't Depend On Love" "IYCRMML" footstomper "Hi'Way Songs" etc.
Owning "Songbook" you really see the genius of Gordon Lightfoot's music.



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"...If YoU fEeL iT yOu BeTtEr BeLiEvE iT, yOu'Re GoNnA sEe It, YoU nEeD tO kNoW/iT iS rIsInG lIkE a FeAtHeR, dIpPiNg & DaNcInG fRoM bElOw/ThErE's A nEw WaVe ThAt Is BrEaKiNg In ThE wAkE oF a PaSsInG sHiP/eVeRy NaTiOn'S gOnNa Be ShAkEn, PuT iT tOgEtHeR, dOn'T lEt It SlIp..."

[Tom]

I really would like to know what other fans favorite CD is from "Songbook". They are all great in there own ways. I choose Two because:
One - very folky older songs
Three - another awesome disc, "Sundown" "Carefree Highway" "7 Island Suite" "...Fitzgerald" "Circle is Small" [only charted #33 in 1978 but shoulda been a hit] "Dreamstreet Rose"
Four - the only disc I was a little disappointed with, the selection of songs taken from "Salute" don't even reflect what THAT album was all about, also they missed alot of classics in his later era "Only Love Would Know" "Anything For Love" "I'll Do Anything" "My Little Love"
Two - it has a little of everthing, social conscienceness "Sit Down Young Stranger" "Ode To Big Blue" , country "Old Dan's Records" pretty ballads "Beautiful" "Poor Little Allison" "Nous Vivons Ensemble" personal songs "Same Old Loverman" "Stone Cold Sober" "Can't Depend On Love" "IYCRMML" footstomper "Hi'Way Songs" etc.
Owning "Songbook" you really see the genius of Gordon Lightfoot's music.



------------------
"...If YoU fEeL iT yOu BeTtEr BeLiEvE iT, yOu'Re GoNnA sEe It, YoU nEeD tO kNoW/iT iS rIsInG lIkE a FeAtHeR, dIpPiNg & DaNcInG fRoM bElOw/ThErE's A nEw WaVe ThAt Is BrEaKiNg In ThE wAkE oF a PaSsInG sHiP/eVeRy NaTiOn'S gOnNa Be ShAkEn, PuT iT tOgEtHeR, dOn'T lEt It SlIp..."

[Tom]

Hi Tom,
Glad to see that you joined us.
Like you, I seem to favor disc #2 and perhaps for the same reasons as you mentioned. I enjoyed disc #1 for the absolutely un-Lightfoot sound on the first two tracks and the bit of "country twang" that made Gary J cringe as said in another thread. Disc #3 has most of Gord's more notable hits- those that even non-GL fans have heard. And lastly, disc #4 has the most "unreleased" cuts on any of the discs and for that reason alone, it's like listening to a new album altogether.

[Mary Ann]

Hi Tom,
Glad to see that you joined us.
Like you, I seem to favor disc #2 and perhaps for the same reasons as you mentioned. I enjoyed disc #1 for the absolutely un-Lightfoot sound on the first two tracks and the bit of "country twang" that made Gary J cringe as said in another thread. Disc #3 has most of Gord's more notable hits- those that even non-GL fans have heard. And lastly, disc #4 has the most "unreleased" cuts on any of the discs and for that reason alone, it's like listening to a new album altogether.

[Wingdrops]

I also am partial to Disk 2, probably because that's the era that drew me to Gord.

I also think that Disk 4 is the weakest, but ask me again in a month or so. I like all the "unreleased" cuts on all of the disks with the exception of "Canary Yellow Canoe," which I find harmless but not very interesting. However, I think the rarities included on Disk 2 are the greatest additions to the album. I agree with Mary Ann that Disk 4 is like a whole new album, not only because of the quantity of unreleased material, but also because Shadows and Salute are not available on CD.

The reason I say to "ask again" about Disk 4 in a month or so is that Songbook, and in particular Disk 4, has prompted me to reexamine my views of the later phase of Gord's work. Until recently, I had not been particularly fond of GL's post-70's albums as compared to his earlier work (with the exception of Shadows, one of Gord's alltime best, IMHO).

Songbook prompted me to give the later albums a fresh look. I can already see that I underestimated East of Midnight (although I still do not care for "A Lesson in Love"). I also would have preferred that Disk 4 had included "Anything for Love" and "Stay Loose" and perhaps "Ecstacy Made Easy" to go with "Morning Glory," instead of the other selections from East of Midnight.

For my "ideal" disk 4, I would have preferred some "lighter" songs in the mix, perhaps "Blackberry Wine," "Biscuit City," and "RingNeck Loon." Perhaps also some more uptempo songs (perhaps "Drifters" and/or "I'd Rather Press On" ?) I'd rather have had had the Shadows version of "Triangle" in Songbook than "Baby Step Back," which has an adequate version on Gord'sGold2. I also think "Restless" would have been a good representation of the type of song that only Gord can pull off.

Actually, on further reflection, I would have needed a disk 5. The absence of that disk is the biggest omission.



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"And the laughter came too easy for life to pass me by." - SDYS

[2Much2Lose]

I also am partial to Disk 2, probably because that's the era that drew me to Gord.

I also think that Disk 4 is the weakest, but ask me again in a month or so. I like all the "unreleased" cuts on all of the disks with the exception of "Canary Yellow Canoe," which I find harmless but not very interesting. However, I think the rarities included on Disk 2 are the greatest additions to the album. I agree with Mary Ann that Disk 4 is like a whole new album, not only because of the quantity of unreleased material, but also because Shadows and Salute are not available on CD.

The reason I say to "ask again" about Disk 4 in a month or so is that Songbook, and in particular Disk 4, has prompted me to reexamine my views of the later phase of Gord's work. Until recently, I had not been particularly fond of GL's post-70's albums as compared to his earlier work (with the exception of Shadows, one of Gord's alltime best, IMHO).

Songbook prompted me to give the later albums a fresh look. I can already see that I underestimated East of Midnight (although I still do not care for "A Lesson in Love"). I also would have preferred that Disk 4 had included "Anything for Love" and "Stay Loose" and perhaps "Ecstacy Made Easy" to go with "Morning Glory," instead of the other selections from East of Midnight.

For my "ideal" disk 4, I would have preferred some "lighter" songs in the mix, perhaps "Blackberry Wine," "Biscuit City," and "RingNeck Loon." Perhaps also some more uptempo songs (perhaps "Drifters" and/or "I'd Rather Press On" ?) I'd rather have had had the Shadows version of "Triangle" in Songbook than "Baby Step Back," which has an adequate version on Gord'sGold2. I also think "Restless" would have been a good representation of the type of song that only Gord can pull off.

Actually, on further reflection, I would have needed a disk 5. The absence of that disk is the biggest omission.



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"And the laughter came too easy for life to pass me by." - SDYS

[Borderstone]

It's easily a tie between #2 & #3! Disc #1 third place and #4 last but the least!

------------------
Borderstone (An,"Avid Listner" of G.L.)

I like them all ( of course) but my favorite is disc #3. I have grown very fond of track #6 Now and Then. It's a song that I can listen to over and over again. The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald,Sundown and Carefree Highway are also at the top of my list. I listen to disc #3 without interuption at least once a week. I listen to the other
CD's too but find myself skipping around sometimes. Disc #3 is a masterpiece without exception for me.

I like them all ( of course) but my favorite is disc #3. I have grown very fond of track #6 Now and Then. It's a song that I can listen to over and over again. The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald,Sundown and Carefree Highway are also at the top of my list. I listen to disc #3 without interuption at least once a week. I listen to the other
CD's too but find myself skipping around sometimes. Disc #3 is a masterpiece without exception for me.

[mtheeb]

The answer to this query is so obvious that it pains me, like a dagger to the heart, when others get it wrong: FOUR, FOUR, FOUR (as noted by Kate in Philadelphia)!

[Restless]

The answer to this query is so obvious that it pains me, like a dagger to the heart, when others get it wrong: FOUR, FOUR, FOUR (as noted by Kate in Philadelphia)!

woah,i just boght that songbook CD box 3 days ago and now thers like 2 or 3 threads about it. I played the number 4 disc 1sdt. Not bad! so far this lightfoot dude is the shizz! those that don' know that word,it's a good word to him.

woah,i just boght that songbook CD box 3 days ago and now thers like 2 or 3 threads about it. I played the number 4 disc 1sdt. Not bad! so far this lightfoot dude is the shizz! those that don' know that word,it's a good word to him.

[BILLW]

GrandMaster B,

You're mining the vaults again I see. And it drives me nuts when I realize, albeit slowly, that I'm reading three year old posts. But just to show that we all appreciate your digging I'll answer the original question. Disc # 2 , no contest.

Bill

[Cathy]

If I only had the choice of listening to one of the four, it would be disc 2.
My favorite thing to do, though, is to head down Interstate 95 and make the long drive out of Maine while listening to the entire set, starting with disc 1 and working my way through all of them. It's becoming a ritual of sorts every time I go on a road trip.

Cathy

[fowlesjohn]

why? Why decide this is best and that is not... truly I can not decide this they are all just awesome.

[gwen snyder]

why? Why decide this is best and that is not... truly I can not decide this they are all just awesome.

[mtheeb]

Why? Because only one of the discs contains the most wonderful unknown Lightfoot song EVER: Always on the Bright Side. That's why!

4444 4444 4444 4444

[Restless]

Why? Because only one of the discs contains the most wonderful unknown Lightfoot song EVER: Always on the Bright Side. That's why!

4444 4444 4444 4444

[Dan O'Malley]

Another vote for disc 4! The music here is all the more incredible when you consider whats NOT on the disc. i.e. "Triangle", "Restless", "Drifters", "Tattoo", "Let it Ride" etc.

[joveski]

for me it's a cross between disks 2 and 4 (4 at the moment)