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Old 02-13-2000, 09:46 PM   #1
Lightfoot678
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Anyone own the Songbook box set and want to review it do so here. I'm thinking of getting it. But I generally approach box sets with caution as I have been badly burned by a couple of them.



------------------
Look into his shiny eyes and if you see a ghost don't be surprised......Listen to the strings. That jangle and dangle while the old guitar sings.

The lake it is said never gives up her dead, when the gales of November come early.
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Old 02-14-2000, 04:29 PM   #2
chris
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I could go on and on about how great Songbook is, but I won't. Suffice it to say its truly magnificent. The 17 or so unreleased songs on it are a treasure. I've had it since June and I'm still listening to one of the discs just about daily. Many of the unreleased are right up there with many of my GL favorites. Its hard to believe they might never have seen the light of day. I'm guessing you are a die hard fan from your name so I can guarantee you you will not be disappointed. Aside from the music, the accompanying book with the comments from GL on each song and the biography are wonderful. I even think the packaging is noteworthy! For awhile cdnow was selling it for about $41. Go for it.

chris

------------------
"It took most of my time to do what never was done" -- GL
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Old 02-14-2000, 06:12 PM   #3
Pirate Queen
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I agree with Chris, I bought it as soon as it was available and listen to it quite frequently. It is not simply a redundant box set. While I think the unreleased songs alone make this a necessity, I don't think that they are the only reason this album needs to be bought. I won't go off too much and restate everything Chris said (since I agree with it all and think it was a good answer, but would be redundant for me to say). But will say you should definitely buy. I paid $60 or something to have it immediately and don't regret it at all.
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Old 02-14-2000, 09:05 PM   #4
Wes Steele
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Have you ever "been badly burned" by a Gordon Lightfoot Album?

I bought the Gordon Lightfoot Boxed Set. If it says GL on there, it's ALL CLASS!!!!!!!!!

Wes....
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Old 02-15-2000, 12:21 AM   #5
Annette
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I echo everything everybody says. The comments that he wrote with the songs were definitely worth it and the pictures were great. I still laugh when I see a couple of them. And I paid ... gulp.... $90.00 for it and haven't regretted it. So, are you going to let us know when you've decided?
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Old 02-15-2000, 01:15 AM   #6
Florian
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If you are not convinced yet, here is a short list of reviews of the Songbook:
http://www.corfid.com/gl/press/press34.htm
by Scott D. McCormick
http://www.corfid.com/gl/press/press18.htm
from the National Post
http://www.corfid.com/gl/press/press21.htm
from mylaunch.com
http://www.corfid.com/gl/press/press06.htm
from Salon 1999
http://www.corfid.com/gl/press/press24.htm
from the Windsor Star
http://www.corfid.com/gl/press/press07.htm
from Variety.com
http://www.corfid.com/gl/press/press04.htm
From Globe and Mail
http://www.corfid.com/gl/press/press27.htm
from Jam!Showbiz
http://www.corfid.com/gl/press/press09.htm
from Livedaily.com
http://www.corfid.com/gl/press/press10.htm
another one from Jam!Showbiz
http://www.corfid.com/gl/press/press11.htm
from the Toledo Blade
http://www.corfid.com/gl/press/press41.htm
from www.tccpalm.com

-----------

An abundance of personal reviews (total of 36) can also be found at http://www.amazon.com. Needless to say, all are very positive.

Lastly, you should also visit Valerie's website. She reviewed the songbook and you can listen to short clips of the rarities there: http://24.228.1.81/vlmagee/Songbook.html

GO GET IT!
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Old 02-15-2000, 09:39 PM   #7
Lightfoot678
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Well I made the decision to buy Songbook. I bought it for about $40 at my local Best Buy. I'll post my own review of it here in a few days. So far I like what I hear



------------------
Look into his shiny eyes and if you see a ghost don't be surprised......Listen to the strings. That jangle and dangle while the old guitar sings.

The lake it is said never gives up her dead, when the gales of November come early.
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Old 02-15-2000, 10:34 PM   #8
Annette
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Alright!!!!!
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Old 02-18-2000, 12:41 AM   #9
loveandmaplesyrup
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Lol ---- Right on, Wes. It says GORDON LIGHTFOOT on the front. There should be no doubt!!! It IS a great album.

And Lightfoot, I hope you enjoy it. I think you will find you got your money's worth. I understand that's a LOT of money to pay for a CD set, but in this case, it is a safe bet sight unseen (or unheard as the case may be -- lol)

And just a little FYI (please don't take this wrong -- it's a "gentle" correction --) the words are "Look into his SHINING eyes..."

LOL I had the words wrong in MY signature for about two months before I took a good look at it.

Stay loose, eh?

LAMS

------------------
"Love and maple syrup
go together like the
sticky winds of winter
when they meet....
If you go into the forest
Gaze up through the trees
The sky is white.
You can understand
What makes the forest
Greet the man
Like a mother's only
child ..."
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Old 06-17-2000, 09:10 AM   #10
fezo
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Now I'll probably hate myself in the morning (wait a minute! It <b>IS</b> the morning!), but here goes - Man there are some mighty funny selections in the Songbook. I particularly notics it in the selections from "Summer Side of Life" and "Old Dan's Records." IMO "Miguel," "Go My Way" and "Redwood Hill" are better than any of teh cuts that made it odd SSOL and my goodness - "Lazy Morning?" How about "It's Worth Believeing" or "Mother of a Miner's Child?" Or "Farewell to Annabelle?" I could go on but let's let someone else step up on this...

That said, these are still 4 wonderful discs and I finally have "Highway Songs" on CD!
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Old 06-17-2000, 10:11 AM   #11
Janice
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Fezo,
This post is a little off topic for this particular thread but earlier on there was a thread called "New Live Gord" in which Frank encouraged everyone to list the songs they would like to hear on a "dream" live album. I, for one, would be interested in knowing what would be included in your "dream" album. Check out the thread.

Janice
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Old 06-17-2000, 03:55 PM   #12
Gary J
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The box set is worth the price just to get the unreleased material. Some early material like "Remember Me I'm the One" makes me cringe. But then again I dislike so much of Lightfoot's early work. The songs were good but the production values were so 2nd rate compared to folkies like Paul Simon. Not Gordon's fault. The producers must have budgeted him $200, maybe $300 to make the LPs. He did the best he could.

The "newer" unreleased songs are much better. Disc 4 is almost worth the price by itself. Songs like "Never Say Trust Me" and "Lifeline" are as good as it gets.

My only complaint would be to dump the majority of disc #1 and devote an enite disc to the best Lightfoot album ever made: Shadows.
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Old 06-27-2000, 10:20 AM   #13
2Much2Lose
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Gary J -

I agree with you on the strength of "Shadows," but the solution is not to dump the early material from Songbook. The solution is to release Shadows on CD (right after releasing ODR, if only because we've been waiting longer for that one).

I also disagree strongly that the "newer" unreleased songs on Songbook are better than the older material. Although I'm not fond of the style of "(Remember Me) I'm the One" or "It's Too Late, He Wins" (as a technical point, they are not "previously unreleased" but they might as well have been), I'm happy to have that material to give perspective on the importance on Gord's artistic change of direction.

I guess it's also obvious that I love "2Much2Lose" but not that song alone. "You'll still be needing me" is one of the prettiest melodies he has ever written and a lyric like "Let the tide roll out, let the tide roll in, It's time to sink or swim" in the context of the end of a relationship packs a wallop. "Heaven Don't Deserve Me" is another in the best tradition of his "loveable rogue" songs as well as an interesting companion piece to "In My Fashion." "A Message to the Wind", "Mama Said" and "Station Master" are also important additions to his material from the early era.

What I like most about Songbook is that with each disk the listener can pick an era of Gord's music and get a nice selection of songs from that era. Not a complete selection, perhaps not my ideal selection (or yours or any particular fan's) but a good selection of great work.

This is particularly helpful to fans like me who still play the earlier UA and Warner albums on vinyl and have not upgraded the complete available collection to CD. Songbook makes the breadth of Gord portable, and in a production format superior to either Gord'sGold collection, IMHO.

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"And the laughter came too easy for life to pass me by." - SDYS
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Old 06-27-2000, 11:07 AM   #14
Mary Ann
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I have to agree with 2Much. The older unreleased songs may not be comparable to what Gord cranked out in later years, however, I like them all the same as they show us how his music has evolved over the years as well as which artists influenced Gord's own special brand of music.
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Old 06-27-2000, 10:23 PM   #15
Tom
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"Songbook" is a classy box-set..."88 songs, 36 years, 4 CD's, 1 Canadian". I really like the booklet, Gordon talks about each song. The unreleased songs are the best reason to purchase. Disc One is the older stuff, but still fasinating to hear the *original* versions. I have owned "Gord's Gold vol.1" since around 1982, so its interesting to hear the subtle differences between the two.
The unreleased songs are the real goldmine here..."Station Master" is a folk-rocker that Gord says he tried to write like a Bob Dylan song. I like the line about.."so I rocked her too sleep/Then I got back on my feet" Another gem is "Heaven Don't Deserve Me" a self-righeous song about believing he did everything he could for his wife, yet she still ends relationship. Great guitar playing! "Stone Cold Sober" is a must-have, he writes some beautiful poetic lyrics in this one. "...that our points of view will blend into each other/Like the sea & the horizon/And the sun will shine upon us/As we live our lives forever..." Other standouts include "Borderstone" "Canary Yellow Canoe"(I like how this songs starts with the loon sounds-like on Salute's "Whispers Of The North"-then all hell breaks loose!) "Never Say Trust Me" "Always On The Bright Side" and another unreleased song that sparkles is "Forgive Me Lord".
It's nice to hear the *original* version of "...Edmund Fitzgerald" with moog synthesizer used perfectly in song.
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