Thread: Sarasota !!
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Old 05-23-2013, 02:44 AM   #9
geodeticman.5
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Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Eastern Slope urban corridor, Colo. USA
Posts: 1,007
Default Re: Sarasota !!

Snow and freezing temperatures in May in Florida! This freakish meterological aberration is a portent of the well-known to be the genuine factoid of the imminent Zombie Apocalypse, foretold far and wide throughout the land; I'm sure of it

I'd of liked to have heard "Make Way For the Lady" in that concert, among all the others of course. That's been an unusual one of his that I've always especially liked. I always thought it could have potentially done more on the radio, if released as, and produced as a single, versus DSR (the song's) bid, at least on the radio in Colorado. DSR is a beautiful song too, and loved by so many.

By comparison though, for a hit potential that year anyway, DSR tends to be mildly repetitive on the refrain for my taste, and somewhat limited in scope, and depth of lyrical metaphors, etc., IMO only. I'm really trying to say "Make Way for the Lady" was an even better song.

DSR has the rich layering in harmony so characteristic of a great many of Gord's hits, notably in the 70's, where of most occurred. But the recording technique of his own voice-over-voice harmony in DSR seems to be a hallmark of many of the single-release hit bids on the radio in the 70's, with Sundown, Daylight Katy, DSR, and Carefree Highway coming to mind strongly where that technique is so predominant, and adds so much richness to the songs, making use of Gord's harmony training and experience, both formally, and in the older barbershop days - practically.

Rather than say that DSR (the song), which so many love as a favorite, tends (to me) to be tad repetitive on the refrain; I'd rather emphasize my point: on the same album, "Make Way for the Lady", while a little jazzy for devotees of his more classic Lightfoot folk-rock style, is a remarkable song, with great depth in lyricism, heavily laced in metaphor and some spiritual thoughts that are expressed, which, if I had to guess, unfortunately in today's world, probably scared the producer's away from marketing it as a single. It could have been -gasp- interpreted by some as having a Christian influence, which, since Lightfoot did not fall into the "Christian"music fold, nevertheless was raised in a Presbyterian Church,and has sung of spiritual, if not fully religious lyrics per se throughout his career, here and there anyway.

I would maintain some are even outright prayers, such as "Too Late For Praying", a remarkably poignant and beautiful song. It's laced with questions imbedded in it though that would detracted from it being thought of as a "Religious" song, (probably its saving grace in marketing exec's eyes) but may have been nixed from its single potential to,o for what I am only guessing could be the same reason.

In the song "Make Way For the Lady", he even refers to the "Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost'. Them there's ree-ligious lyrics goll-dern it,and in secular music, I'd imagine such lyrics scared them away from what I think was a possible hit, even if in jazz. or early vestiges of adult contemporary.

Great song. that's all I wanted to say, with much more potential than it reached. Who really knows why? I always loved it, and yes, I find it comforting sometimes. My tastes do not run to Christian music proper, secular music is my bag. But if Cat Stevens' "Morning Has Broken" - (from The hymn [that]originally appeared in the second edition of Songs of Praise {published in 1931, to the tune "Bunessan", composed in the Scottish Highlands.})(-Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morning_Has_Broken) can be a hit, and striclty-speaking be a *at least* religous song,and have it produced into a hit, I am saddened that among Lightfoot's many beautiful songs, "Make Way For the Lady" might have been too overtly religous.

ANYHOO - I'd of loved ot hear it in the concert. Religous or not, a great song
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