Though he rose from the ranks of journeyman '60s folksinger to become a potent and consistent '70s hit maker, Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot's stock in trade was as much hard-eyed, dispassionate observation as romance or poetic whimsy. Perhaps that's why his songs have been covered by everyone from Elvis (this set's "Early Morning Rain") to Dylan. If there's such a thing as an alpha-male folkie, Lightfoot certainly fits the bill. Spanning the tongue-in-cheek chauvinism of 1965's "For Lovin' Me" and the cheatin' ways of "Sundown" to more introspective fare like "If You Could Read My Mind" and "Beautiful," this 20-track collection presents a concise primer on Lightfoot's career and craft. After his career peaked with one of the most unlikely top five hits ever, the gloom-laden 1976 narrative "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," Lightfoot's production tailed off sharply, though this anthology's "Stay Loose" ('86) and "Restless" ('93) are testament to his enduring skills as a songwriter and performer. --Jerry McCulley

20 classic hits released by United Artists, Reprise and Warner Bros. From 1965 to 1987. features the hits 'Sundown', 'If You Could read My Mind', 'The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald', 'Carefree Highway' and many more!

This is a rare combination of quality and quantity. There are a lot of good songs, mostly because GL wrote and performed so well. Obviousy it is still a small fraction of the songs that he wrote in total, but I like the ones they included. Just from listening, the recordings all seem to be in a studio, so the quality is good.

I enjoy this group of Gordon's hits, however I would have loved to have Blackberry Wine and Song For A Long Winter's Night added to this CD...

This CD is a great compilation of Gordon Lightfoot's best songs. It has all the greats and a few songs that I had forgotten about.

Gordon Lightfoot is my favorite singer/songwriter of all time.
This collection is very good, but not what I would call "complete".

Where is "Song For A Winter's Night"?
What about "Cold On The Shoulder"?
Not one track from "Dream Street Rose"?

Also, many of us hardcore fans have favorites that were never "hits" (i.e. "The Watchman's Gone", "Seven Island Suite", etc.) but feel like glaring omissions in a Gord's "greatest" collection.

Maybe a double disc "complete greatest hits" is in order(?!)

Wow! What a great music CD. Almost every song is memorable. I guess great music reaches across generations....