Search - Gordon Lightfoot :: Don Quixote

Lightfoot At His Best

Kurt Harding | Boerne TX | 04/18/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Gordon Lightfoot came to my attention back when I was in Jr. High. I first heard him on old San Diego adult contemporary station KDEO and have been a fan ever since. He played in San Diego while Don Quixote was current and seeing him live then gave me an unshakable attachment to the album. Lightfoot has rarely received the commercial acclaim he deserves although the romantic "Beautiful" was a minor hit. While a very good song, it is not the best on Don Quixote. There is something for everyone here: Lightfoot the romantic, Lightfoot the storyteller, Lightfoot in tune with the outdoors, and Lightfoot man of peace. All songs are well-written and well-arranged and performed in vintage Lightfoot fashion. My favorite cuts are "Looking at the Rain", "Ordinary Man", "Big Blue", and "Second Cup of Coffee". The album is so good, you can see that Lightfoot was inspired. He has given us much through the years, but Don Quixote ranks as one of his best."

A beautiful, highly original piece of work

Midnight_PhoenixFlames | Australia | 01/23/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Being a teenage girl, I guess people wouldn't be expecting me to like this album, let alone have even heard of Gordon Lightfoot. I first heard this album when I was 13 (I'm 16 now). I was staying at my Dad's house and my uncle put it on, saying that it was a really nice album, and the minute I heard the first song, I had no choice but to instantly agree with him.Gordon's voice has a warm, rich feel to it, and, combined with his beautiful but simple poetic lyrics, the combination just takes my breath away every time I listen to this album.1. DON QUIXOTE: More of a story than a song about the legendary Don Quixote and the conflicted people in life. Surprisingly catchy for a folk-song and the guitar is magical. 8.5/102. CHRISTIAN ISLAND: A much slower song about spending a summer on an old, faithful boat in the Christian Islands. Very soothing melody. 8/103. ALBERTA BOUND: Not one of my favourites as is kind of disrupts the relaxed feel of the album and the guitar doesn't sound as good as the other songs, but still not a bad song. 6.5/104. LOOKING AT THE RAIN: One of my all-time favourites. It's more of a poem about the thoughts that go through your head while staring at the rain out of the window. Just a beautiful song. 9/105. ORDINARY MAN: A rather strange but still quite nice ballad about a man who claims he's not your typical man and always feels the presence of the lady he loves stalking him. Has a rather haunting underlayer. The guitar riffs complete the song, making it near perfect. 8/106. BRAVE MOUNTAINEERS: This would definately have to be my favourite song as the lyrics make me remember my life when I was younger and have an sweet, innocent manner. 10/107. ODE TO BIG BLUE: An ode to an ancient whale that the fishermen could never catch. Is actually darker than I make it sound and the guitar riffs have an almost haunting quality. 8.5/108. SECOND CUP OF COFFEE: I just LOVE this song to death. Basically, it's about all the problems we think about first thing in the morning, wondering how we can face the day, remembering how we dealt with things and people in the past, and also thinking about all the good and the bad things that life gives us and is still offering us. 10/10 9. BEAUTIFUL: Just a simple ballad for a longed-for one and about how they've been friends for such a long time and how beautiful that person is. 7.5/1010. ON SUSAN'S FLOOR: A rather sad song, actually, about a woman (Susan) who would take in the homeless at night and allow them to sleep by her fireplace.Seems to be written from the POV of an alcoholic homeless who stayed there every night, remembers the happiness Susan and her fireplace bought him and many others. He left because he began to fall in love with Susan and often wonders what would've happened if he'd stayed one more night to share his music with Susan and the other derelicts. 10/1011. THE PATRIOT'S DREAM: This song takes on a different quality to most of the other ones in this album. In fact, not only is it extremely sad, it's also quite dark. It's a song about the Civil War in America and how all the Patriotic Men lost their lives fighting for "The Patriot's Dream" and how it affected those who loved them such as their wives/fiancees, children and parents. 9/10It's surprising that so few seem to have heard of Gordon except through his song "If you could read my mind" (A sweet, sad song that was later updated into disco-feel song for the movie "54"). It's actually a big disappointment since Gordon has proved in this album that not only does he have a wonderful voice, he also has the rare talent to write beautiful, memorable lyrics that stay in your head long after hearing his songs. If you haven't heard any of his songs yet, I highly recommend you look for this album (Unfortunately, it's hard to find) or his 'Greatest hit's' album "GORD'S GOLD.""

Quintessential Lightfoot

Midnight_PhoenixFlames | 06/07/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD (album) is a very personal one for me as, back in 1972, I experienced my "Lightfoot Epiphany" when the song "Don Quixote" came on the radio. I had never heard anyone match such poetic, meaningful lyrics with such a gorgeous melody before--I rushed out on my bike and bought the album the next day.Well, I quickly discovered the whole album is like that: beautiful melodies, combined with incisive lyricism. (From this album, I backtracked to the earlier ones, and discovered the vast majority of his music fell into the same category!)The title track will probably always show up on every Lightfoot fans "top ten" list, but this is an album filled with gems. Even the lone cover, Silverstein/Matthews' "On Susan Floor," fits right in with the tone of the rest of the songs on the album: as with just about all of the cover tunes Lightfoot has done over his career, he sings it like he wrote it.From the upbeat, toe-tapping "Alberta Bound" (featuring Ry Cooder on mandolin!), to one of the best songs I've heard about the musician's life on the road ("Ordinary Man,"), from the innocent joys expressed in "Brave Mountaineers," to the ethereal, meaningful "Ode to Big Blue," this is an album packed with treasures. Another Lightfoot favorite, "Beautiful" appears on this album as does the evocative "Christian Island (Georgian Bay).The instrumentation is up there with Lightfoot's usual very high standards. Terry Clements makes his first recorded appearance on lead acoustic guitar (he's been the Lightfoot Band's touring lead guitarist ever since), complementing Red Shea, who contributes his as-ever innovative acoustic playing, along with dobro and classical guitar. Rick Haynes' bass playing on the album is some of his most melodic work, while still firmly anchoring the bottom end. In fact, the bass almost sounds like an acoustic bass on this album, with a warm, "woodsy" feel to it. The string arrangements, by Bob Thompson on the title track, and Nick DeCaro on several of the others (DeCaro also contributes additional instrumentation on some of the tracks) is very subtle and non-obtrusive, and very much adds to the overall musical "coloring" of the recordings. In fact, the string arrangements on Don Quixote call to mind the way Lightfoot currently uses synthesizers in his songs: by and large, they're not obtrusive; rather, they add an almost pastel-like coloring to the arrangements. And, of course, Lightfoot himself contributes his solid, tasteful acoustic rhythm guitar work.Don Quixote is, quite simply, a classic Gordon Lightfoot album. If you've purchased "Complete Greatest Hits," liked what you heard, and want to delve deeper into the musical magic that is Lightfoot, there are few places better to start than with Don Quixote."