Search - Gordon Lightfoot :: East of Midnight

A Treasure Trove

Randy S. | Las Vegas, Nevada, USA | 06/09/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a wonderful Lightfoot album, different in that some songs have a clear David Foster influence. My favourites are those that are just Gordon, in particular "Morning Glory" and "A Passing Ship," although there are no songs that I skip over. Some of the songs, such as "A Lesson in Love," it's hard to know what he's singing about, with lyrics like "First to come are the midgets, a monkey and a kid, followed by those two one-eyed jugglers, the ego and the id." Huh? But the songs are so smooth, it doesn't matter. You will notice that Gordon's voice is a little thinner than the more rich sound on "Salute" only three years earlier, but it is a real pleasure to listen to the entire album. Gordon will say that now he has difficulty reaching the higher notes on the song "East of Midnight" without some rearrangement, so certainly after this album his voice has lost some range. But, I own his last two recordings, from 1993 and 1998, and they too are a pleasure to listen to. Gordon put a lot of work into "East of Midnight," and it shows. It is meticulously well-crafted and he certainly maintains the standard of excellence of his other recordings. Turn out the lights and enjoy!"

A different but excellent Gordon Lightfoot

Randy S. | 12/18/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Like many others I have been a fan of Gordon Lightfoot and his highly entertaining music since his first album. The fact that he writes the music AND performs it both vocally and instrumentally has elicited my respect as well as great pleasure.I purchased this CD when it was published back in the early 80's, listened to it just a little and decided I didn't like it. It was quite different from what I had come to enjoy about Gord's music and I suppose that was why it just didn't seem to click for me. Some years later, though, I dusted off the CD and listened again. At first it was just one tune that caught my ear, then others followed. As I listened more I found that the songs were wonderfully melodic with catchy syncopation, and, typical of Lightfoot, the lyrics were meaningful. I found myself walking around with these "new" songs playing in my mind for hours on end. The more I listened the better the tunes seemed to get Most of the tracks on this album have their own specialness that shows up only after "getting to know them" a bit more. Gordon has hidden gems in each tune. As you become familiar with the songs on this CD you start to feel he cut and polished them just for you.If you enjoy Gordon Lightfoot at all I strongly suggest you purchase this CD. You might feel, as I do (though belatedly), that this just might be his best album."

"A Lesson in ...Music?"

TERRY UPP | USA | 06/24/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A thoroughly excellent Lightfoot package that I would have given a three star rating to if not for the great "A Lesson In Love". It's a hidden gem that I discovered for the first time when I bought his boxed set in 1999. In fact, that song's what made me purchase East of Midnight in search of more songs of that quality. Alas, there are none on this CD, however, most of the rest of the songs are quite good in their own right."