Gordon Lightfoot's Songbook is a career-spanning, four-CD, 88-song box set with a pretty chronologically even balance of material from the mid-'60s through 1998. It also has 15 previously unreleased cuts, as well as his 1962 debut single, "(Remember Me) I'm the One"/"It's Too Late, He Wins" (which is lame MOR Nashville country). One could quibble with the song selection ("Black Day in July" is missing, for instance) and the relatively light attention to his 1960s work (which is limited to disc one); an opportunity was also missed to include a rarity by excluding his mid-'60s single of Bob Dylan's "Just Like Tom Thumb Blues." But generally it's a representative sampling of his most meaningful, or commercially successful, recordings. As for the previously unreleased songs, it's a tribute to Lightfoot's consistency that these don't sound out of step with the rest of the program, but also true that none of these are particularly exceptional or interesting. The following is true of so many box sets of this type that it feels like a cliché to point this out once again, but by giving equal space to various phases of his career, the music starts to go downhill steeply at around the middle of disc three, marking Lightfoot's descent (more graceful than some) into adult contemporary office music. There are extensive liner notes in the enclosed hardbound book, along with comments on each song by Lightfoot himself. Unless you're a Lightfoot obsessive, though, The United Artists Collection (with the bulk of his 1960s recordings) and Gord's Gold will cover just about everything you would want. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
Floyd Cramer (Piano), Gordon Lightfoot (Guitar), Gordon Lightfoot (Piano), Gordon Lightfoot (Vocals), Gordon Lightfoot (Producer), Gordon Lightfoot (Main Performer), David Rea (Guitar), Ry Cooder (Mandolin), Van Dyke Parks (Harmonium), Vesta Williams (Vocals (Background)), Victor Feldman (Percussion), James Newton Howard (Synthesizer), James Newton Howard (Keyboards), David Foster (Keyboards), Grady Martin (Guitar), Doug Riley (Piano), Doug Riley (Keyboards), Doug Riley (Piano (Electric)), Doug Riley (String Arrangements), John Simon (Producer), John Simon (String Arrangements), Jim Gordon (Percussion), Jim Gordon (Drums), Bob Jenkins (Photography), Anita Kerr Singers (Vocals (Background)), Bruce Bromberg (Autoharp), Robbie Buchanan (Synthesizer), Kenneth A. Buttrey (Percussion), Kenneth A. Buttrey (Drums), Lenny Castro (Percussion), Pee Wee Charles (Dobro), Pee Wee Charles (Pedal Steel), Chip Young (Guitar), Mitchell Clarke (Bassoon), Vassar Clements (Fiddle), Terry Clements (Guitar), John Court (Producer), Nick DeCaro (Piano), Nick DeCaro (Accordion), Nick DeCaro (Concertina), Nick DeCaro (Horn Arrangements), Nick DeCaro (String Arrangements), Bill Dillon (Guitar), Bob Doidge (Percussion), Bob Doidge (Vocals (Background)), Bob Doidge (Producer), Vern Dorge (Sax (Alto)), Vern Dorge (Sax (Tenor)), Michael Francis (Guitar), Bob Glaub (Bass), Bruce Good (Autoharp), Larry Good (Banjo), Buddy Harman (Drums), Hoyt Hawkins (Vocals (Background)), Hadley Hockensmith (Bass), Mike Heffernan (Piano), Mike Heffernan (Keyboards), Mike Heffernan (Piano (Electric)), Milt Holland (Percussion), Roy M. "Junior" Husky (Bass), Jim Isbell (Drums), Sheree Jeacocke (Vocals (Background)), Barry Keane (Percussion), Barry Keane (Drums), Barry Keane (Tambourine), Barry Keane (Hand Drums), Millie Kirkham (Vocals (Background)), Michael Landau (Guitar), Bruce Langhorne (Guitar), Daniel Lanois (Guitar), Bill Lee (Bass), Herb Lovelle (Drums), Bob Mann (Guitar), Gene Martynec (Moog Synthesizer), Richard Marx (Vocals (Background)), Neal Matthews (Vocals (Background)), Elliot Mazer (Producer), Charlie McCoy (Guitar), Hugh McCracken (Guitar), Suzie McCune (Vocals (Background)), Laverna Moore (Vocals (Background)), Farrell Morris (Percussion), Michael Omartian (Synthesizer), Michael Omartian (Accordion), Michael Omartian (Fender Rhodes), Dean Parks (Guitar), Dean Parks (String Arrangements), Herb Pedersen (Banjo), Herb Pedersen (Vocals (Background)), Dennis Pendrith (Bass), Lou Pomanti (Organ), Norbert Putnam (Bass), Hargus "Pig" Robbins (Piano), James Rolleston (Bass), Red Shea (Guitar), Jerry Shook (Guitar), Catherine Smith (Vocals (Background)), John Stockfish (Bass), Gordon Stoker (Vocals (Background)), Henry Strzelecki (Bass), Tom Szczesniak (Bass), Tom Szczesniak (Keyboards), Russ Titelman (Producer), Jackie Ward Singers (Vocals (Background)), Lenny Waronker (Producer), Joseph Wissert (Producer), Jack Zaza (Harmonica), Jack Zaza (Clarinet (Bass)), Jack Zaza (Flute (Alto)), Jack Zaza (Harmonium), Jack Zaza (Horn (English)), Jack Zaza (Recorder), Jack Zaza (Sax (Alto)), Jack Zaza (Sax (Baritone)), Jack Zaza (Sax (Tenor)), Gayle Levant (Harp), Charlie McCoy (Guitar), Charlie McCoy (Harmonica), Wendell Ferguson (Guitar), Ray C. Walker (Vocals (Background)), Nicholas Jennings (Liner Notes), Joseph Sia (Photography), Thane Tierney (Liner Notes), Doug Johnson (Pedal Steel), Bob Thompson (String Arrangements), Rick Haynes (Bass), John Lewis (Guitar), Charlie McCoy (Organ), Charlie McCoy (Celeste), Charlie McCoy (Bells), David Brown (Percussion), Lisa Winn (Vocals (Background))
![Songbook [Box Set]](http://content.answers.com/main/content/img/amg/pop_albums/cov200/drd600/d681/d68120a9v3a.jpg)
