Friday, 16 April, 1999
Rhino releasing Gordon Lightfoot box-set
By RICHARD JOHN -- JAM! Showbiz
Rhino Records are readying a brand new box-set to
celebrate the career of Canadian troubadour Gordon Lightfoot.
Lightfoot, best known for the songs "The Wreck Of The Edmund
Fitzgerald," and "If You Could Read My Mind" (which was
recently covered for the '54' soundtrack), has been a fixture on the
Canadian music scene for the better part of four decades.
Comprised of 4 CDs, the 88 track box-set entitled 'Songbook' is set for
release June 15. The box-set covers Lightfoot's career during the period
1962-1998, features 16 previously unreleased tracks and 17 tracks on CD
for the first time.
"Lightfoot is virtually without peer," Rhino's Director of
Catalog Development and Songbook coproducer said in a statement.
"His praises have been sung by Phil Ochs, Bob Dylan, and many
others."
Lightfoot himself took an active role in the compilation of the box-set.
On the selection process, Lightfoot remarked in his self-penned forward
to the box-set, "Rarities were a challenge at first. Some legwork
had to be done.
"Some earlier judgment calls had to be reversed and emotions kept
at bay. By the time the sleuthing was done, we had uncovered a number of
tracks that surprised even me."
Lightfoot is embarking on a tour to celebrate the release of the
box-set. While a number of dates are still tentative, a number of
Canadian cities have been confirmed.
