Can't dispute the quality of the Don side one, but let me suggest three other sides, not yet mentioned, that are its equal, perhaps superior.
First: Lightfoot! side one (even the songs he didn't write are beautifully performed);
Second: the Don, side two, starting with "Big Blue," which is better every time you listen to it, "2d Cup," a toe-tapper with great lyrics, the peerless "Beautiful," perhaps the best song GL has ever written, and finishing with "Susan's Floor" and "Patriot's Dream", which are the equal of the lesser songs of DonQ side one; and
Third, and possibly my favorite of all: ODR side one, beginning with "Annabelle" with guitar and banjo that pour over you like a river, followed by "SameOldObsession" and its waltzing chord progressions, then "ODR" itself, a song no other artist would even dream of making (among other joys, I love the bell rung on the upbeats); then "Lazy Morning," which I dismissed when I first heard it but have grown to love for the way it evokes its subject, and gets you all relaxed for the toe-tapping finale of "UR What I Am."
By the way, Sunday Concert side 2 is another perfect side, but since that album consists of performances of songs from other albums, perhaps it shouldn't be counted.
My vote? a tie between DonQ2 and ODR1.
Any dissenters?
2Much2Lose
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