November 10th, 1975

Discussion on new albums, developing listening skills, critical listening to others' work, as well as TOMB members' MP3 links, online recording critiques

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;ivlunsdystf
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Post by ;ivlunsdystf » Mon Nov 20, 2006 3:39 pm

amishsixstringer wrote:Hey Tot, do you know where you were when you sang that song? Perhaps you've met one of Paul's 5 sisters.

Neil
That was at the Androy in Superior, Wisconsin, I think. It's a hybrid flophouse hotel and karaoke bar. Although it might have been in the northern suburbs of Minneapolis at a place called Robert's. The various karaoke nights in my past tend to run together in memory, melded into a cohesive whole with plenty of help from Blatz and Grain Belt products.

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Post by cgarges » Wed Nov 14, 2007 8:37 pm

Man, I totally forgot to bump this this year. Better late than never.

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Post by jrsgodfrey » Thu Nov 15, 2007 6:53 am

Good to see the annual Lightfoot love, if a bit late. Growing up in Michigan at the time, that song was omnipresent each Fall.

I've been way into "Summer Side of Life" lately -- great Nashville record.

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Post by lyle76 » Thu Nov 15, 2007 10:03 pm

I'll second the great lake swimmers. had the pleasure of touring with tony a few years ago... Hey Zoltar - where's home now? I live in Windsor myself.
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A.David.MacKinnon
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Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Fri Nov 16, 2007 6:49 am

I have such a love/hate thing with Lightfoot.
I know it's good but as a kid growing up in Toronto he was inescapable. My dad used to play Gord's Gold on an endless loop in his office. At this point I don't even think I hear it as music any more.

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Post by vvv » Fri Nov 16, 2007 9:31 am

Semi-interesting GL song trivia: "Sundown" is written about the woman who gave Belushi his last (only?) hot-shot.
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Post by cgarges » Fri Nov 16, 2007 9:48 pm

I thought Sundown was written about the dude who was cheating on Gordo's wife. That's a bad-ass tune, too. Mean guitar playing on that and of course, Jim Gordon. What a sad case, that guy.

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Post by vvv » Sat Nov 17, 2007 9:59 am

Might have been the same woman? I googled and found this, which talks about what I said, and about what you said with the guy being Bruce Cockburn; all apparently gossip, of course!

Wikipedia says
Lightfoot's song "Sundown" was written about his one time girlfriend Cathy Smith (who had worked for a time as a bus driver on his tours).[citation needed] Her claim to infamy, however, is that she's the same Cathy Smith who shot up John Belushi when he died from an overdose (a combination of cocaine and heroin known as a speedball).



Yeah, Gordon, the axe, all of that...

That's a story I do not tell people when we listen to anything from Layla...
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Post by cgarges » Sat Nov 17, 2007 6:06 pm

Just to prove that all roads lead to Albini...

http://www.electrical.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2166

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Post by pwrb » Sat Nov 17, 2007 6:29 pm

Steve's post is pretty funny... "...taken sufficient care all these years..."

Anyway, Chris, I am so with you on "Wreck..." and Gord in general. Always loved the sound of the tom fills smattering plate reverb on "Wreck..." And the arpeggiated synth that comes in very briefly is somehow spine-tingling.

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Post by cgarges » Sat Nov 17, 2007 9:04 pm

pwrb wrote:Steve's post is pretty funny... "...taken sufficient care all these years..."
Yeah, that cracked me up.
pwrb wrote:Always loved the sound of the tom fills smattering plate reverb on "Wreck..."


Oh, and a pre-delay that almost rivals "Emminence front." Again, balls.
pwrb wrote:And the arpeggiated synth that comes in very briefly is somehow spine-tingling.
Totally.

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Post by vvv » Sat Nov 17, 2007 9:34 pm

Sumone in the Electrical thread said, "I always hoped that Will Oldham would have covered the wreck of the edmund fitzgerald." 8)
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Post by cgarges » Mon Nov 09, 2009 8:46 pm

Well, it's that time of year again, folks. Had to bump.

I actually recorded a full-band tracking session of some guys doing this tune a couple months ago. I told them they were treading on hallowed ground with me, but it came out alright. The pedal steel player (Bob Barone), who is one of my favorite guys to have on sessions, brought a couple of pictures of the ship to put up around the studio for inspiration. Gotta love that dude.

I also got to see Gordo earlier this year. He's hurtin' these days, but when you consider that the dude almost died twice, was in a coma for weeks, and has had a trachiotomy, it was pretty great to see him. The sound was awful at the venue, but the band was good. Same band he's had for years.

Anyone else love this song?

Chris Garges
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Last edited by cgarges on Tue Nov 09, 2010 10:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Aj » Mon Nov 09, 2009 11:35 pm

"Fitzgerald" might be the first single I ever bought. I can't remember if it was that one, or "Bohemian Rhapsody". Definitely one of those two. I was 7-8 years old, growing up in Michigan in the mid-'70s, when the Lightfoot song came out. It was the talk of the playground at Leonard Elementary, believe me. Such a captivating, chilling tale. A real boy's tale.

When I was a teenager, I went to Mariners' Church of Detroit and saw Rob Tyner (ex-MC5) do an intense late night poetry reading. I was at least as moved by being in the Fitzgerald Church as I was seeing Tyner, who of course made a strong impression on my young teen head.

This past summer, I took my 7 year old boy up to Whitefish Bay in the U.P. We stayed at a little cabin in Paradise, just down the road from Whitefish Point. Next day, we went to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum on the shores of the Point. They've got several recovered artifacts from the Fitzgerald wreck there, along with a mesmerizing exhibit about all the many, many shipwrecks (200+!) that have occurred during the "gales" on Lake Superior (which is really a giant freshwater sea - if you've never seen it, go... it's massive; a pretty much unforgettable place).

At the center of the exhibit is the Fitzgerald's ship bell. Divers recovered it to bring to the museum's memorial - there's an excellent documentary you can watch which covers the really emotional process of finding and retrieving that bell. And all throughout the exhibit, they play "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" on infinite repeat. Somehow it never gets old! cgarges, you'd love it.

The Ojibway (pronounced Chippewa) had all sorts of water gods and spirits, and they probably would have said that Mishebeshu, the most evil of water monsters, pulled the Edmund Fitzgerald under and wouldn't let go. The last night in Paradise, my kids and I went up to the beach at Eastern Whitefish Point and watched the sunset. It was spectacular, something I recommend seeing at least once in your life.

I wouldn't describe myself as a "big fan" of Lightfoot, or even his song about the shipwreck (which I do like very much, but who doesn't?), and I'm not native American. But I guess growing up in Michigan, surrounded by all the freshwater, the whole thing gets under your skin and then gets in your bones. I never really thought about it before.

Thanks for reviving this thread Chris!

Aj
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A.David.MacKinnon
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Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Tue Nov 10, 2009 6:52 am

JASIII wrote:It's kind of amazing, the power that song holds. Ive seen guys get up and do it at open mics and the place will get real quiet, people who were talking and drinking and not paying attention suddenly perk up. Either that or people go nuts and sing along. Either way, there's a certain respectful reverence that is attached to that song.

I hope Gordon Lightfoot has recovered from his health problems of a couple years ago.
He must be on the mend. He just announced a Canadian tour ending with his annual run of shows at Massey Hall in Toronto.

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