Gordon Lightfoot: Cold On The Shoulder CD Track Listing

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Gordon Lightfoot Cold On The Shoulder (1975)
1994 Reprise Records, Inc. / Warner Archives\n\nOriginally Released 1975\nCD Edition Released June 28, 1994\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: Once you find a formula that works, why not try it again? That is just what Gordon Lightfoot does on Cold on the Shoulder. He doesn't vary from his success of the Sundown album by much, although some of these new tunes are a little more upbeat. Highlights include the hit "Rainy Day People" and the title track. Not another watermark, as it's sort of a holding pattern, but nothing bad about it either. -- James Chrispell\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nMediocre At Best, December 8, 2005 \nBy Kurt Harding "bon vivant" (Boerne TX)\nSomehow I missed this one when it was issued and maybe there is a reason I did. I have been a Gordon Lightfoot aficionado for nearly 37 years and during that time I have heard most of what he has done, but I never stumbled across Cold On the Shoulder when digging through the bins at favorite record stores. Oh, I'd heard Rainy Day People, but it never occurred to me to seek out the album it must have come from. \nRecently, I looked at the listings here on amazon to see if there was anything new from Lightfoot I'd been missing. That's when I discovered Cold On the Shoulder and a couple of other albums I'd missed. So after perusing the reviews, I ordered a couple of them. \nWell, to each his own, but with all the great albums Gordon Lightfoot has made, I don't see how anyone could consider Cold On the Shoulder to be one of his finest. Its not a bad album and certainly not his worst album, but it comes no where near the lyrical genius of such masterpieces as Don Quixote, Summertime Dream, Summer Side of Life, or even his earliest work! I do think it is better than some of Lightfoot's glaringly commercial work, but beyond that Cold On the Shoulder is mediocre at best. \nOn this CD as on most Lightfoot CDs, the vocals and musicianship are flawless. What detracts for the most part are the lyrics and even the melodies. They just are not up to his usual standards. Even the liner notes are flimsy and substandard. \nStill, there is something to like here even for the most discriminating fan. I like Rainy Day People, the title cut, All the Lovely Ladies, and the trademark story song that redeems the album, Cherokee Bend. \nCold On the Shoulder will appeal most to Lightfoot completeists and to his staunchest fans. If you are new to the music of Gordon Lightfoot I would recommend that you start with one of the albums I mentioned earlier in the review in place of this. That way, you'll know in advance the greatness he is capable of. \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nChallenging--but well worth the effort, June 18, 2002 \nBy A Customer\n\nWhen you first glance at the credits of Cold on the Shoulder, it would be easy to think Gordon Lightfoot decided to simply repeat the formula of his previous album Sundown (which was a sizeable commercial success). The same musicians appear: Lightfoot on rhythm 12 and 6 string guitars (as well as a bit of piano); Red Shea and Terry Clements on lead guitars; John Stockfish and Rick Haynes sharing the bass duties; and Jim Gordon on drums. Lenny Waronker, once again, is the producer. The only change of any significance is the addition of Pee Wee Charles on pedal steel guitar, who would remain with the regular touring band through the mid 1980s.\nBut Cold on the Shoulder is no mere rehash of Sundown. Whereas Sundown's overall motif was restlessness and movement, Cold on the Shoulder is a much more introspective album. The underlying motif of Cold on the Shoulder is essentially "on the outside looking in"--even the cover reflects that concept.\n\nThat isn't to say it's a depressing album--it opens and closes with two very fun, upbeat songs ("Bend in the Water," and "Slide on Over"). However, there is a certain amount of sadness, of melancholy which touches many of the songs here--perhaps this is why Lightfoot has been quoted as saying the album is "a little uptight."\n\nThere are some beautiful songs to be found here: "Rainy Day People," "As Fine as Fine Can Be," and the underrated "A Tree Too Weak to Stand," as well as one of his best "story-songs" ("Cherokee Bend"). For anyone who has ever experienced those first pangs of disquiet in a relationship, you'll rarely hear those feelings expressed any better as they are in "Now and Then." The album also includes what is arguably the very best of what I call the "observational" songs--"All the Lovely Ladies."\n\nThe album is beautifully produced, and the musicianship--as ever--is top notch. This may not be the most accessible of Lightfoot albums: it's definitely not the one to put on if you're in a down mood. That being said, Cold on the Shoulder nevertheless deserves your attention. It is the work of an astonishingly gifted writer, a mature, world-wise artist, who has chosen life--with all of its inherent ups, downs, triumphs, tragedies, laughter, sadness--as his canvas on which to paint. Cold on the Shoulder is one of Lightfoot's overlooked gems. \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nCold on the Shoulder, December 9, 2000 \nBy A Customer\n\nI was 15-years-old when I received this album for a birthday present. I had liked Gordon Lightfoot because of my older brother's keen sense of great music - folk and rock and everything in between - since "If You Could Read My Mind was popular in '70 or '71. But my brother got older, more rebellious and distant from me and we didn't have much in common anymore. However, this album, CD, still reminds me how glad I am that my brother instilled an appreciation of an excellent songwriter, guitarist and folk singer. Cold on the Shoulder is probably Lightfoot's best collection of songs he ever produced - "Fine as Fine Can Be," "Rainbow Trout" and "Rainy Day People" stand out. A couple songs are somewhat rock-a-billy, not near as good as his ballads. Overall, this album still brings a smile to my face, and now that I've rediscovered it on CD, and fond memories to my mind. \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nAnother Of The Terrific Gordon Lightfoot Abums of the 70s!, August 28, 2000 \nBy Barron Laycock "Labradorman" (Temple, New Hampshire United States)\nThis is one of Lightfoot's best and most popular albums, produced when he was at the height of his incredible popularity in the mid 1970s. For a while Lightfoot, like his fellow troubadours James Taylor, John Denver, and Van Morrison, could seemingly do nothing wrong. In fact, over a fifteen period, Gordon Lightfoot produced so many superior albums populated by such uniformly outstanding songs that we've become inured to the fact that he is such a singular, talented and singular talent. Every single song on this album is extremely well written, sung and arranged, from the opening "Bend In The Water" to the very popular hit "Rainy Day People", which saw a lot of air-time, as did the title song, "Cold On The Shoulder". Yet this isn't just an album put out with filler surrounding a couple of hit songs. None of Lightfoot's albums is anything but an eclectic but lovely collection of very memorable and quite accomplished songs. My personal favorites here are "Rainbow Trout", "A Tree Too Weak To Stand', and "All The Lovely Ladies". I also like "As Fine As Fine Can Be" and have to admit there isn't a single pooch in the passel of songs offered here, and all written by Lightfoot himself. The truth of the matter is that Gordon Lightfoot is an incredibly talented singer/songwriter who has already left us a dozen or so terrific albums for our continuing entertainment and edification. This is certainly one of the best of them. Enjoy \n\n\nHalf.com Details \nProducer: Lenny Waronker \n\nAlbum Notes\nPersonnel: Gordon Lightfoot, Red Shea, Rick Haynes, Terry Clements, John Stockfish, Jim Gordon, Pee Wee Charles.\n\n\nROLLING STONE REVIEW\nFor a decade now, Gordon Lightfoot has been a neo-folk hero in Canada. His early records and performances were distinguished by a rugged romanticism that charmed Canadian ears. But aside from Peter, Paul and Mary's cover of one of his best songs, "That's What You Get for Loving Me," Lightfoot remained obscure in the United States until Warner Bros. ace producer Lenny Waronker sophisticated his sound.\n\nOn Cold on the Shoulder, the fifth Lightfoot/Waronker collaboration (with time out for a Nashville album with Joe Wissert) all the standard components are present: The strings and/or steel guitars are genteelly laid over the strumming of Lightfoot's 12-string guitar; the rhythm section churns lightly underneath while the singer pours his winter-brandy voice through original songs depicting an ever lonely, ever rambling rustic. Waronker thus retains Lightfoot's folksy base while refining his surroundings to the point where the singer is actually working in the same acoustic pop idiom as the seemingly slicker John Denver.\n\nBut really, there's not much more going on here than on Denver's records. Lightfoot's a craftsman, not an artist, and he works within rather narrow confines at that. Eloquence is rare for him and conviction is more a suggestion of his vocal mannerism than anything substantive. Throughout Cold on the Shoulder, and his Warner Bros. albums in general, Lightfoot comes up short in dramatic impact. On Cold on the Shoulder we're left with music of homogeneously rounded monotony, without even a likely change of pace (like the appealing "Sundown" and "Carefree Highway" from his last album, Sundown) until the very last track, the lusty "Slide on Over." On this track, finally, Lightfoot seems to have his eyes open, and he sings with his mind as well as his larynx and nose.\n\nDespite the opinion of some longtime Lightfoot buffs, no corruption of natural talent has taken place here or on Lightfoot's previous Waronker-produced albums. Aesthetically, you can't fault the producer for his city tailoring of the rural Lightfoot sound--dull, pleasant pop is still preferable to dull, austere pseudofolk music. (RS 186 -- May 8, 1975) -- BUD SCOPPA
This folk cd contains 12 tracks and runs 43min 40sec.
Freedb: 950a3a0c

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