East Of Midnightwaiting For You / Painter Passing Through

The CDs are okay, no real scratches, which is good, but the case is cracked on the front, on the back, AND on the inside! For the full price I paid. you would think the case would be in better shape than what I received.I think it should have been less than the price I paid. Or the listing should have mentioned the cracks.

In a time when so many reissue CDs include only the disc and a single flimsy piece of paper with the track listing, this release is a welcome exception. Smartly packaged, it Includes credits for all the various musicians and production people, as well as extensive biographical information on Gordon Lightfoot's career. Excellent all the way around!

What did I like? Everything!!

Excellent! A must for GL fans.

I always thought the first cd was overengineered, too smooth.The other two are like other Lightfoot cd's; folky.

Listening pleasure

This second 2 CD volume on this label contains his last three albums for Warner Brothers, his 1985 recorded album East Of Midnight, and both of his nineties albums, again with extensive booklet. The sound quality here, I found was much better than on previous issues of these albums. By then, he was making more use of Synthesizers which by the mid eighties was the fashionable sound, although he was still not fitting into any particular trend. His music by then was a comfortable mix of Folk, Country and soft Rock, all in his unique blend. East Of Midnight I found was one of his best later albums with not a duff track. By the time he released his next album, Waiting For You in 1992, he was still continuing to be himself, making no attempt whatsoever to change with the times, as by then the whole world had been completely polluted, and the music world had gone completely dead, with music having been killed off by complete non-musical trends such as (K)rap, Hip-Hop & Acid House. By then, Gordon Lightfoot was about the only continuing talented artist still making good music, apart from Dire Straits maybe. Still his songs seemed very magical with not a duff track here either. But this turned out to be the last album while he still had his full distinctive voice, although already, there was an odd hint here and there that he was on the verge of losing his voice a little. But sadly, by the time he released his next album, about five years later, the last one here, he had lost his voice a bit, but don't they all (not to mention Johnny Cash). That distinctive lower register in his voice was no longer there, which was a great pity as he was continuing to turn out top quality material. It was just that he still sang correct all the time. Musically, he was still thankfully continuing to be himself, as by then, music had otherwise completely finished. The only track here that I found not to be as good was the last track, as I found that the song was rather weak, and the persistent use of the harmonica, I found irritating. By the time he released one more album in 2004, his voice had gone even more which may be the reason he has not made another album since, although I believe he still tours occasionally. But it seems incredible that he was still making good music from the early nineties onward, when by then, there was nothing else around to speak of. He had a serious illness in 2003. I hope he is still in the best of health.

If you like Gordon Lightfoot you will like this. There are several stand out tracks and the rest are okay.