I’ve had a very positive
week so far. I’ve been enjoying my work, and I’m
only a week away from a much-anticipated holiday. I’m just back from an enjoyable guitar lesson
and I’ve got music in my heart. Well
that last part is always true, but sometimes it is closer to the surface than
others.
Disc 516 is…. Dream Street Rose
Artist: Gordon
Lightfoot
Year of Release: 1980
What’s up with the Cover? Gord keeps it simple with a ‘here I am singin’ my songs’ shot.
Unfortunately, the low resolution and black and white look to the cover
make it seem like it is one of those where I lost the booklet and have replaced
it with a photocopy. I can assure you
this is the original, mediocre as it is.
How I Came To Know It: As I’ve mentioned previously, I’ve known Gordon
Lightfoot since I was a kid. I found a
tape of “Dream Street Rose” in the bargain bin at A&B sound over twenty
years ago – I think it was $3.95 or something like that. I bought it because it was cheap and because
I didn’t recognize any of the songs from my “Gord’s Gold” greatest hits
package, so it would be new material for me.
How It Stacks Up: I have eleven of Gordon Lightfoot’s studio albums. “Dream
Street Rose” is not the strongest, but it holds up OK. I’ll put it eighth or ninth.
Rating: 3 stars.
“Dream
Street Rose” is the last of Gord’s “pre-mumble” albums. It is not considered a classic, but it does
show that artists can still bang out quality records many years into their
career if they put their shoulder to the wheel.
In the
case of “Dream Street Rose” the wheel is likely to be part of a ship’s helm,
with Lightfoot continuing his long fascination with nautical themes. I’m a sucker for nautical themed folk music,
so this is fine with me. The album’s best
example is “Ghosts of Cape Horn”
which starts with a catchy melody, whistled over some gentle guitar
picking. Lightfoot immortalizes the
thousands of sailors that have died mostly nameless deaths braving Cape Horn
around the southern tip of South America:
“Come all you old sea dogs from
Devon
Southampton, Penzance and Kinsale
You were caught by the chance
Of a sailor’s last dance
It was not meant to be
And you read all your letters
From oceans away
Then you took them to the bottom
Of the sea”
I once
met someone who had navigated around Cape Horn without power (i.e. sailed), not
once, but twice. He was the living
embodiment of a salty sea dog, leathery with deep creases in his face full of
salt. He looked tough as nails but as “Ghosts of Cape Horn” underscores, even
your best effort might not save you if you hit a bad patch of weather going
around the Cape. I like that Gord pays
homage to these unfortunates even as he imagines them doomed to haunt the
wrecks:
“See them all in sad repair
Demons dance everywhere
Southern gales, tattered sails
And none to tell the tale.”
Except
you Gord, - you told their tale. Maybe
that will give them a modicum of respite from their weary haunting as a result.
On “Sea of Tranquility” Lightfoot sings
about sailing from midnight ‘til noon, but you wouldn’t be sailing on that
particular sea without a space suit. Instead,
Gord sings about the various ways to enjoy the natural world here on the earth
by the light of the moon, which is both safer and more economical. Maybe one day I’ll be able to visit the
actual Sea of Tranquility if I live long enough. If so, I’ll remember to pack the song to appreciate
the experience.
While
the album has its share of whimsical folk music, it is heavily influenced by
country music as well, with typical songs of love and heartache. This far into his career, Lightfoot
constructs a beautiful song in what seems like an effortless fashion. “Dream
Street Rose” has a strong country music component, and while it is a simple
love song, it is also a deeply optimistic one.
Sometimes your partner is temporarily away, and that just means you appreciate
them all the more when they return. The
guitar work (Terry Clements on lead) is amazing as well, and rivals anything on
Lightfoot’s more well-known records. I’d
love to be able to play a simple melody this beautifully one day.
“Whisper My Name” is less upbeat, and
while it references plenty of wooing, it is with an expectation that love is
ephemeral. Sometimes all we’re left of
relationships are the whispered names of those who’ve drifted out of our lives
along the way. Musically the song
captures both the sadness and triumph of these old relationships as well. not every love affair ends with the permanent
romance of “Dream Street Rose” but
that doesn’t mean they weren’t worthwhile in their way.
I know
this album really well (for years it was one of my only Gordon Lightfoot albums
other than Gord’s Gold) but I have to admit it is uneven in quality. If it were on vinyl, side one would be considered
great, but side two merely average.
Owning this originally on tape this was particularly annoying because it
led to fast forwarding large sections (not on the CD Odyssey though – Rule #3:
a full listen, monkey!)
Ideally on a tape if it can’t be all good, you want the first half of
side one and the second half of side two great.
That way you can just keep flipping it mid-way through.
Over the
years I’ve just let it play through though, and as a result I’ve gotten to know
the other songs and their subtleties have grown on me. I think this record is a solid three star
effort, and although not where I would point newcomers to Gord, I’d have no
problem recommending it for someone well into his catalogue already.
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