Gordon Lightfoot - Complete Greatest Hits (2002)

The most comprehensive single CD collection by this treasured troubadour. These 1965 1987 United Artists, Reprise and Warner Bros. tracks include his Top 10 hits Sundown; If You Could Read My Mind; The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald; Carefree Highway , and 14 more!

Though he rose from the ranks of journeyman '60s folksinger to become a potent and consistent '70s hit maker, Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot's stock in trade was as much hard-eyed, dispassionate observation as romance or poetic whimsy. Perhaps that's why his songs have been covered by everyone from Elvis (this set's "Early Morning Rain") to Dylan. If there's such a thing as an alpha-male folkie, Lightfoot certainly fits the bill. Spanning the tongue-in-cheek chauvinism of 1965's "For Lovin' Me" and the cheatin' ways of "Sundown" to more introspective fare like "If You Could Read My Mind" and "Beautiful," this 20-track collection presents a concise primer on Lightfoot's career and craft. After his career peaked with one of the most unlikely top five hits ever, the gloom-laden 1976 narrative "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," Lightfoot's production tailed off sharply, though this anthology's "Stay Loose" ('86) and "Restless" ('93) are testament to his enduring skills as a songwriter and performer. --Jerry McCulley

1. Early Morning Rain - 3:07
2. For Lovin' Me - 2:27
3. Go-Go Round - 2:40
4. Canadian Railroad Trilogy - 6:22
5. Pussywillows, Cat-Tails - 2:50
6. Bitter Green - 2:44
7. If You Could Read My Mind - 3:50
8. Summer Side Of Life - 4:05
9. Cotton Jenny - 3:26
10. Beautiful - 3:24
11. Sundown - 3:40
12. Carefree Highway - 3:43
13. Rainy Day People - 2:49
14. The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald - 6:29
15. Race Among The Ruins - 3:20
16. Daylight Katy - 4:19
17. The Circle Is Small - 3:59
18. Baby Step Back - 3:56
19. Stay Loose - 3:55
20. Restless - 3:36