Gordon Lightfoot is an establishment in Canada. With 19 studio albums and truly incredibly songwriting it is not hard to see why Lightfoot is so often brought up when Canadian music is discussed. I never really paid attention to his music until more recently and the more I listen the more I have to ask why. Lightfoot writes amazing lyrics. Painting pictures and telling stories as well as any folk musician could dream of. I think there are few artists who could put out the sheer volume of work that Lightfoot has. Even less could have that work be generally fantastic.

So there is a lot of material to choose from, but none of them are this album. Sundown, the title track, is by far Lightfoot's biggest hit. At the writing of this it has over 78 million plays on Spotify. It is a dark toned song about love, but it isn't the wholesome or healty kind of relationship. That echoes a little through the whole album. Carefree Highway has a lover that seems to just up and vanish. Fated not to be a lasting relationship. Somewhere U.S.A. has a sombre and romantic tone. But, I can't pin down if it is a positive romance or some sort of last ditch effort at love. They are all accompanied by steady rhythm from Lightfoots guitar. Don't let the shakers or percussion fool you; these are certainly still guitar driven folk songs. You will even catch 12-string guitar in the mix, something I personally consider to be a signifier that its gonna be good folk. The appearance of electric guitar on this album also marks a start to a changing sound for Lightfoot. It comes in for some little accents here and there. Like many folk songs these are not necessarily happy or sad. They just feel a little bit of life. This is one of Lightfoots best performing albums and I would attribute that to it being a masterclass in folk-country.

It's a challenge for me to write about this album. I'll admit that. One of its best qualities is that I almost 'fade' into the music when I listen to it. Such that I find it hard to actually think about it and consider it. But, when you do you will see such intriguing stories. You will hear the sound of a guitar that just wants to set the scene. You will hear the distinct sound of Gordon Lightfoot singing about life and love. It is so much better than I could ever convey in words and I hope you will give it a listen. While you are at it; take a trip through Lightfoot's top tracks and albums. You won't regret it.