Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

Canadian pop has clearly come of age. Gone are the days when Canadian musicians had to leave the country to achieve success. Today, our finest, homegrown artists stand shoulder to shoulder with the best in the world, and their records regularly top the international charts. In the 1970s and '80s, Quebec produced several homegrown stars with exceptional voices. Gino Vannelli, a robust singer with a dynamic stage presence, won an ardent following--especially among women. Two other Montreal vocalists scored major breakthroughs: Luba, with her lush, gospel-inflected style, and Corey Hart, with his defiant stance and infamous pout. The late '70s and early '80s saw the rise of Canrock, a genre of ...

In his illuminating memoir, also called Rumours of Glory, Bruce Cockburn writes: “My songs are influenced by what I read, where I travel and what I witness.” He adds: They’re not just about spirituality or “war, injustice and exploitation,” but “derive from life itself.” If life is his inspiration, then Cockburn’s has certainly been rich, judging by the 130 songs in this box set. Written over nearly 50 years, with the earliest recording being 1966’s “Bird Without Wings,” they range from spiritual quests and romantic ballads to prickly protests and engaging travelogues drawn from first-hand experiences on five continents. Together, they form an enlightening audio companion to the memoir. It’s...

It’s not surprising that Gordon Lightfoot’s latest album—the 20th of a long and illustrious career—is also his most reflective. After all, Lightfoot has looked death squarely in the eye, having fought his way back from an abdominal hemorrhage in September 2002 that very nearly killed him. Nothing like a brush with the Grim Reaper to put things in perspective. The songs gathered here revisit many of the themes familiar to fans of Lightfoot’s best work: travel, nature, loneliness and love in all of its many forms. The eerie “Flying Blind” places a northern pilot in peril as he tries to land amid oil rigs, ice caps and polar bears. The stirring “River of Light” conjures up bucolic visions of mi...