Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

Sir Elton John was not yet a star—or a knight—when he played a week-long stint in 1970 at the Troubadour club in West Hollywood. Sitting in the audience one night, with his long silver hair and glasses, was Leon Russell, an American singer-pianist whose star was already rising, having written major hits for Joe Cocker and The Carpenters. John later met Russell and they toured together, a great thrill for the English musician, who regarded his American counterpart as a musical idol. As fate would have it, the Rocket Man’s career soared, while Russell’s crash landed. Now Elton is injecting some jet fuel into his hero’s career, by collaborating with him on The Union. John hopes the recording, w...

A man and his guitar. Canada’s iconic rocker has been proving the power of that simple combination for half a century. Young’s latest is a testament to just how much feeling, meaning and, yes, noise he can draw from his instrument. Recorded without percussion, keyboards or strings (but with plenty of sonic effects from producer and fellow Canadian Daniel Lanois), the album’s standout tracks range from the raw “Walk with Me” and the ornery “Angry World” to the gorgeous, Spanish-tinged confessional “Love and War.”

The Flannel-Shirted One, a soul singer? Backed by Booker T & the MGs, you might think Neil has such pretensions. It’s a bad idea, an oil-and-water solution in which Neil’s squeaky, croaky falsetto never blends with the band’s tight rhythmic groove. Nor are the songs, including  “Let’s Roll,” Neil’s homage to the fighting spirit of Todd Beamer, the doomed hero of Flight 93, anything to write home to Winnipeg about.  But, like Dylan, the man’s entitled to the occasional dud.

A long-haired figure sat alone onstage in a plaid shirt, blue jeans and construction boots. With just an acoustic guitar and, occasionally, a piano, he sang 18 songs—many of them brand new—to an adoring, sold-out audience. There was magic in the air. When Neil Young played Massey Hall on January 19, 1971, it was a triumphant homecoming for the Toronto-born troubadour, who’d left five years earlier to find fame in California. The concert proved to be a watershed event, forever sealing Young’s reputation as a formidable artist and a national icon. Last year, Luminato celebrated Canada’s best songsmiths, including Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen and Gordon Lightfoot. This year, the arts festival i...