Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

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...