Gord's Gold

Gord's Gold is a compilation album released by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot in 1975. Originally a vinyl double album, it was reissued on CD in 1987 (with one track, "Affair on 8th Avenue", omitted to allow the collection to fit onto a single disc). However, the track is included for digital downloads.

Gord's Gold
CD cover. The vinyl issue does not include the headline.
Greatest hits album by
Gordon Lightfoot
ReleasedNovember 1975
RecordedSeptember 1969-July 1975, various studios
GenreFolk, Folk rock, Country folk
Length73:43
LabelReprise
ProducerLenny Waronker & Joe Wissert
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

The first Lightfoot compilation to feature music from his 1970s Reprise Records albums, Gord's Gold also includes re-recorded versions of several songs from his 1960s United Artists output (Sides 1 and 2). This served to update the earlier songs to the same style as his later work and gives the album a level of consistency often lacking in similar compilations. Lightfoot's reasons for re-recording the United Artists tracks were explained in the liner notes as being because "he doesn't like listening to his early work".

Despite covering only the first decade of his career (and lacking one of his biggest hit singles, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", which was recorded at the end of the year), Gord's Gold has remained the most commercially popular Lightfoot compilation. Of note, a stereo mix of the mono DJ 45 of “If You Could Read My Mind” appears here. In 1988 Lightfoot released a second volume, Gord's Gold, Vol. 2, which also featured re-recordings of earlier hits.

Track listing

All tracks written by Gordon Lightfoot; all tracks produced by Lenny Waronker, except where noted.

Side 1
No.TitleOriginal album of original versionLength
1."I'm Not Sayin'/Ribbon of Darkness" (re-recording)Lightfoot!, 1966 (Both songs)3:06
2."Song for a Winter's Night" (re-recording)The Way I Feel, 19673:02
3."Canadian Railroad Trilogy" (re-recording)The Way I Feel7:05
4."Softly" (re-recording)The Way I Feel2:39
5."For Lovin' Me/Did She Mention My Name" (re-recording)Lightfoot! / Did She Mention My Name?, 19683:29
Side 2
No.TitleOriginal album of original versionLength
1."Affair on 8th Avenue" (re-recording)Back Here on Earth, 19683:45
2."Steel Rail Blues" (re-recording)Lightfoot!2:49
3."Wherefore and Why" (re-recording)Did She Mention My Name?2:48
4."Bitter Green" (re-recording)Back Here on Earth2:46
5."Early Morning Rain" (re-recording)Lightfoot!3:18
Side 3
No.TitleOriginal albumLength
1."Minstrel of the Dawn" (Waronker and Joe Wissert)Sit Down Young Stranger, 19703:27
2."Sundown"Sundown, 19743:36
3."Beautiful"Don Quixote, 19723:32
4."Summer Side of Life" (Wissert)Summer Side of Life, 19714:05
5."Rainy Day People"Cold on the Shoulder, 19752:49
6."Cotton Jenny" (Wissert)Summer Side of Life3:26
Side 4
No.TitleOriginal albumLength
1."Don Quixote"Don Quixote3:40
2."Circle of Steel"Sundown2:48
3."Old Dan's Records"Old Dan's Records, 19723:05
4."If You Could Read My Mind" (Waronker and Wissert)Sit Down Young Stranger3:49
5."Cold on the Shoulder"Cold on the Shoulder3:01
6."Carefree Highway"Sundown3:41

Notes

  • "Affair on 8th Avenue" is excluded in the CD release but is included with the digital download.

Personnel
  • Guitar: Gordon Lightfoot, Red Shea, Terry Clements
  • Bass: Rick Haynes, John Stockfish
  • Steel Guitar: Pee Wee Charles (aka Ed Ringwald)
  • Drums: Jim Gordon, Barry Keane
  • String arrangements: Nick DeCaro and Lee Holdridge

Charts
Chart performance for Gord's Gold
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[2] 6

Notes
  1. https://www.allmusic.com/album/r96598
  2. "Gordon Lightfoot Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
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