mm Canadian music's favourite institution mounts a fresh assault By JAMES MARCK ballads, and the always popular participate m the "tribute" trend nothing to lose, you're still going to have your crowd after the duet s one Of this ' topical song" in this case a tune that has seen Joni Mitchell, Neil "But we re better just to stay away MMMf) s most called Drink Yer Glasses Empty, Young, Bob Dylan, ct al., be feted when • where on record by various artists cover• from that. I've been approached by famous and re• about soldiers getting ready for the OOCOON LWHTFOOT at Massey ing their tunes. Surely a Lightfoot quite a few people and I'm not try spected artists. Gulf war. Hall (178 Victoria) tonight (Thursday. tribute album would be an interest ing to be arrogant or anything, but Gordon Light- March 11) to Saturday (March 13) and Lightloot's voice is as gixxl as mg aggregation of interpretations? there are loo many complications." toot itayi nus March 18 to 20 at 8 pm Tickets e\ ei. belter even than ilk- days when S23 50-$29 50 870-8000 LightfixM s greatest pride is in his terioust) dis true aficionados swore they could "Well," he says, "the CBC tried to A hear the toll that drink and hard liv• do a tribute about me and 1 w ouldn'songwrtlint g and il is to his songs tant from his ami 1 together. We had hall a base ing were taking on him. have anything to do with it. We that his audience remains ever-re• loyal tans ment lull of unwanted product ami Lightloot's drinking days are far didn't have lime, the band or the of• sponsive. They come to hear the One might imagine him hroodmg w e didn't know how to get rid of it behind him now. He doesn't associ• fice — we're a going concern." classics like In The Early Morning away in his forbidding Rosedale ami w e had to break it up in order to And what if a bunch of haiuls k.un. Canadian Railroad Trilogy, mansion, the eccentric millionaire, dispose of it. It was practical. 1 ate with his old bar buddies and w anted to get together and do a trib•Alberta Bound. Sundown and his spending his time muttering to him- guess people at that time thought I limits his drugs to coffee md the ute album? l ightfoot pauses and prettiest ballad. Beautiful — in icll iboui Ins critici and his declin• did it in anger or something, but it odd cigarette. He explains what seems slightly uncomfortable. "I'd short, (iord's gold. And Lightfoot is ing record sales. Alter all, he comes wasn't like that at all." prompted the change. think I'd rather they wouldn't do mindful of their needs, both as a out j>nly once a year to put on a "My sister was working lor me at Throughout his career, it's obvi• that 1 don't like surprise parties. performer and as a pragmatist. happy lace tor his Masses Hall the time and she told me around ous that Lightfoot has Any one can record a song shows "Our record activity has been a lit done a number of things of mine, but..,," tie bit off for the past several J e,ii S," But in fact, Lighllooi lives in a simpl) because he can. he admits. "And we're hoping large, but merely comfortable Certainly people have But he isn't motivated b\ some of that w ill change, but most house, cluttered with the usual ac• hear Early done. Just recently, L.A.- pettiness, of ihe people come to the show s by coutrements of family life and the baaed punk rockers He's a perfectionist. word of mouthl which is fine. to) s ol his tour year-old son Miles. Clawhammer came out When his 1986 album. Morning Rain done with a radical version of "We play as many days as the pro He is i learl> well-off. hut there is East Of Midnight (whose Sundown, locals the moter thinks we can handle and no sign of unusual extravagance. single. Anything For with flugeihorns Rheostatict did The that's about equal to a couple of He is hospitable to visitors, but I ove, was co written and Wreck Of The Edmund Maple Leaf Gardens show s or one likes to manage his time efficiently, coproduced by the grand Fitzgerald on their Mel• at a major American stadium. But He has, alter all. a business to run makes me feel old man of Canadian ex• ville disc and Texas singer this way is a lot more fun. " — the Gordon Lightfoot business cess. David Foster), failed Nanci Griffith just cm Lightfoot's career is certainly And he leaves no doubt as to w ho to perform as hoped. good. 1 heard that ered Ten Degrees And being carried by his body of work is the CEO. If there is any one ec Lightfoot announced he Getting Colder on her new — the "old stuff," Still he claims centricily Lightfool possesses, it is was through with record in an elevator once LP. Other Voices/Other not to feel pressured by the standard his passion lor control — of every• ing. Rooms. he has established for himself. thing Irom his image and his pnxl- Now he's working on a and I was proud.ff uct to how it's presented These latecomers aside, Whether or not his new record new batch of SOtlgS sched will win him new fans, ihe faithful One archetypal story tells of Lightfoot s hits have been uled lor release in April will always be with him, Lightfoot, upon learning of an un• a staple of instrumental entitled Waiting For You. specialists for years. He is "Anything that will sustain the authorized and poorly produced Why the change of heart .' Well, il about 1980 that the booze w as start compilation of his hits, buying up ing to get to me. Then the record one of the most-covered songwrit• duration of the career. I'd like to be seems that the restless urge to write ers going. playing in the year 2000 and 1 all the copies he could find and fu- prompted songs that he felt were company got to know about it. The noii ly taking an axe to them. iievi time I went down there (to Still, one can't help wonder how should be capable of doing that pro• good enough to carry the Lightfoot vided the health holds out. That's As with any old tale, the details brand. Warner Brothers Records in Bur he feels in supermarkets and restau• bank I they had a chat with me and rants about hearing Pussywillows, the one thing we all have that s very have become unclear. But Light• valuable." • foot doesn't deny it happened. asked me to go and get some help. Cattails or Softly being done by Responsible position some anonymous string ensemble. "That story." he says w ith a smile, "Through Larry Green, who was SELECTED the promotions man at Warner "originated with my former man• "When you're in the position of Brothers here, they found me a doc• Better coffee ager Alexander Mair (now presi• having the responsibility of a new DISCOGRAPHY tor in Toronto and I went to see him dent ot Attic Records) and was pub• marriage and a new child," he of• "Do you mean does it make my and he made me stop drinking. It lished in Maclean's magazine. First fers, "what 1 found w as that the only coffee taste any belter '" he asks was stop or else. It was the career or Of all. it wasn't just me, it was he time 1 could work was to get up at with a snort of laughter. "No, I just else and thecareer is as importanl to three in the morning and work for listen to it, 1 do hear them when me as life itself. [NlERIfllNhENI five hours because it was the only they're being played and some of time there was any real peace and "So I did it in order to survive. them stand out. Like, to hear Early quiet around the house, And you can see what happened. 1 Morning Rain done with flugei• • 1993 (April release) Wolfing remarried. I have a child and a INDEX "I started to gel results. I almost horns kind of makes me feel good. 1 For You (Reprise) whole new life." actually heard that in an elevator • 1988 Gord s Gold Volume II got into a method. I did that proba• (Warner) ART 74 bly 50 limes. You gotta gel on a roll, Lightfool is what one might call a once and it was good. 1 was proud." "foxy grandpa." someone who • 1986 East Of Midnight BOOKS 75 and I got a roll started. The first But the man who is so sensitive (Warner) thing 1 did was collect all the song likes to tease the kids with tall tales about his songs still stands firm on COMEDY 73 and half truths, just to keep them • 1980 Dream Street Rose ideas I had thought of and get them the issue of collaboration. Nanci (Warner) DANCE 71 on cassette so 1 could pick out the guessing. He can also be disarm- Griffith, for one, has expressed an • 1976 Summertime Dream (Re• very best ones." ingly direct, but when the mood interest in doing a duet with Light• prise) FASHION 76 strikes him, he veers off whither he Punching up snatches of his new foot, He says no dice.