The DVD contains 22 songs, almost the entire concert. Lightfoot performs all of his hits - songs that charted in the top 40 for him - as well as songs he wrote that were hits for others. And he includes some of his other great songs which, though never chart hits, are among the best songs ever written.

None of the hits are omitted, so you will hear If You Could Read My Mind, Sundown, Carefree Highway and Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald, among others. The other songs come from throughout his career, dating back to the early/mid 60s with Early Mornin' Rain and For Lovin' Me, to the title song from his latest original album, A Painter Passing Through.

Lightfoot is backed up by his band all of whom has been with him for at least 20 years, and the first two for 30 or more. They are: Terry Clements (lead guitar), Rick Haynes (bass), Barry Keane (drums and percussion) and Mike Heffernan (keyboards), and they are among the finest musicians around. The fact that they have recorded and toured with Lightfoot for so many years says volumes about them and about Lightfoot.

The full set list is: Don Quixote, I'll Prove My Love, House You Live In, Sundown, Carefree Highway, Restless, Blackberry Wine, For Lovin' Me/Did She Mention My Name (Medley), Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald, Waiting For You, Fading Away, Rainy Day People, Shadows, If You Could Read My Mind, A Painter Passing Through, Make Way For The Lady, Early Mornin' Rain, Baby Step Back, Song For A Winter's Night, Canadian Railroad Trilogy, Old Dan's Records, Cold On The Shoulder.

Amazing list of songs, isn't it?

(Note: I have not seen this North American release of the concert, but I have seen the UK DVD as well as the original videotape from the production company).

by Valerie Magee


Oh Canada, Thanks for the Memories Gordon   April 14, 2005
 77 out of 78 found this review helpful

I'm in complete agreement with Sam Graham's editorial review above. It was Gordon's "gaunt looks" and "frail voice" that has become so visible in recent years that almost prevented me from watching this DVD. I wanted to remember Lightfoot as he was the first time I saw him in person at the Univ. of Irvine cafeteria in '68. Virtually unknown in California at the time, there was a small but enthusiastic crowd that evening for what was to be his first ever appearance in Orange County and to this day ranks as one of my all-time favorite concert experiences. I was sixteen at the time and since that Irvine concert I have become one of Gordon's staunchest fans with a total of 19 Lightfoot concerts attended and hoping for at least one more before I'm through. You might say Gordon and I have grown old together.

Overcoming my initial fears of watching a fading shadow of what once was, I purchased the DVD and hesitantly watched it one night after my wife and daughter went to bed. I wanted to judge the concert on my own without any input from the family. This was between Gordon and I. Now I can say that I'm happy with my decision. Whatever may have changed through the years, it's still Gordon Lightfoot! Surrounded by some of the same musicians who performed with him long ago in that first concert in '68, I soon forgot about how old and frail he looked and once again became absorbed in the music that has meant so much to me through the years.

Gordon Lightfoot's songs certainly haven't grown old. They still convey all the passion, introspection, regret and wonder of life that they always have. They always will.


Whither Canada?   July 2, 2002
 23 out of 27 found this review helpful

What distinguishes Gordon Lightfoot from every other singer songwriter who came to fame from the sixties is that he has stayed the course. His music reflects the observatuions of a Don Quixote who has charged at windmills and suffered pain and loss, found solace at the helm of his sailboat along the Canadian lakes or in the call of a ring neck loon. His are the shadows of a lover at the door of his beloved, the remembrances of a man whose lover leaves in the early morning hours. He has chronicled the wreck of ships and loss of lives, the loneliness of the hitchhiker who has fallen through the cracks of society, or the families of those in prison. The human factor has ever and always been the domain of Gordon Lightfoot, and in that regard he is very much a Graham Greene as Troubador, in as classical a sense of the word as possible. He has written the real Canadian National anthem and has pleaded with the cultural forces within Canada to stay together. His voice carries the mist of the maritimes, the grandeur of the Rockies, the solitude of the great Ontario wilderness. If you want to know what Canada is, you need only listen to Gordon Lightfoot. He is the crucible of all post war Canadian music. It is as inconceivable to imagine where Canadian writers might have gone without him as it is to imagine where American writers might have gone without Woody Guthrie or Charlie Patton.
So, on this DVD, Gordon presents his music as he always has: it is ever and always about the songs, and the songs are ever and always about real people. No special effects, no Spinal Tap set pieces, just a band of men who know what they are talking about, presenting their take and their observations on the road thus far, and what the journey of life has revealed to them. His and his colleagues musicianship is as first rate as it has always been. They present a textbook case of what can happen when musicians listen to each other. This tightly locked groove would find itself the calling card of every great Canadian band from The Band through Bare Naked Ladies, and this is the guy who started it all. Gordon's voice is not as strong as it once was, but there is no lack of conviction in his delivery. What you get from this DVD is a vision of the genuine article. The history of modern Canada is on Gordon's face, his voice calls out with the passion and conviction of someone who knows his heritage and dares to dream of its future. In the small theatre of the heart and the soul, Gordon details the travails, the slings and arrows, the sanctuaries and solace of a life in touch with the world in which he lives. This is Farley Mowat and Robertson Davies in verse and music, and in performance it is all about the subtleties. He is often self-deprecating, has battled his share of demons and has wished for all he's worth to have had things turn out better. He has composed lullabies for children and homages to old family musicians. He is at one with the natural world and in battle with those forces that would rob us of our human dignity. He is that ghost in the wishing well, Alberta bound, standing in a knightly pose along the shore, shouting. It is a blessing to hear and see him.
We tend to seek out our national treasures after they've passed or once their powers have diminished. This DVD presents one of the great treasures of Canada delivering his music as he always has, with everything he's got. Through the woodlands, through the valleys, comes a horseman, wild and free.... indeed.


Respect for a Legend   December 28, 2002
 20 out of 20 found this review helpful

I've seen Gordon Lightfoot in concert, on average, once a year since 1972. I've also met him several times and even received a bit of advice from Lightfoot regarding my own career. I bought this DVD for posterity--out of "respect for a legend." The set is a stellar collection and example of the artist's best songwriting. True, Lightfoot doesn't have the voice he had 30 years ago, but he's still far more expressive than many of his peers. Lightfoot and his band still play with precision and clarity such that few bands would only hope to aspire to during a live concert. Meanwhile, their performance of "Old Dan's Records" is rousing, "Make Way for the Lady" bluesy and inspired, "Early Morning Rain" and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" completely authentic. Some of Lightfoot's newer songs, like "I'll Prove My Love," "Waiting for You," and "A Painter Passing Through," sound almost exactly like the studio recordings. Some reviewers have commented on how Lightfoot looks "frail" and "gaunt." Well, when he enters this Reno stage to start the show and, later, returns for his encore, Lightfoot has a noticeable spring in his step and appears totally youthful! With complete confidence, he and the band "nail" "Cold On the Shoulder" to end this DVD collection--something all fans should have for "posterity."


Simply The Greatest Song Writer!   March 10, 2002
 19 out of 19 found this review helpful

I've been listening to Gordon Lightfoot's music for over 30 years now. I have all of his music and found that every one had something special to offer. Each one of his songs is an experience in another place or time. When you're listening to "Canadian Railroad Trilogy", you can picture the images in your mind of the men hitting the spikes: "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", you can almost feel the wind: Or the classic, "If You Could Read My Mind", the hurt in the man's heart when Lightfoot metaphorically sings, ..."you know that ghost is me...and I will never be set free as long as I'm a ghost and you can't see". What Steven Spielberg does for movies, Gordon Lightfoot does to music. It's true that after 30 years, his voice has changed. But that doesn't matter. That's like saying as one grows older and their looks fade, that our love for a person fades as well. Everyone knows grandparents have the most to offer and so does Lightfoot's music. So many artists have just done a record or two and then fade into oblivion. To see Gordon Lightfoot perform on this DVD to a full house brought tears to my eyes. Because he hasn't been in the mainstream for so long, you wonder how many people love his music and this concert proves that a great performer can still pack them in. The song "Restless" sent a chill through me as his group performed that one. It was better than the CD version. Also the audience was professional. Not a yell, cough or premature clap before his songs were finished, proving that they knew his music well to sit and hear every note. I am a station manager of a country radio station and I play his music on the air every day. I put Gordon Lightfoot on the play list daily right between artists like Garth Brooks, Ray Price or Shania Twain. It's too bad many other radio stations have left out some great artists...I don't! We still get requests for Gordon Lightfoot almost every day. All I can say is.. "Thank you Mr. Lightfoot for over 30 years of great music including this concert"...