A Word From Gordon Lightfoot

In 1962 I recorded the first two songs burned onto this anthology. Those two, and a few others less likely, were recorded in Nashville with a group of handpicked musicians. I came out of the sessions sounding like a cross between Jim Reeves and Pat Boone. Deciding not to follow that route, I chose to gamble on the folk revival of the early '60s and began working in bars and coffeehouses. By 1966 I had found a niche in the singer/songwriter category. I had also found a production company in New York to record and represent me. I then pursued a career in live and recorded musical performances, which has carried me through, right up until the present day.

The wheels for this anthology started turning in the summer of '98, when Thane Tierney came out to see our show at Concerts By The Sea in San Diego. Afterward, he talked to my manager, Barry Harvey, and me about licensing old masters and releasing previously unpublished tracks. I got a little bit scared at first, until it sank in that our man Thane is an executive at Rhino Records, a large company that specializes in archival work. He told us that he wanted to try the 4-CD approach, and that I should consider getting involved if I wanted to have any direct input in the content of the collection.

Those anthology wheels started turning faster, and I began to comply almost immediately, knowing in the back of my mind that my catalog of unpublished material could become an archivist's nightmare. But I soon came to realize that Thane knew my body of work very well, and that I would now have a golden opportunity to review all 19 of my original albums--a task I had been putting off for years. Many telephone calls ensued between Toronto and Los Angeles.

Rarities were a challenge at first but one that could be overcome. Some legwork had to be done. Some earlier judgment calls had to be reversed and emotions kept at bay. By the time the sleuthing was done, we had uncovered a number of tracks that surprised even me. Shocking, too, was the possibility of some of these tracks finding their way into the ether. I finally realized I shouldn't worry so much--some of the rarities were a little too rare and wound up, so to speak, on the cutting room floor. Within two months we had uncovered 18 respectable rarities, and the anthology wheels were, at last, in smooth rotation.

Ever onward,
[Gordon's signature]
January 4, 1999

*****