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Salute
Salute in Bloomington, MN
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By the time of his 1983 release,
Salute
,
Gordon Lightfoot
was well on the downside of his commercial success, but personally, the period was something of a turning point for him.
Lightfoot
had overcome a drinking problem and was on the rebound from having divorced his wife.
finds the singer revivified, and co-producer
Dean Parks
has toughened up his sound with '80s synthesizers and electric guitar. The results are mixed: Tracks like
"Salute (A Lot More Livin' to Do),"
"Someone to Believe In,"
"Without You,"
and
"Broken Dreams"
-- spruced-up and bristling as they are -- didn't yield any hit material. That being said, the attempt to update
's sound wasn't as tasteless or as disastrous as it might have been. Most of the material is listenable enough and stays true to
's long string of mature, emotionally sensitive songwriting (
"Gotta Get Away"
). On the subtler numbers where the production is toned down, a few gems emerge:
"Whispers of the North"
"Knotty Pine"
are beautiful odes to Canadian nature, and
"Tattoo"
is a bona fide winner of a love song that deserves more attention than it ever got. While
failed to reverse
's commercial fortune, it's far from an embarrassment and the
faithful should seek it out. Formerly out of print,
Rhino
reissued it on CD in 2002. ~ Jim Esch
Salute
,
Gordon Lightfoot
was well on the downside of his commercial success, but personally, the period was something of a turning point for him.
Lightfoot
had overcome a drinking problem and was on the rebound from having divorced his wife.
finds the singer revivified, and co-producer
Dean Parks
has toughened up his sound with '80s synthesizers and electric guitar. The results are mixed: Tracks like
"Salute (A Lot More Livin' to Do),"
"Someone to Believe In,"
"Without You,"
and
"Broken Dreams"
-- spruced-up and bristling as they are -- didn't yield any hit material. That being said, the attempt to update
's sound wasn't as tasteless or as disastrous as it might have been. Most of the material is listenable enough and stays true to
's long string of mature, emotionally sensitive songwriting (
"Gotta Get Away"
). On the subtler numbers where the production is toned down, a few gems emerge:
"Whispers of the North"
"Knotty Pine"
are beautiful odes to Canadian nature, and
"Tattoo"
is a bona fide winner of a love song that deserves more attention than it ever got. While
failed to reverse
's commercial fortune, it's far from an embarrassment and the
faithful should seek it out. Formerly out of print,
Rhino
reissued it on CD in 2002. ~ Jim Esch
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