Gordon Lightfoot
Summer Side Of Life

THE REVIEW

In 1971, Gordon Lightfoot's career is at the peak of its brilliance, with "If You Could Read My Mind" the troubadour from Toronto has finally achieved definitive commercial success and has developed his unmistakable sound: at thirty-three years old and with six albums behind him, the next step is to renew himself, "modernizing" his style just enough. This is "Summer Side Of Life," the second piece of the golden age of Lightfoot: a mature album, full of colors, atmospheres, new sounds never before experimented by Our Hero, which takes "If You Could Read My Mind" as a base, as a starting point, of which it represents the logical sequel, and pushes further, and in more different directions. The result is perhaps the greatest masterpiece of his vast discography, riding the wave of enthusiasm but illuminated by its own, personal, dazzling grace of inspiration. 

One of the most important novelties introduced with "Summer Side Of Life" is undoubtedly the stable use of electric guitars and percussion, giving the album a "rock" imprint that is especially noticeable in the title track, an intense and more produced and musically structured piece compared to the rest of the album, with faint blues undertones that explode in a passionate and evocative chorus, and in a more nuanced and accompanying manner in "10 Degrees And Getting Colder," a classic and epic folk song about the life of a street musician, in the poignant and romantic ballad "Miguel" and in "Go My Way," the most vivid song on the album, which stands out for its determined and assured melody that instantly imprints itself in the mind. The charming "Cotton Jenny" and the fast and engaging bluegrass of "Redwood Hill" instead wink at American country, with fiddle, harmonica, and steel guitars prominently featured, which contrast with the two most Canadian songs on the album, the elegant and shadowy "Love And Maple Syrup," with crooner-like reflections and "Nous Vivons Ensemble," a curious and ecstatic bilingual piano-ballad with a calm and fluid pace, forming a trio of great melodic songwriting along with the sweet and acoustic "Talking In Your Sleep," where Lightfoot's warm, clear, and soothing voice is accompanied by choruses of almost African taste and the intense and orchestral "Same Old Loverman," imbued with gospel atmospheres and piano-rock.

A great album can only close with a special song, and so here comes "Cabaret" as a sweet finale: after a long, slow and meditated instrumental intro, Lightfoot gives voice to a humble singer/cabaret artist performing on a ship, "All I can see are the sea and the sky, and the sky is blue and the sea is green, yesterday's a cabaret, gowns of satin on ladies gay, yesterday's a cabaret, sounds of laughter on faces grey, yesterday's a carousel, catch the ring and all will be well