Did She Mention My Name/Back Here On Earth (Beat Goes On)

Did She Mention My Name/Back Here On Earth (Beat Goes On)

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Lightfoot's romanticism has always been his trump. He captures wanderlust, love's longing, and unfulfilled dreams as well as any songwriter of his generation. And though it's tempting to call him a confessionalist, his best songs have a timeless folk quality, making them certain hits for artists like Marty Robbins and Peter, Paul & Mary, as well as near standards in bluegrass circles. This 1968 album finds him experimenting with a slightly bigger sound and offering his strongest political tune "Black Day in July" and the whistful "Mountains and Marian," not to mention the title cut, recorded memorably by Frank Christian and J. D. Crowe and the New South. --Roy Francis Kasten

Product Description
His 1968 Third United Artists Label Release, 'did She Mention My Name,' was Produced in New York by John Simon, who Had Previously Produced Leonard Cohen and the Band. The Songs Include a Commentary on the 1967 Detroit Riots, Black Day in July. Late in '68, Lightfoot Returned to Nashville for the More Acoustic Sound of his Fourth Ua Album, 'back Here on Earth'. The 24 Tracks Here Present the Entirety of Lightfoot's Third and Fourth Albums plus the New York Remake of Spin, Spin. Other Lightfoot Classics on this Set Include Does Your Mother Know, Bitter Green, the Mountains and Maryann, and I Want to Hear it from You.

Tracks:

Did She Mention My Name
Wherefor And Why
Last Time I Saw Her, The
Black Day In July
May I
Magnificent Outpouring
Does Your Mother Know
Mountains And Maryann, The
Pussy Willows, Cat-Tails
I Want To Hear It From You
Something Very Special
Boss Man
Long Way Back Home
Unsettled Ways
Long Thin Dawn
Bitter Green
Circle Is Small, The
Marie Christine
Cold Hands From New York
Affair On 8th Avenue
Don't Beat Me Down
Gypsy, The
If I Could

Amazon.com

Lightfoot's romanticism has always been his trump. He captures wanderlust, love's longing, and unfulfilled dreams as well as any songwriter of his generation. And though it's tempting to call him a confessionalist, his best songs have a timeless folk quality, making them certain hits for artists like Marty Robbins and Peter, Paul & Mary, as well as near standards in bluegrass circles. This 1968 album finds him experimenting with a slightly bigger sound and offering his strongest political tune "Black Day in July" and the whistful "Mountains and Marian," not to mention the title cut, recorded memorably by Frank Christian and J. D. Crowe and the New South. --Roy Francis Kasten

Album Details

His 1968 Third United Artists Label Release, 'did She Mention My Name,' was Produced in New York by John Simon, who Had Previously Produced Leonard Cohen and the Band. The Songs Include a Commentary on the 1967 Detroit Riots, Black Day in July. Late in '68, Lightfoot Returned to Nashville for the More Acoustic Sound of his Fourth Ua Album, 'back Here on Earth'. The 24 Tracks Here Present the Entirety of Lightfoot's Third and Fourth Albums plus the New York Remake of Spin, Spin. Other Lightfoot Classics on this Set Include Does Your Mother Know, Bitter Green, the Mountains and Maryann, and I Want to Hear it from You.

Customer Reviews:

The Heart And Soul Of Canada.......2006-02-14

Gordon Lightfoot's first album was released in '66, his last to date in '04. Twenty-one albums in all, truly a tremendous body of high quality work has been given to us by the musical poet-laurette of our neighbor to the Great North. This CD contains his third and fourth albums, 'Did She Mention My Name', and 'Back Here On Earth', both of which were orignally released in '68 by United Artists.

Though I have followed Gordon throughout his illustrious career (having seen him in concert 19 times) and have enjoyed his entire body of work my favorite albums will always be the first four. Whether that assessment is meant as an objective critique, or simply a subjective link with fond memories of the '60's, I'll never know for sure.

'Did She Mention My Name' was the first Lightfoot album I purchased back in '68 and I have been in love with his music ever since. His lyrics are poetry at its very best. Every song tells a story, every note touches an emotion and every line offers a glimpse deeper into the soul of a true artist.

This two album CD contains -23 tracks- of Gordon in his prime, when his voice was young and strong. A collection to be listened to and treasured always.

Red Shea..........2005-06-07

Just to add something to the previous reviews. I've heard that Bert Jansch from pentangle is considered the "hendrix of the acoustic guitar". I disagree. After to listening to the early Gordon Lightfoot Albums I really don't think anyone can touch the lead runs and gentle acoustic melodies produced by my fellow Countymen Red Shea. As a canadian I may be biased but feel that Red Shea is often overlooked as one of the greatest guitarists period.

the voice..........2003-05-08

I have only this to say: wow!
Gord is not very well known here in Sweden, although his first wife was from these parts. Too bad! My fellow swedes is missing out on one of the best singer-songwriters/folk musicians ever to have wandered the face of north america! He is awsome! His voice lets us know that he is no stranger to suffering the agonies of lost love, or the noble art of courtin' young maids in the morning oh so early for that matter! His guitar picking is outstanding. The only flaw on this solidly talented boy of 60, is that he has a dreadful taste in production techniques!

I can say nothing of this cd featuring two classic lp's but that it is one of the most played cd's in my collection (which is of some significance, I might add...). It contains all the emotions you can expect from a die-hard romantic with a gift for song writing. But the production... These were released in the 60's so the fashion of the sound carried him through the worst of the pitfalls, but wait until he hits the 80's... He persists in having a fat reverb on the vocals (which are way in the back, anyway) and his excellent guitarplaying is often too low in the mix to be enjoyed properly. e is always best when he is alone in the track with only his guitar backing him.

Tracks:

Did She Mention My Name
Wherefor And Why
The Last Time I Saw Her
Black Day In July
May I
Magnificent Outpouring
Does Your Mother Know
The Mountains And Maryann
Pussywillows, Cat-Tails
I Want To Hear It From You
Something Very Special
Boss Man
Long Way Back Home
Unsettled Ways
Long Thin Dawn
Bitter Green
The Circle Is Small
Marie Christine
Cold Hands From New York
Affair On 8th Avenue
Don't Beat Me Down
The Gypsys
If I Could
Spin, Spin (New York Remake Version)

Amazon.com

Album Details

Customer Reviews:

The Heart And Soul Of Canada.......2006-02-14

Red Shea..........2005-06-07

the voice..........2003-05-08

Tracks:

Did She Mention My Name
Wherefor And Why
The Last Time I Saw Her
Black Day In July
May I
Magnificent Outpouring
Does Your Mother Know
The Mountains And Maryann
Pussywillows, Cat-Tails
I Want To Hear It From You
Something Very Special
Boss Man
Long Way Back Home
Unsettled Ways
Long Thin Dawn
Bitter Green
The Circle Is Small
Marie Christine
Cold Hands From New York
Affair On 8th Avenue
Don't Beat Me Down
The Gypsys
If I Could
Spin, Spin (New York Remake Version)

Product Description

1. Did She Mention My Name
2. Wherefor And Why
3. The Last Time I Saw Her
4. Black Day In July
5. May I
6. Magnificent Outpouring
7. Does Your Mother Know
8. The Mountains And Maryann
9. Pussywillows, Cat-Tails
10. I Want To Hear It From You
11. Something Very Special
12. Boss Man
13. Long Way Back Home
14. Unsettled Ways
15. Long Thin Dawn
16. Bitter Green
17. The Circle Is Small
18. Marie Christine
19. Cold Hands From New York
20. Affair On 8th Avenue
21. Don't Beat Me Down
22. The Gypsy
23. If I Could
24. Spin, Spin (New York remake version)

Format: DVD

Customer Reviews:

Great Gord.......2002-08-01

I wore out both of these albums when they were only available on vinyl.Every song on each is a winner,but if you want to hear one of the most beautiful,poignant,day-dream inducing songs:"Pussywillows,Cattails" is it.It has been thirty years since I first heard it,and to this day,each time I listen,I am immediately transported back to my youth,and falling in love,and peaceful summer days.I think it is the most perfect love-song ever written,without the word "love" even in it.Give it a try.You won't be disappointed.Both albums are typical Gord: Perfection.

Lightfoot circa 1968.......2002-06-04

These two albums, packaged together on one CD, offer an almost startling contrast in styles, particularly when you take into account they were both released in the same year, 1968.

The first, Did She Mention My Name, contains a number of timeless Lightfoot songs, such as "Last Time I Saw Her," "Pussywillows, Cattails," and the title track. In addition, it contains what is probably Lightfoot's most unabashedly political song, "Black Day in July," dealing with the terrible race riots in Detroit in the late 60s.

Musically, Red Shea on lead guitar, and John Stockfish on bass make their usual sterling contributions. However, of the early albums, this is the one that sounds the most dated to my ears. There is an abundance of strings and brass on the album, arranged in a much more "upfront" style than Lightfoot would employ on his later recordings. Many times, these arrangements tend to overwhelm the songs--the album seems to be trying a little too hard to achieve a contemporary (for that period) sound. Additionally, there are a few songs ("I Want to Hear it From You," "May I")that just don't quite measure up to the others on the album: admittedly, much of this is probably due to the impossibly high standards Lightfoot set for himself over the course of his first two UA albums.

The second album included on this CD is Back Here on Earth, which offers a decidedly different approach. Here the arrangements are stripped down to vocal, rhythm and lead acoustic guitar, and bass, with very, very minimal overdubbing--mainly just the occasional background vocal. Lightfoot, Shea and Stockfish play very cohesively, with Stockfish supplying his very solid, unusually rhythmic bass style (Lightfoot did not use a drummer as part of the touring band until 1976; thus, for his live sound, the bassist needed to supply a lot of the rhythmic foundation a drummer would otherwise provide). Red Shea remains one of most innovative acoustic players I've ever heard--with the stripped-down nature of this album, it's up to him to provide a lot of musical coloring, and this he does beautifully.

At first glance, Back Here on Earth seems to contain less of the "Lighfoot classics" that the previous albums contain. To the casual fan, the only songs that one might know would probably be "Bitter Green," and "The Circle is Small" (re-made 10 years later on the album Endless Wire--it is this re-made version which appears on the very recently released Complete Greatest Hits CD). However, don't be deceived: this is an extremely strong collection; one in which the total exceeds the sum of the parts. I'm not sure why this album tends to get overlooked--it may be because the folk element in his music is the strongest it had been since his debut UA album Lightfoot!, and by this time perhaps people were used to a more country/pop/folk-oriented approach. In any event, songs such as "Unsettled Ways," "Marie Christine," "Bitter Green," "Cold Hands From New York," and "Don't Beat Me Down," are pure Lightfoot at the height of his powers. Other highlights include the ethereally haunting "Affair on Eighth Avenue," and the delightfully whimsical "The Gypsy."

This CD also includes a bonus track, a version of the previously unreleased song "Spin, Spin." This version, recorded in New York, includes drums and is very uptempo. It sounds like it would fit right in on either Did She Mention My Name or Back Here on Earth (after you take away the drums!).

While not as extensive as the essay included with Bear Family's release of Lightfoot!/The Way I Feel, the booklet for Did She Mention My Name/Back Here on Earth contains an informative essay, photos and lyrics.

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