Solo (Gordon Lightfoot album) explained

Solo
Type:studio
Artist:Gordon Lightfoot
Cover:Gordon Lightfoot - Solo.jpg
Alt:A photo of Lightfoot playing guitar onstage
Recorded:2019
Studio:Grant Avenue Studio, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Genre:Folk
Language:English
Label:Warner Music Canada
Producer:Gordon Lightfoot
Prev Title:All Live
Prev Year:2012
Next Title:At Royal Albert Hall
Next Year:2023

Solo is the 20th and final studio album by Canadian folk singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, released on March 20, 2020, three years before his death on May 1, 2023.

Recording and release

Lightfoot had only recorded one album of new material in 20 years prior to this release and the songs are made up from demos that Lightfoot discovered from 2001 and 2002 that he wanted to put to record. After initially trying to orchestrate the songs and re-write several of them, he decided that they were fine as they were and set about to record his first solo album in his decades-long career.

Reception

Editors at AllMusic Guide scored Solo 3.5 out of five stars, with critic Mark Deming comparing this favorably to the artist's first recordings in the 1960s and noting that the stripped down recordings were a wise choice: "he may sound weaker than he used to, but he's also not fighting a band for attention, and the sly rounder that populated many of his early tunes is still faintly audible on Solo". In Exclaim!, Iam Gormley rated this album a seven out of 10, concurring that the sparse production techniques complement Lightfoot's softer vocals and opining, "the record showcases what Lightfoot has always done and always excelled at: songwriting".

Track listing

All songs written by Gordon Lightfoot.

  1. "Oh So Sweet" – 3:04
  2. "E-Motion" – 3:15
  3. "Better Off" – 3:04
  4. "Return into Dust" – 3:05
  5. "Do You Walk, Do You Talk" – 3:05
  6. "Just a Little Bit" – 3:47
  7. "Easy Flo" – 2:58
  8. "Dreamdrift" – 3:46
  9. "The Laughter We Seek" – 3:37
  10. "Why Not Give It a Try" – 3:20

Personnel

See also