Gordon Lightfoot

Don’t laugh until you remember that this aging Canadian superstar penned memorable classics such as “Carefree Highway” and “If You Could Read My Mind.” These, of course, were staples of late-70s hippie pop that drew a line back to pre-Nashville country and folk –just like our dear departed John Denver. (True, Gord also wrote the heinous signature hit “Sundown,” just the way John cursed us with “Sunshine on My Shoulders.”) Most listeners don’t realize that Lightfoot was and remains an unrepentant Canadian folkie at heart. With any luck, he’ll play a few of his earliest hits unmolested by the schlocky string arrangements–gems like “Canadian Railroad Trilogy” and “Ribbon of Steel,” both of which were recently re-released on a new greatest hits anthology. We’ve seen enough of our friends’ record collections to know that more will show up than will admit it at the water cooler. Still need convincing? Don’t forget “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” a classic Great Lakes ballad as timeless as Gitchee Gummi itself. Orpheum Theatre, (612) 339-7007