Painter Passing Through

CD reissue of this 1998 album from the legendary Canadian Folk/Rock singer/songwriter who has had numerous Billboard charting albums throughout his career, which began in the mid '60s. His most commercially successful period ran through the '70s, although he remains one of the most influential and admired songwriters of the Rock era. Wounded Bird.

The camps remain divided on Gordon Lightfoot, largely due to his love-it-or-hate-it 1976 hit single "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." Those on the fan side of the line will find reasons to enjoy his 1998 album A Painter Passing Through; the naysayers won't. Lightfoot, nearing 60, has lost much of his lower register, but the tell-tale tics of his singing style are still in place, especially the catch in his voice on Steve McEown's appropriately-titled "I Used to Be a Country Singer." Lightfoot's songwriting skills, however, have not diminished at all, and "Drifters," "Boathouse," and "On Yonge Street" are among the winning tracks on Painter. Fellow Canadian Daniel Lanois guests on the latter two tracks. --Michael Ruby