Gord’s Gold
Thursday, April 24th, 2008
This morning Samantha played “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” during her show. Hearing it surprised me, and then inspired me to blog about it. After all, it is one of those iconic songs that transcends radio and Canada. It’s been mentioned on Seinfeld and in the film High Fidelity. According to Wikipedia, the Tragically Hip have covered it in concert. I wonder if they played it back to back with “Nautical Disaster”. That would have been awesome.
Confession: I’d never heard the original version of “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” until just a few weeks ago, when we were spinning it on Jeff and Carly’s show. I’ve only ever been familiar with the Rheostatics versions, found on the studio album “Melville” and their “Double Live” album (one of the best live records by any band, Canadian or otherwise, fyi). Their studio version is epic and moving, while the live take is a little more propulsive and intense. In their hands I still knew it is one of the great songs of our lifetime.
When I finally heard the writer sing it himself, I was surprised just how well Gordon Lightfoot’s original fits in on our rapidly growing rock station. It’s intense in it’s own way, and rocks as well. Maybe not loud guitars and distortion, but the sentiments combined with the instruments give it this timelessness. I doubt you’ll ever hear “If You Could Read My Mind” on a rock station, but I’m all for spinning this classic piece of Gord’s Gold. Take a listen, and then use gord as your bonus code for today.