Sundown

By the mid-1970s, Gordon Lightfoot had become a full-fledged pop star, a staple of AM radio, and a regular denizen of the Billboard charts. While his production sensibilities at the time had expanded a bit by the time of SUNDOWN, he was never a folk purist to begin with, and it's a superficial distinction at best. What's important is that Lightfoot's songwriting acumen actually grew with his fame. "Circle of Steel", for example, is a cutting sociopolitical commentary that he probably wouldn't have been able to turn out a few years earlier. On the other side of the fence, the casual sensuality of the title track would have stuck out like a sore thumb on Lightfoot's earliest, more mannered albums. The easy blend of folk and pop on the hit "Carefree Highway" represents the unique paradigm that was always at the heart of both Lightfoot's gift and his wide appeal.

Q (7/93, p.109)
- 4 Stars - Excellent - "...By 1974, and SUNDOWN, Lightfoot was an international draw...all [songs] lyrically acute and tuneful to a fault, in places warmly embracing country..."