A live album by esteemed singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, who died on May 1, will be released. He was 84. At Royal Albert Hall is expected to arrive on July 14, 2023.
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The beloved Canadian artist recorded the double album from the London, England, concert hall. The recorded performance took place on May 24, 2016, marking his seventh appearance at the treasured venue.
Canadian Independent label Linus Entertainment is calling the forthcoming collection his last. The project will include Rick Haynes on bass, Mike Heffernan playing the keyboard, Carter Lancaster shredding the guitar, and Barry Keane delivering heart-thumping percussion.
At Royal Albert Hall serves as Lightfoot’s fourth live album. The highly anticipated project follows his 2012 releases All Live, Sunday Concert (1969), and Two Tones at the Village Corner (1962).
The tracklist will include a whopping 26 songs, which will feature a handful of his biggest hits. The stacked record will consist of his Billboard Hot 100 tracks—”The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” “Sundown,” “Rainy Day People,” “Beautiful,” “Early Morning Rain,” and among others.
Fans could also expect to hear songs that have never appeared on one of his live albums. For instance, “Don Quixote,” “Sweet Guinevere,” “Drifters,” “Now and Then,” and many more. According to a press release, the forthcoming project is “an unembellished live mix of the nights’ performance—without edits, overdubs, remixing or re-sequencing. It captures every song performed in the order they were played, right down to the encore.”
Billboard declared that the chart-topping artist requested that the double album be released immediately. Before he died, the singer “approved” the cover art and insisted that nothing should be altered to the live recording.
The folk icon, known for his poetic catalog, was catapulted into the spotlight in the early 1960s. However, it was after his track “If You Could Read My Mind” in the ’70s that he became an international household name. Notable musicians, including Elvis Presley, Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli, and even Johnny Cash, have placed their own spin on Lightfoot’s music. The hitmaker was welcomed into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012, long after he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1986.
The GRAMMY-nominated artist’s longtime publicist, Victoria Lord, confirmed his death. He passed away at a Toronto, Canada hospital. The cause of death has yet to be announced. Following the devastating news, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged his legacy.
“We have lost one of our greatest singer-songwriters. Gordon Lightfoot captured our country’s spirit in his music – and in doing so, he helped shape Canada’s soundscape,” wrote the Canadian politician. “May his music continue to inspire future generations, and may his legacy live on forever. To his family, friends, and many fans across the country and around the world: I’m keeping you in my thoughts at this difficult time.”
At Royal Albert Hall
Disc One
“The Watchman’s Gone”
“Sea of Tranquility”
“Now and Then”
“All the Lovely Ladies”
“Drifters”
“A Painter Passing Through”
“Christian Island”
“Rainy Day People”
“Shadows”
“Beautiful”
“Carefree Highway”
“Did She Mention My Name”
“Ribbon of Darkness”
“Sundown”
Disc Two
“Sweet Guinevere”
“The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”
“Never Too Close”
“Don Quixote”
“Minstrel of the Dawn”
“I’d Rather Press On”
“Let It Ride”
“If You Could Read My Mind”
“Restless”
“Baby Step Back”
“Early Morning Rain”
“Waiting for You”
Photo by Mark Horton/Getty Images
