*** Gordon Lightfoot

SONGBOOK

(Rhino)

Because his vocals are earnest even when he's gliding through ditties like "Cotton Jenny," Gordon Lightfoot has cast himself as one of our most solemn singer-songwriters. Nineteen albums to his credit and barely a smirk -- gotta be some kind of record. I'm pro-caprice, so how do I justify a three-decade regard for Gordo and his poker face? Pure melody. From early attempts at Jim Reeves C&W to late-career rewrites of earlier motifs, these 88 songs define coercive tunefulness. It resounds in the newly issued "A Message to the Wind." And it's there in "That Same Old Obsession," a gorgeous track from 1972. Time and again, melody helps regulate the preciousness that tries to swamp the Canadian vet's work. Songbook aptly connects the dots of a rounded career arc -- the well-regarded folkie of the '60s has a wistfulness similar to the lite-pop hitmaker of the '70s. And though I'm dubious about any compilation that forsakes "Minstrel of the Dawn" for trivia like "A Lesson in Love," this package has a sense of completeness about it. By the time it closes out, old Gordo seems more persuasive than ever.

-- Jim Macnie