The 20th album of Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot's rich career holds a special place in his heart: it's the album he very nearly didn't live to complete. Brought down by a catastrophic abdominal aneurysm during a September, 2001, show in his hometown of Orillia, Ontario, Lightfoot's recovery was long and arduous. He sought relief by turning to his band for help in fleshing out the handful of demos he'd recorded prior to his illness, playing long-distance collaborator from his hospital bed. While some of the vocals here may reflect the temporary, work-in-progress nature of the original performances, they also reveal a more intimate, vulnerable side of the veteran troubadour. But there's nothing tentative about the material--the core tracks here stand with the best of Lightfoot's 30-year canon. The lilting melodies of "Inspiration Lady," "Clouds of Loneliness," and the title track offer his familiar bittersweet takes on romance, while "River of Life" and "Flyin' Blind" musically invoke his love of nature and his fascination with those who challenge it, respectively. Live 2001 renditions of "Shellfish" and "The No Hotel" nicely round out the album, a personal ordeal turned warm, personally scaled artistic triumph. --Jerry McCulley