Who does a better job Gordon or Glen?

[exitseven]

Yes, this question was inspired by @DishLady'

This is one of my favorite songs.

"The lsT

"The last time I saw her face, her eyes were bathed in sadness and she walked alone.

The last time she kissed my cheek

Her lips were like the wilted leaves, upon the autumn covered hill.

Resting on the frozen ground, the seeds of love lie cold and still

Beneath a bettered marking stone. It lies forgotten. "

[OlderAndWiser]

Gordon did it better. Glen was a great artist but his arrangement of this song is a bit too much, too full, too much orchestration. The simpler arrangement by Gordon brings out more of the song's powerful emotions.

[exitseven]

Glen Campbell had the hit but Gordon Lightfoot wrote it.

[OlderAndWiser]

They were both great. Glen was the better guitarist but Gordon was the better writer/arranger. I think they are equals for singing voice, with Gordon a little better suited to singing ballads.

[exitseven]

@OlderAndWiser I saw Gordon Lightfoot perform and he put on a 3 hour show, He had a lot of material. He did not sing this one. I was disappointed.

[OlderAndWiser]

Obviously, which song is better is a matter of preference and not a matter of judging each version against any objective criteria. The combination of Campbell and Jimmy Webb was incredible and many of Glen's songs are timeless. I love listening to Galveston, Wichita Lineman, By The Time I Get To Phoenix, Country Boy, Dreams of the Everyday Housewife, and others.

But Gordon was not a Hollywood-refined singer; he was a wandering troubador, singing songs that were not as polished but which told stories that resonated with the average Joe Lunchbucket. And many of Gordon's songs had a haunting quality that get inside of me and change how I am feeling every time I hear them, such as If You Could Read My Mind, Beautiful and Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald,

[RandomGirl42]

Ty for inviting me to share and I'm going to pick Gordon Lightfoot 'cuz everybody else did 'cuz I'm a conformist and don't won't to stand out from the common crowd 'cuz then every body would think I was weird and different or something.

[Lliam]

I'm going with Glenn. It is polished and perfect, less folky. And his voice is clearer. Glenn was a master.

[Curmudgeon]

But should we be "handicapping" since Gordon Lightfoot's version had no symphony (or string arrangement?) backup, while Glen Campbell's cover did?

[Curmudgeon]

Actually, i have to take that back, yes Gordon Lightfoot did too, just more muted so I didn't pay as much attention to it. And I think I prefer the muted. Neither one is a slouch, however!

[exitseven]

@Lliam As you know Glen Campbell was one of the famous Wrecking Crew.

[Lliam]

@exitseven. That's where he got his start. His ear, knowledge and skill on the guitar are exemplified by the fact that, as a top session musician, he couldn't read music.

[AngryCarl2]

So this is a song I haven't heard before and it's not the kind of thing I would usually listen to. That said, the Gordon Lightfoot version is better and it's not even that close.

[exitseven]

he wrote it

[AviatorTom]

A good song, both sung well, edge to Gordon.

[beefcakebradybatson]

I've heard neither rendition, and I'm a Glen Campbell fan, but I have to go with fellow Canadian lad Gordon Lightfoot.

[NathanDavis]

I liked the second better... that voice suits a bit better

[DishLady]

Lol. Glenn