Songs for a Winter's Night

How better to start a selection of tracks mining creative heat from the seasonal cold than with Gordon Lightfoot's "Song for a Winter's Night" — an ode to love, loneliness, and longing . . . and there's plenty more where that came from, as Matthew Barber takes the long nocturnal trek towards daybreak on "Morning Light," Jason Collett conjures the smoke of slow-burning cigarettes on "Motor Motel Love Songs" and k.d. lang spares a thought for frozen lovers on "I Dream of Spring." Ain't much sunshine in Next Steps — that's why we love 'em.

There's still no sign of a thaw, so let's push on through the interminable winter in the company of Stars, who spin a tale of lust and emptiness on "One More Night," Great Lake Swimmers — hinting at past emotional storms on the delicate, intimate "There Is a Light" — and Blue Rodeo, tracing fractures in love on "Disappear." Pain and heartbreak never sounded so good, but just when you think the night has set in forever, here comes Bruce Cockburn with the delightful, hope-laden "Sunwheel Dance." Fancy a bit of fun in the sun? Perhaps it's better that you avoid our midwinter Deep Cuts.

To best express a winter's night, some choose to let their strings do the talking — check out Harris Newman's slide guitar on "A Thousand Stolen Blankets to Keep You Warm At Night" and you'll feel the temperature around you rise. On the other hand, there's a real glow to David Usher's "Numb" despite the implication of chill in the title, and Adrienne Pierce's "Absinthe Minded" only adds to our playlist's central heating, even though we know daybreak's going to bring a hellacious hangover.

Here in Canada, winter isn't just a passing season: it's a state of mind, a big part of our national fabric, so it's no wonder that so many of our songwriters have spent so much time making music from long, dark, cold nights. These Essentials pay a tithe of homage to the masters of seasonal introspection (Bruce Cockburn, Leonard Cohen, Gordon Lightfoot) while saluting those artists pumping the lifeblood of the current scene (Feist, Justin Rutledge, Sam Roberts), everyone drawing sweet inspiration from the chill, exploring the emotional landscape of the frozen North, and creating timeless tunes from endless evenings. Enjoy.