EDMONTON - He walked into the kind of glowing welcome that befits a Canadian icon.

Before he had sung a note, the audience was on its feet applauding, as Gordon Lightfoot strode on stage for his completely sold-out concert at the Jubilee Auditorium on Thursday night.

He may not have had a chart topper since The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1976, but his songs were the soundtrack for the young lives of many in the audience. As he has for 45 years, our national troubadour sang of love, hopes, dreams and history.

There were a lot of old folkies in jeans, some ponytails, the occasional cowboy and trucker hats in the mature audience. No teens. They applauded the opening chords of familiar songs and gently sang along with the words.

At 68, Lightfoot is looking pretty good. Ramrod straight, set out in a colourful vest, white shirt and stovepipe trousers, his moustache may be grey but the dark, flowing hair and Byronic cheekbones remain.

The voice hasn't weathered the years quite as well. Never exactly robust, it has taken on a wispy quality, particularly in the upper register. Lightfoot may have had to grimace as he reached for the big notes but he hit them all bang-on. The unique phrasing and lyrical clarity remain.

Lightfoot was never what you'd call a charismatic performer. His manner was always laid-back-cool, letting his poetry and music speak eloquently for him. He had a few ad-libs for us between his songs and some were quite revealing.

We heard of his partying years (Lightfoot was a prodigious drinker), he told us how Elvis changed the words of one of his songs (Early Morning Rain) and how he (Lightfoot) liked them better and now uses them in his own concerts.

More ominously, he apologized for his guitar playing.

"I had a TIA (mini-stroke) a few weeks back and my fingers don't seem to work so well.''

You may remember back in 2002 Lightfoot had to be rushed to hospital in the middle of a concert and it took him many months to recover.

He needn't have apologized - his big 12-string guitar was as expressive as ever.

His four-piece band, led by his longtime guitarist, Terry Clements, was smooth, but to tell the truth with the simple, mostly four-chord songs, the band wasn't called upon to stretch themselves much.

"I only know five chords,'' the star confided to us.

And the hits just kept on coming - Ribbon of Darkness, Cotton Jenny, Sundown, Carefree Highway, Beautiful, Alberta Bound, If You Could Read My Mind Love, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

His 1967 epic, The Canadian Railroad Trilogy takes on a new intimacy as he trades the muscular rendition of 40 years ago for a new breathy intimacy.

He sang some of his new stuff and though the voice may be thinning, the songwriting talent remains as vibrant as ever.

I would like to have heard Black Day in July, The Way I Feel, For Lovin' Me or Did She Mention My Name, just four of many of Lightfoot's golden oldies not included.

The evening was lyrical, memorable and mellow. As the audience left, they were smiling.

And humming the tunes.