Gordon Lightfoot - If You Could Read My Mind
Gordon Lightfoot - Vocals, piano, guitar [click here to see more vinyl featuring Gordon Lightfoot]
Red Shea - guitar
Rick Haynes - bass
Ry Cooder - slide guitar on "Me and Bobby McGee", mandolin on "Cobwebs and Dust" [click here to see more vinyl featuring Ry Cooder]
Van Dyke Parks - harmonium on "Cobwebs and Dust"
John Sebastian - electric guitar on "Baby It's Alright", autoharp on "Saturday Clothes", harmonica on "The Pony Man"
Nick DeCaro - string arrangements on "Poor Little Allison", "If You Could Read My Mind" and "Your Love's Return"
Randy Newman - string arrangement on "Minstrel of the Dawn" and "Approaching Lavender"
Kris Kristofferson was rumored to have provided harmony vocals on "Me and Bobby McGee"
1 LP, standard sleeve
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33RPM
Size : 12”
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Rainbo Records
Label : Friday Music
Original Label : Reprise Records
Recorded September - December 1969 in SunWest Studios, Hollywood, California by Gary Brandt, Lee Hershberg
Produced by Joe Wissert, Lenny Waronker
Remastered by Joe Reagoso
Originally released in 1970
Reissued in 2015
Tracks:
Side A
- Minstrel Of The Darn
- Me And Bobby Mcgee
- Approaching Lavender
- Saturday Clothes
- Cobwebs & Dust
- Poor Little Allison
Side B
- Sit Down Young Stranger
- If You Could Read My Mind
- Baby It’s Alright
- Your Lover’s Return
- The Pony Man
Reviews :
"Originally released as Sit Down Young Stranger in the summer of 1970, this album was reissued under this name a few months later, as the song "If You Could Read My Mind" began its climb up the pop chart. The single peaked at number five, while the album reached number 12. It seemed as though "If You Could Read My Mind" was everywhere in the early months of 1971. Its appeal crossed genres and age groups, and its simplicity and acoustic arrangement fit in nicely with the burgeoning singer/songwriter scene then storming the airwaves and record stores. "If You Could Read My Mind" was not the first track released as a single from this album; Lightfoot's recording of Kris Kristofferson's soon-to-be-classic "Me and Bobby McGee," the only non-original in this collection, preceded it but barely dented the charts. The entire album is rich in the simple beauty of its folky melodies and personal lyrics. Lightfoot is accompanied here by his regular band of the time, Red Shea on guitar and Rick Haynes on bass. This trio is expanded on several cuts with Warner/Reprise labelmates Ry Cooder on bottleneck guitar and mandolin, John Sebastian on autoharp, harmonica, and electric guitar, and Van Dyke Parks on harmonium. In addition, there are subtle string arrangements by Randy Newman on two tracks, Nick DeCaro on three. This album fits in very well with the acoustic-based music being made at the turn of the '70s. Even so, the music here is timeless, still feeling and sounding great many years after its release." AllMusic Review by Jim Newsom
Ratings :
AllMusic : 4,5 / 5 , Discogs : 3,93 / 5