Sit Down Young Stranger - GORDON LIGHTFOOT****

Minstrel Of The Dawn/Me & Bobby McGee/Approaching Lavender/Saturday Clothes/Cobwebs & Dust/Poor Little Alison/Sit Down Young Stranger/If You Could Read My Mind/Baby Its Alright/Your Love's Return/The Pony Man

After moving record labels Canadian folk artist Gordon Lightfoot achieved the biggest hit of his career with the US No. 5 If You Could Read My Mind, to which title this album was changed on reissue. (US:12)

“A new record company and a new start. This is the album that provided his initial breakthrough outside of Canada, thanks in large part to the single If You Could Read My Mind. An excellent version of the Kristofferson classic Me And Bobby McGee also appears here. While this is not as even as some of his records that would follow a few years later, it is arguably better than a lot of his earlier material.”

“This is a good example of Gordon Lightfoot at his most low key and poetic. It is a record that has to be approached in the right frame of mind otherwise it is easy to be distracted from the listening. The most delightful song is Pony Man and should have become a well known children's classic.”

“Gordon Lightfoot is a folk singer in the traditional sense of the old troubadour, sticking to his acoustic guitar, singing under starlight about nature, love and such poetic themes. He has always seems a sincere character, never one to lavish his songs with too much over arrangement or sickly syrup.”

“This has long been one of my favourite albums. Its songs still reach out to me after all these years, and they have stayed in my mind long after other words and melodies have floated away. It was probably my introduction to Gordon Lightfoot and the reason I came to love and appreciate his music.”

“This was Gordon's first album for Reprise Records and includes the massive hit If You Could Read My Mind to which the title of the album was quickly changed on reissue. Gordon is backed with quite a few popular label mates, but it is the music not the guest artists that make this a standout album. It includes some of Gordon's best, as well as an early cover of Me And Bobby McGee.”

“This is one Gordon's best albums ever. He is without a doubt the finest poet/singer/songwriter of our age. Specifically, Your Love's Return is one of the most beautiful, emotional songs ever written and never fails to bring a tear to my eyes.”