Sit Down Young Stranger

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Sit Down Young Stranger
Studio album by Gordon Lightfoot
Released	April, 1970
Recorded	September-December, 1969
Genre	Folk
Length	36:44
Label	Reprise Records
Producer(s)	Lenny Waronker and Joseph Wissert
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
Gordon Lightfoot chronology
Sunday Concert (1969)	Sit Down Young Stranger (1970)	Summer Side of Life (1971)

Sit Down Young Stranger is Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot's 6th original album and also his best-selling original album. It was released in 1970 on the Reprise Records Label. The album was renamed If You Could Read My Mind shortly after release due to the song reaching number #5 on the chart. The album itself reached #12 on the pop chart.

The album marked a turning point in Lightfoot's musical career. It was Lightfoot's first recording for his new label, Reprise Records. He had left United Artists because he believed they did not promote his albums well enough.

In terms of the music, Lightfoot included more orchestration, which is particularly evident on "If You Could Read My Mind". It was also the first studio album to feature long-time Lightfoot bassist Rick Haynes. The orchestration on "Minstrel of the Dawn" was arranged by Randy Newman.

The album contained the first recorded version of Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster's "Me and Bobby McGee" which would later become a hit for Janis Joplin and also a stage favourite of Kristofferson's.

A small number of vinyl copies contain no title. This is because the cover was originally supposed to be just a picture of Lightfoot but it was then thought that stating the title would increase the album's sales.

[edit] Track listing

1. "Minstrel of the Dawn" – 3:26
2. "Me and Bobby McGee" – 3:38 (Kris Kristofferson/Fred Foster)
3. "Approaching Lavender" – 2:56
4. "Saturday Clothes" – 3:20
5. "Cobwebs & Dust" – 3:20
6. "Poor Little Allison" – 2:30
7. "Sit Down Young Stranger" – 3:26
8. "If You Could Read My Mind" – 3:48
9. "Baby It's Alright" – 2:58
10. "Your Love's Return (Song for Stephen Foster)" – 3:55
11. "The Pony Man" – 3:27

All compositions by Lightfoot except as indicated.

[edit] Credits

• Gordon Lightfoot - Guitar, Piano, Vocals
• Red Shea - Guitar
• Ry Cooder - Guitar, Mandolin
• Rick Haynes - Bass
• Van Dyke Parks - Harmonica
• John Sebastian - Guitar, Harmonica

[edit] External links

• Album lyrics and chords

Gordon Lightfoot discography

Main albums: Lightfoot! (1966) | The Way I Feel (1967) | Did She Mention My Name (1968) | Back Here on Earth (1968) | Sunday Concert (1969) | Sit Down Young Stranger (1970) | Summer Side of Life (1971) | Don Quixote (1972) | Old Dan's Records (1972) | Sundown (1974) | Cold on the Shoulder (1975) | Summertime Dream (1976) | Endless Wire (1978) | Dream Street Rose (1980) | Shadows (1982) | Salute (1983) | East of Midnight (1986) | Waiting for You (1993) | A Painter Passing Through (1998) | Harmony (2004)

Main Compilations: Gord's Gold (1975) | Gord's Gold, Vol. 2 (1988) | Songbook (1999) | Complete Greatest Hits (2002)

Notable Singles: "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" (1967) | "If You Could Read My Mind" (1970) | "Sundown" (1974) | "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" (1976)