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List Price: $11.98 | | Label: Warner Bros / Wea
Salesrank: 9837
Released: October 25, 1990 |
| Our Price: $7.06 |
| Used Price: $6.10 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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If You Could Read My Mind Track Listing:
1. Minstrel of the Dawn
2. Me and Bobby McGee
3. Approaching Lavender
4. Saturday Clothes
5. Cobwebs & Dust
6. Poor Little Allison
7. Sit Down Young Stranger
8. If You Could Read My Mind
9. Baby It's Allright
10. Your Love's Return (Song for Stephen Foster)
11. Pony Man
If You Could Read My Mind Reviews:
Gord's First Warner Reprise 
2009-12-14 - I first heard "If You Could Read My Mind" back in the 1970s. I was living in the USA, but was from Canada - and back then if you were from Canada, having a Lightfoot album was obligatory. The first Lighfoot album I owned was "Don Quixote," which was released about 2 years after this one. Well, I began to collect all of Lightfoot's albums after that, and came across this one several years later.
A Little background on this album: Released in 1970 as "Sit Down young Stranger," the Producers decided to change the title of the album to "If You Could Read My Mind" after the song became a hit, with the belief that it would sell more albums with a recognized name.
This was Lightfoot's first album with Warner: Reprise, after releasing 5 previous albums in the 1960s with United Artists. This was also the first album, which featured full orchestrations, and a fuller production sound. True, there were orchestrations on previous albums, on songs such as "Pussywillows Cat-Tails," and "Canadian Railroad Trilogy." However, the orchestrations on this album are superior to any previously released. So generally, it's the production quality in addition to the performances and excellent song writing that makes this album superior to all Lightfoot's previous albums. I would say that this is Lightfoot's all time best album.
As I'm writing this, I'm listening to "Minstrel Of The Dawn." Well, we are perhaps used to popular albums making a bold statement at the beginning, with an upbeat catchy tune to get us into what follows. Well this album is a delightful exception. It starts out with a song that could not be more mellow - yet it works.
Lightfoot's cover of Kristofferson's "Me And Bobby McGee" is actually one of the several highlights of this album. Lightfoot began an album tradition of overdubbing his own voice for the background vocals, which was a common practice back in the 1970s. It works well on this number. Lighfoot's band here show their skills well, with a bluesy feel, and a light lap-slapping rhythm. Another mellow song - in fact, the whole album has a fine mellow listenability unlike most pop albums of the time.
"Approaching Lavender" - a little more upbeat than the two openers, with an interesting meandering string sound, which occasionally seems to go off-key (or off-note) - yet strangely it works.
"Saturday Clothes" - Not one of my favorites on this album, but listenable. It's a relaxed jazzy tune with some comical lyrics - "I feel a little sad 'Cause I can't sew." Lightfoot has a habit of singing these lines so seriously, that one could easily miss their comical nature.
"Cobwebs And Dust" is one of the several highlights here. It starts with a simple solo guitar, and Lightfoot offering a simple melody, which repeats with additional instruments joining and building some momentum until you can't help but join in. Van Dyke Parks (who wrote the music for the Robert Altman musical film Popeye (Starring Robin Williams and Shelly Duval) and who also orchestrated U2s "All I Want Is You" on Rattle and Hum)offers some instrumentation here on an instrument called a 'harmonium.'
"Poor Little Allison" is perhaps the most upbeat song on the album. It would seem like a mismatch given the lyrical content, but again, it seems to work well.
"Sit Down Young Stranger" - With Vietnam in full swing, many young Americans were dodging the mandatory draft by taking off to Canada. They are apparently the young strangers Lightfoot speaks of here.
"If You Could Read My Mind" is perhaps one of Lightfoot's best written songs. More people have covered this song of all Lightfoot's many songs. Yet the album version here is not the version that is played on radio most often. That version would be the one onGord's Gold which includes the overdubbed harmonies towards the end of the song. I think the "Gord's Gold" version is actually an improvement.
"Baby It's All Right" is an excellent bluesy riff with an upbeat chorus. The instrumentation could not be more fitting.
"Your Love's Return (Song For Steven Foster)" is a tribute song. It offers a very lovely melody and orchestration. The lyrics convey a longing for returning to a loved one after being gone for some time.
"The Pony Man" - This is the best recorded version of this song - The "Gord's Gold Volume II" version is overproduced, and does not have the emotional appeal this one evokes. It's a children's song, but has an appeal to all.
Overall this album defined the Lightfoot sound on all the following 70s albums through "Cold On The Shoulder." It's important to understand that Lightfoot is less an innovator, and more a purist on these albums. The only real innovation is the combination of excellent guitar work with sublime orchestration that is not over done, but complimentary. Lightfoot's barritone voice on this album is at its prime. I highly recommend this album for all those who are unfamiliar with Lightfoot, but want to explore his talent.
Great Stories in Song
2009-04-06 - I grew up listening to this album first on 8-track and then cassette. I love the songs and singing of Gordon Lightfoot. I can't really be more specific about the music. It's just a part of my childhood and I love it.
some of the best music available
2008-10-19 - I received this 'album' for my 13th birthday, and that was a long time ago - it was a new release then! I have listened to it so many times since, at so many different stages in my life.
As an adult, I have sung 'Pony Man' to my children; as a teenager, I lay in the dark with headphones on, immersed in the layers and colors of 'Your loves return' and 'Cobwebs and Dust'. 'If you could read my mind' threaded its way through so many times and places, and many times, I stood in the night wind with 'Poor Little Alison' echoing in my ears. In short, I cannot imagine the last 40 years without these songs. That's a pretty good tribute to good music!
Beautiful Songs, Melancholy and Enduring
2008-06-27 - I've loved this album for 35 years. Some of the people close to me used to make fun of the music, and I still don't understand why. His songs touch me in a different way from other music. Some people I've known have been just as involved with listening to his music as I, so he doesn't seem to affect people in a middle of the road way - you love his music, or you don't care much for it. "The Pony Man" lullaby, one of my favorites, was a big reason to buy this CD, which I also have on vinyl. The "Pony Man" CD version isn't available for download anywhere I've found. Moody, pensive and poignant tunes to fill your soul with what you hunger for.
Classic Lightfoot
2007-11-21 - Gordon Lightfoot really came of age as a singer/songwriter in the late sixties and early seventies. If You Could Read My Mind is one of those recordings that, like many of Dylan's and James Taylor's, has aged like a fine wine. I honestly had forgotten just how good this record was until I started filling in some of my old 33's with CD's. The entire album is beautifully written and makes you feel like you're visiting an old friend. I am now in the process of replacing all of my Lightfoot albums with the CD versions. It also helped that I saw Gordon perform in Indianapolis this past October. He's older now (like we all are) but is still one of those performers who moves your soul.
