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. ~ Jim Newsom