Sit Down Young Stranger
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''Sit Down Young Stranger'' is Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot's fifth studio album and his best-selling original album. Shortly after its 1970 release on the
Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...
label, it was renamed ''If You Could Read My Mind'' when the song of that title reached #1 on the ''
RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
'' Top Singles chart in Canada and #5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the US. The album itself reached #12 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. In Canada, the album was on the charts from April 18, 1970, to November 27, 1971. It peaked at #8 on March 13, 1971 after an earlier peak at #12 on June 20, 1970. Its last 24 weeks were spent in the 90s, except for appearances at #88 and #100.


History

''Sit Down Young Stranger'' was Lightfoot's first recording for his new label, Reprise Records. He had left United Artists because he believed they did not adequately promote his albums. On this album, 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 electric bass guitarist Haynes. "Minstrel of the Dawn" and "Approaching Lavender" were orchestrated by
Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early Americana (music), Americana-influenced songs (often ...
. The album contained one of the first recorded versions of Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster's " Me and Bobby McGee" which had previously been a country hit for
Roger Miller Roger Dean Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping Country music, country and pop hits "King of the Road (song), Ki ...
and would later become a hit for
Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known Rock music, rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage ...
. A small number of vinyl copies of the album contain no title on the front cover. 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. The untitled copies did have a small sticker on the cellophane wrap bearing the album's title. One rarity of note is "The Pony Man" appears on the Warner Brothers loss leader ''Schlagers!'' without the harmonica overdub.


Reception

In his retrospective Allmusic review, critic Jim Newsom praised the album, writing "While future albums would begin to drift away from the folky acoustic timbres of this one, the beauty and simplicity of Sit Down Young Stranger make it a timeless recording."


Track listing

All compositions by Gordon Lightfoot; except where indicated


Side 1

#"Minstrel of the Dawn" – 3:26 #" Me and Bobby McGee" ( Kris Kristofferson, Fred Foster) - 3:38 #"Approaching Lavender" – 2:56 #"Saturday Clothes" – 3:20 #"Cobwebs & Dust" – 3:20 #"Poor Little Allison" – 2:30


Side 2

#"Sit Down Young Stranger" – 3:26 #" If You Could Read My Mind" – 3:48 #"Baby It's Alright" – 2:58 #"Your Love's Return (Song for Stephen Foster)" – 3:55 #"The Pony Man" – 3:27


Chart performance


Certifications


Personnel

* Gordon Lightfoot - guitar, piano, vocals * Red Shea - guitar * Rick Haynes -
bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...
with: *
Ry Cooder Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, an ...
- slide guitar on "Me and Bobby McGee",
mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
on "Cobwebs and Dust" * 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 Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early Americana (music), Americana-influenced songs (often ...
- string arrangement on "Minstrel of the Dawn" and "Approaching Lavender" * Kris Kristofferson was rumored to have provided harmony vocals on "Me and Bobby McGee" ;Technical *Gary Brandt, Lee Herschberg - engineer *
Barry Feinstein Barry Feinstein (February 4, 1931 – October 20, 2011) was an American photographer and filmmaker, known for his photographs of 1950s Hollywood, the 1960s music scene, and his close personal and professional relationships with celebrities like ...
, Tom Wilkes - design, photography


References


External links


Album lyrics and chords
* {{Authority control Gordon Lightfoot albums 1970 albums Reprise Records albums Albums arranged by Randy Newman Albums produced by Joe Wissert Albums produced by Lenny Waronker Albums conducted by Randy Newman