Coming off as warm and affectionate as its protagonist, “Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind” is a breezy introduction to one of Canada’s most famous singer/songwriters. Chronologically working through Lightfoot’s storied, and seven decades-long, career, directors Martha Kehoe and Joan Tosoni intermix Lightfoot’s own recollection with traditional talking heads, including contemporary musicians and modern fans of his work.
Lightfoot, who is given the most interview time, is both nostalgic and dismissive of his central role in the rebirth of folk in the 60s and 70s, providing a sometimes blunt prospect on his most famous work. Perhaps best known for his 1970 album and the title song “If You Could Read My Mind,” which was originally titled “Sit Down Young Stranger” before the recording company renamed it in a bid to sell more LP’s (which worked), Lightfoot’s songs, as the documentary suggests, has infiltrated public consciousness even if you’ve never heard his name. When discussing 1965 hit “For Lovin’ Me,” which was famously covered by Peter, Paul, and Mary, Lightfoot bluntly asserts “I hate the fucking song,” if only because it presents him as a terrible romantic partner. Lightfoot is anything but precious with his work, always looking towards the new sons that he is writing.
The film, more or less, proceeds chronologically, beginning with Lightfoot’s early choir singing, through his television performances on “Country Hoedown,” and his first success with “If You Could Read My Mind.” Viewing contemporary musician Bob Dylan as his hero, Lightfoot would intermix traditional folk with historical songwriting, delivering the “Canadian Railroad Trilogy” and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” two historically based ballads. When numerous interviewees describe Lightfoot as Canadian’s “poet laureate,” they are speaking to his ability to distill Canadian history into song. More than a few times, his Canadian influence is compared to Drake, an odd yet nevertheless apt comparison.
Not to suggest that “Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind” is hagiographic, as it spends considerable time diving into Lightfoot’s addictions, including his womanizing and hard-partying. Lightfoot is even blunter of his assessment of the toll his lifestyle took on him, at one point calling out his poor acting performance in “Harry Tracy: The Last of the Wild Bunch” because he looks bloated and tired during the entire film. Lightfoot obviously went through a tough time for both his addictions and subsequent health problems, including falling into a coma in 2002, but more than anything, Kehoe and Tosoni’s film is celebratory of an under-appreciated musician. Those darker moments in Lightfoot’s career mere footnotes to the larger influence he had over Canadian music.
Lightfoot’s music has been covered by everyone from Viola Wills (for her disco-themed “If You Could Read My Mind,” which is probably more well known than Lightfoot’s version) to The Dandy Warhols. His expansive catalogue has influenced a number of contemporary musicians, many of which are interviewed in the film, including Sarah McLachlan and Anne Murray. While not a complete portrait of Lightfoot, “If You Could Read My Mind” provides enough key insight into the musician to entertain those who are already fans and convert the others who perhaps haven’t heard of him. [A-]