September 04, 2015

Publication title: blogs.wsj.com, vol. -, Iss. -, pg. –
Place: Unknown
Writer: Eric R. Danton

Exclusive: Diana Krall Duets With Sarah McLachlan on Gordon Lightfoot Cover

In a confluence of Canadians, Diana Krall duets with Sarah McLachlan on a cover of Gordon Lightfoot’s 1970 single “If You Could Read My Mind.” The song premieres today on Speakeasy.

Krall starts the tune, accompanied by acoustic guitar and subdued strings as she sings in a dusky register sweetened by McLachlan’s breathier tones on the second verse. The song is one of four new tracks on the forthcoming deluxe edition of Krall’s latest album, “Wallflower,” which the British Columbia-born singer released earlier this year.

Lightfoot’s version is one of 46 singles he has released in a career that began in the mid-1960s. He recorded “If You Could Read My Mind” for his 1970 album “Sit Down Young Stranger.” The song was the third single from the album, reaching No. 1 on the Canadian singles chart and peaking at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in February 1971. Lightfoot has said his divorce inspired the song.

Krall wasn’t available to talk about why she chose to record the tune, or how she came to work with McLachlan, though she said through a publicist that McLachlan—known for songs including “Building a Mystery,” “Angel” and “Adia,” all from her 1997 album “Surfacing”—is one of her “dearest friends.”

“Wallflower,” Krall’s 12th studio album, became her sixth top-10 release when it entered the charts at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in February. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard jazz chart. Along with “If You Could Read My Mind,” the other three new songs on the deluxe edition are Krall singing Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold,” Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You” and Fred Neil’s “Everybody’s Talking,” a duet with Vince Gill.

The new deluxe edition is due Sept. 25 on Verve.