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We caught up with Lightfoot recently on the phone in Toronto.

What can you tell me about the new documentary?

We worked on that over the last three-and-a-half years with Insight Productions.

Have you seen it?

No, of course not! It’ll be the first time for me (on April 27).

Is it true you have 14 new songs ready to go for a brand-new studio album that would be your first in 15 years?

Yeah, I’ve got a whole bunch of material that I wrote a long time ago that I discovered one day while cleaning out my office. It was a very, very lucky day. They go back to about the turn of the century, 2001, just before the (stomach) aneurysm (in 2002). And let me tell you this. I had already chosen a number of tunes for the Harmony album (recorded in 2001 but not released until 2004) while I was still in the hospital getting over the first series of operations. I had seven operations. I was out cold for six weeks. I had no idea how close it came.

What approach might you take with the new album?

I’m half-tempted to let the whole thing go solo. I’m trying to figure that out right now. That would be really interesting. I remember when Bruce Springsteen did that with his (1982) Nebraska album. It could be (just me and my acoustic guitar) or I could go in with my orchestra and we could start working on the stuff that works into the fall. What I’m trying to say is, I would like to get on with it because I’m not getting any younger, let’s put it that way.

So when do we get to hear it?

Well, if I do it this way (solo acoustic), it’d probably come out in the fall. You don’t want to come out short and you don’t want to come out long. Albums can be too long and you wind up with a couple of sleepers. So like 10-12 (songs). I don’t like 11. I’ve got a couple of newer ones too that I want to record, demos, which will also be originals.