July 13, 2003: Richard Thompson
Jesus- I never write about music, but I've got to say- Richard Thompson may be the best musician who I have heard in the last three years. I picked up his "Action Packed: Best of the Capital Years" for a couple of stupid reasons: for one, he has the same name as Sam, and for two, a couple of years ago, he was mentioned in a blog post by my old sparring partner K. Thor Jensen. Anyway, this guy is amazing. Like Elvis Costello, but more bluesy and melodic, and a better musician. It's a mystery why he is not more famous than he is, and a misfortune that I never heard him before now.
Audience participation: I'm new to his music- do any of you have recommendations for a follow-up purchase?
"Shoot Out the Lights" or "I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight" by Richard & Linda Thompson (his wife at the time). His albums with the Fairport Convention are also utter classics.
A lot of Elvis Costello fans seem to enjoy Richard Thompson.
EC fans also tend to mention;
Bob Dylan
Tom Waits
Ron Sexsmith
Randy Newman
So check those guys out, too, maybe...
Oh hee hee - googling myself is awesome. Also awesome: Richard Thompson. There's a version of "Cavalry Cross" on his box set that's a) live and b) completely soul-destroying. But I think I wrote about that already. Man, we got old and mellow. Nice site you got here, though.
god- i know. but the old days were a little rough- what with all the fronting and the beefing. but god- i miss having nemesis- or is it nemesi?
i really enjoyed the later richard thompson- but now i want to find out more about his early career- i got the small town romance album, but that's from 1982- i want to find out what he sounded like in the late 1960s.
60's Thompson? Then you're gonna want Unhalfbricking and Liege & Lief by Fairport Convention. This is some of the earliest Thompson stuff and it's way more rooted in trad. British folk music style - you can see how good he would turn out to be but the ensemble setting, in my opinion, isn't the best place to appreciate him. However, the rest of the band is no slouch, esp. Sandy Denny who is one of the best folk vocalists of all time. Unhalfbricking was just reissued, if I remember right. His 70's stuff with Linda is the strongest stuff he's done, and I second the recommendation of I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight and Shoot Out The Lights.
Re: beefing, I still have a few nemeses, alas - ain't much I can do about my big mouth even after 27 years of it. Ah well, you take and you give.
agreed- the early stuff is very good but you don't get to hear his voice the way you want. and everyone seems to love shoot out the lights, but i think it sounds a little dated- or at least, less folk. i'm going to listen to it five or ten more times and see if my opinion changes.
and re: re: beefing, the hilarious thing is that me and k. thor are now connected via friendster- we're about 2 hops apart! if only the israelis and palistinians could be brought together so easily.
Well, Shoot Out The Lights is "less folk" - or at least less traditionally folk. Thompson's always had this hybridized thing going on where he uses rock volume and phrasing in folk contexts. As he's aged he's kind of mellowed his attack but Shoot Out works for me because of the emotional intensity of the material. I Want To See The Bright Lights is a little more transitional and you might like it more if you're looking for the more folksy stuff. I can agree that the production on a lot of his stuff is a little wonky - he makes some bad sonic choices.
I've got to say I disagree with the fact that his 70s post Sufi commune stuff with Linda is his best. I've been listening to Richard Thompson's stuff since I can remember and in my opinion, lyrically and in terms of the musical phrasing two of my favorite albums of his are Rumor & Sigh and Mirror Blue (which features the song Beeswing, a beautiful folk ballad). By the way, have loved your blog for some time!
You can't do better than listen to RT's 2 most recent studio albums "Mock Tudor" and "The Old Kit Bag". Both contain classics.
I've seen RT live over a number of years and like a fine wine, he improves with age!
Of course I'm a big fan of Fairport as well.
Get thee to a live concert; until you do, you'll never have more than a wee clue how good this man is
On January 24 2004 Richard Thompson appeared on stage with Jackson Browne in Santa Barbara. There you have another link.
Jackson may be more famous, but of course Richard is better. Please, check my RT fansite.
On January 24 2004 Richard Thompson appeared on stage with Jackson Browne in Santa Barbara. There you have another link.
Jackson may be more famous, but of course Richard is better. Please, check my RT fansite.
On January 24 2004 Richard Thompson appeared on stage with Jackson Browne in Santa Barbara. There you have another link.
Jackson may be more famous, but of course Richard is better. Please, check my RT fansite.
Saw RT solo for the first time last Friday night, I'm still buzzing. This man surely can't get any better? The RT band performances last year were also amazing. There's still a lot of RT material for me to discover, favourite albums so far, Rumor & Sigh, Mirror Blue, OKB. I just wish the Man received the recognition he deserves, Sir RT perhaps?
Funny thing about Thompson is there are heaps of dedicated fans out there.. I heard him once say in an interview that everytime he releases an album his label thinks "Yes! He's finnally done it" As his albulms in the first week of release often make it into the top 100 albums, as all the sad bastard fans buy the album in the first week. Unfortunately they soon drop out of the top 100 after the initial onslaught.
There is a great live double album if you are still newish to him
Richard Thompson and Danny Thompson(no relation)
"2 Letter Words"
Or there is a great tribute album called "Beat the Retreat"
I just came on this blog to post something else and found out about your new found love for Richard Thompson. I had to answer. He's the coolest and I am so happy you have discovered his totally amazing skill. Richard Thompson has been one of the best guitartist of all time since he started. His wife Linda Thompson and their son Richard are also fabulous musicians. "Shoot out the lights" and "I want to see the Bright Lights tonight" go without saying, but "Poor Down Like Silver" and "Hand of Kindness" are amazing too. "Rumor and Sigh" is a little poppy, but is excellent - how can it not be?
Strict Tempo shows off RT's amazing musicianship, lightning fast guitar riffs and unusal arrangements. Little singing on this one, but I've had it years and I still pull it out to enjoy almost weekly. My personal CD favorite is one called....uhm...something BLUE. (I'm sooo tired!!) It has a song that I can relate to today called, "I Can't Wake Up...." There is also has a tasty "tribute" to McDonald's in a ditty called "Fast Food Restaurant." Sorry don't have it here in the office, but it is on his discography sites.
RT was touring with his son several years ago. Not sure if he still is....
Strict Tempo shows off RT's amazing musicianship, lightning fast guitar riffs and unusual arrangements. Little singing on this one, but I've had it years and I still pull it out to enjoy almost weekly. My personal CD favorite is one called....uhm...something BLUE. (I'm sooo tired!!) It has a song that I can relate to today called, "I Can't Wake Up...." There is also has a tasty "tribute" to McDonald's in a ditty called "Fast Food Restaurant." Sorry don't have it here in the office, but it is on his discography sites.
RT was touring with his son several years ago. Not sure if he still is....