If he were the proprietor of a High Street
shop, he could quite legitimately hang a
business sign above his door stating
something along the lines of - 'Richard
Thompson: Making Other Singer/Songwriters and
Guitarists Look Pretty Ordinary Since 1968'.
On Friday evening Richard Thompson (fronting
his Electric Trio) did just that, throughout
an incendiary set that touched on all periods
of his long career. Highlights? Blimey, now
you're asking. '1952 Vincent Black Lightning'
never, ever gets old and was utterly
spectacular. 'Beatnik Walking' one of several
treats from his latest LP, 'Still'. 'Did She
Jump or Was She Pushed?', possibly the only
song from 'Shoot Out the Lights' I'd never
previously seen him perform in concert. A
totally inspired cover of beat classic 'Take
a Heart' by The Sorrows as a final encore.
Best of all though, was a frankly staggering
reading of 'Hard on Me' (originally issued on
'Mock Tudor' in 1999) in which Thompson's
extended solo was beyond comparison with any
other guitar-slinger that I've ever come
across and should more realistically be
musically likened to how it must have felt to experience John Coltrane in full flight.
I recently flicked through an article that
rated all of Richard Thompson's solo LP's in
reverse order and was marginally horrified to
read that the author had ranked the 1996
double album 'You? Me? Us?' as his worst. I
couldn't tell you offhand what title I'd put
at the bottom of the heap, the man's quality
threshold is so high, I can tell you that it
wouldn't be 'You? Me? Us?' though.
Fortunately for those punters sitting in my
vicinity, Richard Thompson didn't play 'The
Ghost Of You Walks' on Friday evening,
because If he had, there wouldn't have been a
dry eye in my little corner of the house.
I'm missing this tour and seems I've made another mistake. I'd have loved to have heard 'Hard On Me', which I don't think I've heard him play since the original Mock Tudor tour. 'You? Me? Us?' is a bit a strange one - some really great songs there but maybe a double was stretching it too far? Just a thought. My least favourite RT solo album has always been 'Across A Crowded Room' but it's still miles better than anything else most can achieve. It's all relative. Haven't bought 'Still' yet - how does it rank?
John. No 'Spell is Broken' this time around, but I know exactly what you mean.
CC. I've been lucky enough to have seen him 7 or 8 times over the years and rarely in the same permutation twice - big band, small band, solo & duo. There were some mutterings in the foyer after the show about the current line-up - they're a real power trio at times - and the setlist, but the man and his band simply didn't put a foot wrong. He's worth checking out again and again because you really don't know what you're likely to get, but you can pretty much guarantee that it'll be fantastic.
Singing Bear. I've been enjoying the new album a lot. As Mojo pointed out, if it had been made by a young artist they'd have been hailed as the next big thing, but Thompson's standards are so high that the quality of 'Still' is considered par for the course.
FurryBootsCityBoy. Thanks for dropping by. He's also featured Otis Blackwell's 'Daddy Rollin' Stone' as a final encore of a couple of shows. The guy has taste!
Brian. He's well worth shelling out for if he plays a town near you!
Just got aware that he will play next Monday at my place and I am trying to get a ticket for the show. Hope it get's true to see him once again.Seems like an unforgettable night ahead. I'm excited to get this come true.
I'm old so I've always been aware of him but it wasn't until Rumour and Sigh that I properly came to know him. That's a great album but was less impressed with Mock Tudor. Since then I've been a fitful follower. Liked his BBC show with Loudon Wainwright (incidentally an unsung genius) and Suzanne Vega and I've just bought his acoustic classics album, so I'm back on track.
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9 comments:
I hope he did When the Spell is Broken. I usually break down uncontrollably whenever he plays it live.
He is indeed a God like Genius
Have only seen him the once and he was quite magnificant
I'm missing this tour and seems I've made another mistake. I'd have loved to have heard 'Hard On Me', which I don't think I've heard him play since the original Mock Tudor tour. 'You? Me? Us?' is a bit a strange one - some really great songs there but maybe a double was stretching it too far? Just a thought. My least favourite RT solo album has always been 'Across A Crowded Room' but it's still miles better than anything else most can achieve. It's all relative. Haven't bought 'Still' yet - how does it rank?
Take a Heart is a great 60's song - one of my all-time favourites and I'd love to hear RT perform it.
High praise, Swede, and I'm sure well deserved. Sounds like an unforgettable night. My face must be green with all the envy I feel.
John. No 'Spell is Broken' this time around, but I know exactly what you mean.
CC. I've been lucky enough to have seen him 7 or 8 times over the years and rarely in the same permutation twice - big band, small band, solo & duo. There were some mutterings in the foyer after the show about the current line-up - they're a real power trio at times - and the setlist, but the man and his band simply didn't put a foot wrong. He's worth checking out again and again because you really don't know what you're likely to get, but you can pretty much guarantee that it'll be fantastic.
Singing Bear. I've been enjoying the new album a lot. As Mojo pointed out, if it had been made by a young artist they'd have been hailed as the next big thing, but Thompson's standards are so high that the quality of 'Still' is considered par for the course.
FurryBootsCityBoy. Thanks for dropping by. He's also featured Otis Blackwell's 'Daddy Rollin' Stone' as a final encore of a couple of shows. The guy has taste!
Brian. He's well worth shelling out for if he plays a town near you!
Just got aware that he will play next Monday at my place and I am trying to get a ticket for the show. Hope it get's true to see him once again.Seems like an unforgettable night ahead. I'm excited to get this come true.
I'm old so I've always been aware of him but it wasn't until Rumour and Sigh that I properly came to know him. That's a great album but was less impressed with Mock Tudor. Since then I've been a fitful follower. Liked his BBC show with Loudon Wainwright (incidentally an unsung genius) and Suzanne Vega and I've just bought his acoustic classics album, so I'm back on track.
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