Richard Thompson

Guitarist Richard Thompson left the Fairport Convention in 1971. Surprising all those who had considered him merely as a skilled sessionman, Thompson emerged both as one of the most brilliant guitarists of the 1990s and as one of the most original and profound songwriters ever. Thompson writes songs that resemble religious psalms, in which classical composure and eccentric flair coexist.

His first solo album, Henry The Human Fly (Island, 1972), introduced the voice of his wife, Linda. The fatalistic lyrics, inspired by the Muslim religion, lent a parable-like tone to his songs, which musically combined Chuck Berry-style riffs (Roll Over Vaughan Williams) with the use of concertina and accordion by John Kirkpatrick. Standouts include The New St. George, Wheely Down, and The Poor Ditching Boy, while Nobody's Wedding and The Old Changing Way hark back to the folk-rock of the Fairport Convention.

I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight (1974), also credited to Linda, was an even more innovative work. On that record stand out When I Get To The Border, the first of his blasphemous dedications to Death, Calvary Cross, a dramatic sermon, and The End Of The Rainbow, of a lacerating nihilism. Even songs that musically seem unremarkable (The Great Valerio, Withered and Died) still manage to send chills down the spine. Both Thompson�s guitar technique and Linda�s vaguely exotic mezzo-soprano shine.

Continuing a remarkable progression, the peak of this phase was reached the following year not so much with Hokey Pokey (Island, 1975), which includes the classic Georgie On A Spree, I'll Regret It All In The Morning, and A Heart Needs A Home, but with the somber and austere Pour Down Like Silver (Island, 1975), influenced by their conversion to Sufism. The sound had arrived at a hallucinatory synthesis of the Band and the Dylan of Desire (Streets Of Paradise, Hard Luck Stories). The funereal vocal harmonies of For Shame Of Doing Wrong, the martial and tragic Poor Boy Is Taken Away, and the long, noble elegy Night Comes In go even further: the slow, cadaverous pace of the ballads is marked by the crystalline diction of the singers; the accompaniment seems to fade away, the chiming guitar chords falling into utter desolation.
The charm of his songs owes much to his guitar style (which sometimes imitates bagpipes, sometimes indulges in jazz improvisations, sometimes mixes dissonant and melodic elements) and to his compositional method (largely inspired by various dance forms, from the morris to the waltz), both filtered through Celtic folk.

Guitar Vocal (Island, 1976) is a double anthology of previously unreleased material, including a ghostly cover of Dark End Of The Street.

First Light (Chrysalis, Oct 1978) Don't Let A Thief Steal Into Your Heart In the following years Thompson became famous above all for his lofty ballads of death (Strange Affair, 1978).

Sunnyvista (Chrysalis, Sep 1979) Lonely Hearts Why Do You Turn Your Back After the instrumental Strict Tempo (Elixir, Sep 1981), a collection of jigs, reels, and polkas played entirely by him, Richard joined the dadaist ensembles of David Thomas.

Linda and Richard Thompson matched their finest moments on Shoot Out The Lights (Hannibal, Mar 1982), bolstered by a rhythm section made up of former Fairport Convention colleagues. The anthem Wall Of Death ("you can waste your time on the other rides/ but this is the nearest to being alive") and the other majestic epics on the album depict a highly personal and decidedly gloomy world. At times they are so rich in rhythmic ideas as to recall American country (the gallop and bass chorus of Don't Renege Our Love). The contrast between ends and means could not be more disorienting: Walking On A Wire is structured like a typical slow dance, and Man In Need mimics the harder side of Jefferson Airplane. This technique borders on the most ferocious �black humor� in pieces like Backstreet Slide, a kind of festive parade over a macabre vision. More in line with the album�s theme are the macabre tolling of the title track, an expressionist nightmare, and the funeral elegy Did She Jump Or Was She Pushed, whose nervous guitar continuum immerses it in a thriller-like atmosphere.

After separating from Linda, Thompson with Hand Of Kindness (Hannibal, Jun 1983) seemed to sink into his darkest depression, through allegories (Devonside) and personal memories (Tear Stained Letter, How I Wanted To), although the music was among the liveliest of his entire career (in line with the venomous lyrics of Tear Stained Letter, one of his peaks, and A Poisoned Heart And A Twisted Memory).

The negative mood also permeates Love In A Faithless Country on Across A Crowded Room (Polydor, Apr 1985), highlighted by the solo in Walking Through A Wasted Land.

The more expansive Daring Adventure (Polydor, Sep 1986) includes the sharp Dead Man's Handle and the enchanting elegy Jennie, but also the cajun quadrille Valerie, the driving A Bone Through The Nose, and the single Nearly In Love. The album closes with How Will I Ever Be Simple Again and Al Bowlly's In Heaven, which seal Thompson�s conversion to a more human, middle tone.

Surprisingly, Linda Thompson�s solo album One Clear Moment (Warner, 1985) showed that Richard was not the only genius of the pair (Telling Me Lies).

Thompson also lent his guitar to the surreal monologues of David Thomas and contributed A Blind Step Away to the album Live Love Larf And Loaf (Rhino, 1987), recorded with drummer John French and guitarists Fred Frith and Henry Kaiser; as well as the operatic novelty March Of The Cosmetic Surgeons and the catchy jest Peppermint Rock on the subsequent Invisible Means (Demon, 1990) by the same quartet.

Amnesia (Capitol, 1988) is another significant work, albeit in a format that is "pop" by his austere standards. At least Turning Of The Tide, The Reckless Kind and Waltzing For Dreamers rank among his most profound compositions. Can't Win boasts one of his most spectacular solos, and a close second is the solo of Don't Tempt Me.
Other tracks: Gypsy Love Songs, Jerusalem On The Jukebox, I Still Dream, Yankee, Go Home, Pharaoh.

Rumor And Sigh (Capitol, 1991) is another work by a mature master who can write impeccable songs without the slightest effort. Thompson is equally at ease with the violent, harsh rockers (especially I Feel So Good, but also Backlash Love Affair and You Dream Too Much) and with the somber, pensive dirges (I Misunderstood, Mystery Wind, the sentimental ballad God Loves A Drunk, the spectacular folk tune 1952 Vincent Black Lightning) and even finds the time to deliver a comic tale of puberty (Read About Love).

Sweet Talker (Capitol, 1992) is a (mostly instrumental) soundtrack (To Hang A Dream On).

Watching The Dark (Hannibal, 1993) is a three-disc career retrospective

Slick production and poppy refrains almost destroy the magic on Mirror Blue (Capitol, 1994). Some songs (King Of Bohemia, Taking My Business Elsewhere, and especially Beeswing) echo his past work trying to match the intensity. Some (Mascara Tears, Mingus Eyes, Easy There Steady Now) try new avenues. And I Can't Wake Up To Save My Life tries a little too hard to sound like a pop ballad.

From this half-operational Richard Thompson a double-disc opus such as You Me Us (Capitol, 1996) is a mixed blessing. Occasionally (The Ghost of You Walks , Bank Vault In Heaven, Razor Dance, Dark Hand Over My Heart, Hide It Away) one hears the classic Thompson mood, Few of the acoustic tunes deserve to be in the album, She Cut Off Her Long Silken Hair being the notable exception. This should have been an EP, not a double album.

Bug Music Sampler (Bug Music, 1998) is an anthology.

Mock Tudor (Capitol, 1999), a concept album about London, is a hodgepodge of Thompson-ian stereotypes that covers a broad stylistic range (sprightly blues-rock in Cooksferry Queen , rhythm and blues balladry in Two-Faced Love, dreary pop soulfulness in Dry My Tears And Move On). Thompson is trying very hard to top himself, both vocally/lyrically, with the folkish fresco of Sights And Sounds Of London Town, an apocalyptic gallery of characters reminiscent of Dylan's Desolation Row (but the refrain recalls 1952 Vincent Black Lightning), and instrumentally (two guitar solos in Hard On Me, one of them sounding like the riff off Shoot Out the Lights). Whatever his intentions, Thompson delivers a catchy, bouncy Crawl Back (which is basically an improved version of Razor Dance), in the tradition of Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers, that is probably his most radio-friendly tune.

It took 17 years for Linda Thompson to recover from a severe disease and record a follow-up to her charming solo debut, One Clear Moment (Warner, 1985): Fashionably Late (Rounder, 2002). Her third solo, Versatile Heart (2007) was even better, although still limited by the fact that the best songs were written by others (Beauty by Rufus Wainwright and several by her son Teddy Thompson).

The Old Kit Bag (Cooking Vinyl, 2003), which comprises two song cycles, was his humblest work in a long time. Its music is nonetheless artsy and ambitious, particularly the long and stately Gethsemane and First Breath, and the moving meditations of A Love You Can't Survive and I'll Tag Along, even pretentious in Outside of the Inside. A great solo hypnotizes Jealous Words.

Even humbler is Front Parlour Ballads (Cooking Vinyl, 2005), a mostly lo-fi acoustic collection recorded at home. Grizzly Man (2005) is the soundtrack to a Werner Herzog film.

Sweet Warrior (2007), released on the 40th anniversary of the year he started playing with Fairport Convention, was another solo but mainly on electric guitar. The songs were bleak and gloomy as usual, but at least a bit more robust. The album, however, contains too much filler and too little variety. Dad's Gonna Kill Me and Guns Are the Tongues stand out.

Dream Attic (Proper, 2010), recorded live but containing all new material, contains new classics like Haul Me Up Crimescene and If Love Whispers Your Name as well as moments of pure guitar glory (like the solo in Sidney Wells).

Electric (2013), recorded at the producer's house with a rhythm section and Nashville session-men, contains typical Thompson-esque elegies like My Enemy, I'm Saving The Good Stuff For You and Good Things Happen to Bad People as well as the stomping, rocking Stony Ground and the country-ish The Snow Goose (a duet with Alison Krause).

He re-recorded alone some of his old songs on Acoustic Classics (2014).

Still (2015), produced by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, contains too many mediocre songs, but a few save the day: She Never Could Resist A Winding Road in his classic style, the lively Patty Don't You Put Me Down, and the comic Guitar Heroes.

13 Rivers (2018) certainly offers variety (the edgy The Storm Won�t Come, over a tribal Bo Diddley-esque rhythm, the bluesy The Dog in You, the rocking You Can�t Reach It and the poppy Do all these Tears Belong to You?), but is bogged down, yet again, by too much filler.