S/D: Richard Thompson

bonus live disc that came out w/ a deluxe reissue of Shoot Out The Lights is highly recommended.

and yeah "More Guitar" has (as the title suggests) some of Thompson's wildest electric guitar playing. I like Celtschmertz too, which is mostly solo acoustic, late 90s.

Semi-Detached Mock Tudor is preferable to Mock Tudor IMO
I also like the live versions on the terribly titled Ducknapped over the studio versions of its era.
Can't remember if I've heard More Guitar or not

iirc the insane "can't win" from "more guitar" is the same one as is found on the watching the dark comp ...

Seeing him in a few months, I think solo. Totally looking forward to it. I saw him do a brief set at Bonnaroo about 10 years ago, he was great. Setlists from recent shows are v promising.

yeah don't think his powers have dimmed at all as a live performer.

I usually catch him live once or so a year. When I saw him open for Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell a couple of years back, he played an absolutely blistering "Can't Win" that was so nuts I even saw the ushers (it was at Orchestra Hall) straining their necks to see. I mean, come on:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLypHd3hJdU

the nerve of some ppl

Good video for trying to work out wtf he's doing on those solos. Sad that Pete Zorn died last year.

I love how RT briefly used a tremolo, then after a bit of that was probably all, eh, who needs that?

Read some interview where he revealed he still practices several hours a day!

I was wondering why I wasn't as good as him, my several hours a decade can't compete.

Lol

You can tell, from around 7:00 to 7:20, the violinist is thinking, "Holy shit, that is fkn awesome".

holy shit that solo!

most impressive piece of shredding I've seen in a long time

from new newsletter:

Richard has been busy in his Trellises Studio recording two new CDs.

ACOUSTIC CLASSICS 2: Following on from the UK Top Ten album, Acoustic Classics 1, this new CD will include more favorites from the Thompson repertoire rendered in an all-acoustic setting.

ACOUSTIC RARITIES: Will feature unreleased songs and demos, plus RT recordings of songs previously covered by other artists. In addition, there will be new settings of some older classics from the '60s and '70s.

Lots more going on: shows, the RT Guitar Camp just outside Woodstock in July, etc., etc.
http://us3.campaign-archive1.com/?u=fa0ee5df9dfda6e3115ac406f&id=a8dcf7b64d&e=3412af6338

Doing a quick Discogs review. It doesn't look like RT believed in b-sides. Is there much non-lp material out there?

Answered my own question - found a 6 CD bootleg set on slsk called "Gathered Tracks", will report back after reviewing.

He's definitely had lots of tracks on random compilations. Seek out his cover of Donovan Season of the Witch.

More about AC 2
Richard Thompson Presents:
Acoustic Classics II

Richard Thompson's Acoustic Classics II is now available worldwide on his own Beeswing record label.

On the heels of the success of Acoustic Classics in 2014, Acoustic Classics II features acoustic renderings of classic songs from the Richard Thompson catalog, some previously recorded by other singers, some previously available only in a band format. A second album, Acoustic Rarities, will be released worldwide on October 6, 2017 and features new recordings of some of the more obscure songs in the Thompson catalog, some previously existing only as cover versions.
Listen to "Gethsemane" here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQQFGwi9lzY

TRACK LISTING
1. She Twists The Knife Again
2. The Ghost Of You Walks
3. Genesis Hall
4. Jet Plane In A Rocking Chair
5. A Heart Needs A Home
6. Pharaoh
7. Gethsemane
8. Devonside
9. Meet On The Ledge
10. Keep Your Distance
11. Bathsheba Smiles
12. Crazy Man Michael
13. Guns Are The Tongues
14. Why Must I Plead?

October solo tour dates with Josienne Clark and Ben Walker:
https://gallery.mailchimp.com/fa0ee5df9dfda6e3115ac406f/images/c8d68a66-3dca-4679-a855-7c4695a7e579.jpeg
or if that isn't visible, check this:
http://mailchi.mp/richardthompson-music/richard-thompson-acoustic-classics-2-pre-order-604029?e=3412af6338

Richard Thompson’s Frets and Refrains Guitar & Songwriting Camp goes on sale TODAY, Tuesday, 12/12!

Come join us JULY 9 - 13th for an inspiring week of music in the Catskill Mountains!

Learn guitar skills from RICHARD THOMPSON and Celtic fingerstyle master TONY McMANUS, as well as CINDY CASHDOLLAR, HAPPY TRAUM, Bobby Eichorn, and Zak Hobbs
Explore songwriting with TEDDY THOMPSON and special guest Songwriting teacher to be announced!
Hone your performance and singing style with SLOAN WAINWRIGHT
Pick up audio techniques from Richard’s personal sound engineer, Simon Tassano, who will mix your own sound at the nightly Open Mic, hosted by Jack Thompson!

Enjoy campfires, hiking, swimming, yoga, stargazing, RT curated music films, Open Mic nights...and gourmet food all week long!

Once again, it is my pleasure to invite you all to Frets & Refrains, our guitar and songwriting camp. This will be our 7th year, and we hope it will be the best yet! We still have a teacher (or two) to announce, but already confirmed on the staff are Celtic guitar whizz Tony McManus, songwriter Teddy Thompson, steel guitar ace Cindy Cashdollar, and regulars Happy Traum, Sloan Wainwright, Zak Hobbs, Jack Thompson, Simon Tassano, Bobby Eichorn, Annaliese Tassano, and Camp Mom Nancy Covey.

There are a few elements that make our camp special; the climate is perfect, warm but not too warm, being up the mountain a couple of thousand feet; the location is perfectly suited to our needs, with lots of teaching space and rehearsal space and jamming space; our staff are just the finest you could ask for; the food is fabulous; and the attendees learn so much from each other - those who come year after year have formed extraordinary ties with the camp and with each other. It is true to say that there is a Frets & Refrains community that intercommunicates year-round and makes every camp so uplifting. We also have a strong presence from our scholarship programme for under-25s - their energy gives a great demographic balance to the whole camp.

I really hope you can join us for what I believe will be a musical experience without parallel!

Sincerely,
Richard Thompson

FRETS & REFRAINS SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE!

I'm sold

Lucked into a used CD copy of Sunnyvista for about $6 last night. Enjoying how "70s" it sounds--"Civilisation" is their punk/new wave song, "Justice In The Streets" sounds like Little Feat, and "Lonely Hearts" comes off a bit like early Eagles with an accordion.

RT is still blocking it and First Light from reissue, eh?

From New West:

Richard Thompson is set to return with 13 Rivers on September 14th, 2018. A return to New West Records, the 13-song set is the Grammy nominated artist’s first self-produced album in over a decade and was recorded 100% analog in just ten days. It was engineered by Clay Blair (The War On Drugs) and features Thompson’s regular accompanists Michael Jerome (drums, percussion), Taras Prodaniuk (bass), and Bobby Eichorn (guitar). 13 Rivers is a bare-bones, emotionally direct album that speaks from the heart with no filters. “There are 13 songs on the record, and each one is like a river,” Thompson explains. “Some flow faster than others. Some follow a slow and winding current. They all culminate on this one body of work.” A high water mark in an overwhelmingly impressive career, 13 Rivers was recorded at the famed Boulevard Recording Studio in Los Angeles. Previously known as The Production Workshop, which was owned by Liberace and his manager, the locale served as the site for seminal classics by Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac, Ringo Starr, and hosted the mixing sessions for Pink Floyd’s legendary The Wall. Of the album, Thompson says, “The songs are a surprise in a good way. They came to me as a surprise in a dark time. They reflected my emotions in an oblique manner that I’ll never truly understand. It’s as if they’d been channelled from somewhere else. You find deeper meaning in the best records as time goes on. The reward comes later.” He continues, “I don’t know how the creative process works. I suppose it is some kind of bizarre parallel existence to my own life. I often look at a finished song and wonder what the hell is going on inside me. We sequenced the weird stuff at the front of the record, and the tracks to grind your soul into submission at the back.” 13 Rivers commences on the tribal percussion and guitar rustle of “The Storm Won’t Come” as the artist bellows, “I’m looking for a storm to blow through town.” The energy mounts before climaxing on a lyrical electric lead rife with airy bends and succinct shredding from the guitar virtuoso. Today, NPR Music has premiered “The Storm Won’t Come,” alongside an additional new album track, “Bones of Gilead.”Both: https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2018/07/17/628781573/richard-thompson-tears-it-up-on-two-new-songs 13 Rivers will be available across digital platforms, compact disc, vinyl, as well as limited edition split cream & black colored vinyl available at Independent Retailers.

...A wide range of musicians have recorded Thompson’s songs including Robert Plant, Elvis Costello, R.E.M., Sleater-Kinney, Del McCoury, Bonnie Raitt, Tom Jones, David Byrne, Don Henley, Los Lobos, and many more. His massive body of work includes many Grammy nominated albums as well as numerous soundtracks, including Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man. Thompson’s genre defying mastery of both acoustic and electric guitar along with his engaging energy and onstage wit continue to earn him new fans and a place as one of the most distinctive virtuosos and writers in Folk Rock history.


Richard Thompson 13 Rivers Track List:

1. The Storm Won’t Come
2. The Rattle Within
3. Her Love Was Meant For Me
4. Bones Of Gilead
5. The Dog In You
6. Trying
7. Do All These Tears Belong To You?
8. My Rock, My Rope
9. You Can’t Reach Me
10. O Cinderella
11. No Matter
12. Pride
13. Shaking The Gates

Kinda wish it were the trio, but should be good at least.

Hmm, dark time? Is he still married? Just bummed with current events?

i am intrigued about the new album, the first two songs are pretty good, i haven't listened to more yet. somehow i like it when he sounds fierce and ferocious.

He doesn't put out bad albums, just better albums.

This is a better album

yeah — i think i like this one more than the last few? will have to spend some more time with it, of course.

sounds good to me! kind of a Nick Cave vibe?

man, dude shreds so hard! can someone post more live solo vids?

knopfler has zero on this guy

If by "live solo vids" you mean vids of him doing guitar solos, this is pretty much the definitive one (from about 5'00" onwards). Think it's been posted upthread already. Man, this solo gives me the goosebumps every time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLypHd3hJdU

such a wild ride, did a pale blue strat ever fly so free?

that's indeed the video that opened my eyes wrt Thompson, was wondering if there's more

Wow, file this new one under the same category as the new Low: great albums from acts that are always good.

Niels: o hell yes there is more

At any given time it seems like he has one song that serves as his big blowin’ vehicle live. Last time I saw him electric w band it was “Hard on Me”

cool!

I'll def go see him when I get the chance

This is fantastic!

xpost Always worth pointing out that Richard Thompson is the rare total artist. He is an electric guitar virtuoso, but he is also an acoustic guitar virtuoso, and he is also a good singer and songwriter, and he is also a really fun performer. Pretty rare to find somebody that flies high in all of those categories, super easy to take him for granted.

Otm

(I was talking about the new album, btw, not the video, which I haven't watched yet.)

Thanks for clarifying, was wondering.

xpost Always worth pointing out that Richard Thompson is the rare total artist. He is an electric guitar virtuoso, but he is also an acoustic guitar virtuoso, and he is also a good singer and songwriter, and he is also a really fun performer. Pretty rare to find somebody that flies high in all of those categories, super easy to take him for granted.

― Josh in Chicago, Monday, September 24, 2018 7:50 AM (four hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

v true

Yes, he's very entertaining and funny live.

Has he written anything.
JUst wondering if a memoir by him would be good . & not sure if there's any prose stuff of any note to look at.

Personal beliefs of his wouldn't go against him writing a thing like that would they? Not sure what sufism thinks of such things.
I know that there is a problem with depiction of the human form in Islamic religious art.

he's writing a memoir now — out next fall.

https://www.thebookseller.com/news/faber-signs-60s-legend-richard-thompson-735351

Should be good, he's a smart guy.

Does anyone have any live recordings where RT performs "A Blind Step Away"? It's probably in my top 5 songs of his and it seems like he almost never played it?

i don't think i've heard a live version ... have you heard the june tabor cover? pretty nice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=if-6DxQZxNI