Audio CD review:
Richard and Linda Thompson - The Best of Richard & Linda Thompson: The Island Records Years

Richard and Linda Thompson - The Best of Richard & Linda Thompson: The Island Records Years

Band: Richard and Linda Thompson Title: The Best of Richard & Linda Thompson: The Island Records Years Rating: Release Date: 2000-08-01 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Roll over Vaughn Williams 2: The Poor Ditching Boy 3: When I Get to the Border 4: Withered and Died 5: I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight 6: Down Where the Drunkards Roll 7: The End of the Rainbow 8: The Great Valerio 9: Hokey Pokey 10: Never Again 11: A Heart Needs a Home 12: For Shame of Doing Wrong 13: Night Comes In 14: Beat the Retreat 15: Dimming of the Day 16: Calvary Cross

A good sampler of Richard and Linda's early work . . and little more, in truth. (And I'm a big fan!) It's worth noting that, in the UK, Universal released this collection under the title The End of the Rainbow: An Introduction to Richard & Linda Thompson, because let's face it; an introduction is just what this is. RT's solo '72 debut, Henry the Human Fly, is woefully underrepresented here; just "Roll Over Vaughan Williams" and "The Poor Ditching Boy," although these are certainly among his best songs. (For my part, I'd have added "Nobody's Wedding" and "The Angels Took My Racehorse Away. ") And although all four of the studio albums represented within are now available on CD, it's very telling that HTHF was not remastered by Island. Instead, the independent (and quite excellent) British label Fledg'ling has done the remaster, without bonus tracks I might add. RT has nothing good to say about the Island remasters; given that it's really Universal (Island being a mere shadow of its former self these days) doing the job, I can't entirely blame him. As others have mentioned, fully 60% of I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight is represented here; Bright Lights was R<'s masterpiece, however, so it's not unwarranted. The missing tracks are "We Sing Hallelujah," "Has He Got a Friend for Me," "The Little Beggar Girl" and "Calvary Cross" (instead represented by a live version from the out-of-print anthology [guitar, vocal]). Hokey Pokey is also given short shrift, and while it was probably the slightest of the couple's three Island albums, it still isn't bad--I would have welcomed the inclusions of "Smiffy's Glass Eye" and "Old Man Inside a Young Man" or even "I'll Regret it All in the Morning. " And of course, Pour Down Like Silver, Richard & Linda's last effort before retreating to their Sufi Muslim commune for three years, is represented by half its tracks, although the choices are ones you can't argue against too strenuously; I still might have added "Streets of Paradise" or "Jet Plane in a Rocking Chair" to the tracks included here. Lastly, "Dimming of the Day" has had its instrumental second half, "Dargai," lopped off completely. All that said, this is a good place to start for those wishing to dig into RT's solo (i. e. post-Fairport) works. It's not terribly necessary, however, for the more serious fan who will seek out the individual albums, and the die-hards will also want to seek out remaindered copies of First Light and Sunnyvista (the couple's two albums for Chrysalis that no one has yet seen fit to bring back--hey, Fledg'ling, are you listening?) and Shoot Out the Lights. SOTL is the chronicle of the couple's breakup and Richard's move into completely solo work. But you should definitely start here. Fans can never be objective... From the OBJECTIVE reviewer. . Richard in the 70's was better than Richard without Linda, but still hyped by critics far above his talent. At The End of The Rainbow the babes found the nearest bridge To take a leap from! Yes, many of these songs are cynical and depressing in nature, but do they rock. . OH YEAH! Songs on this compilation are either catchy or melodic and sometimes both, meaning that the songs are well-crafted and focused to have an emotional impact. Some rock, some carry a beautiful harmony or melody. The guitar is always very interesting, energetic (from a guitar players standpoint) and musical. Linda Thompson (Peters) has a very powerful and beautiful voice that, for me, carries me off with it's elegance and creativity. What a pair! Even Richard adds much in the singing department, especially when he and Linda sing harmony (his voice does have a funny edge). I have been a long-time fan of this genre (British Isle folk rock) and know the old Fairport, Steeleye, Pentangle, Clannad, incredible String Band and many others pretty well, but this solo-album period of the Thompson's is up there with some of the best in my opinion. Getting some of these albums seperately would be well worth it, but here is a good 78 minute, 16 song (covering material from 5 great albums) way to hear what never Withered and Died but lives on in all it's glory. Younger music lovers - put down the hip-hop and dancy, trancy drums n' bass and hear what real singer-songwriters can do! Classic talent!!. Transcendent despair Worth it even if you already have the albums from which the songs were taken, as these recordings seem a bit cleaner than some of the originals. A great intro to the Thompsons. I must comment on one song in particular. "I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight" is one of the most desperately beautiful songs ever recorded, and by itself worth the price of the CD. The know-nothingly sunshiny backup vocals are heart-rending. Anyone who thinks this is a happy song hasn't lived. Perhaps not recommendable if you want respite from your darker thoughts. The Thompsons themselves temporarily turned away from music and towards a religious life in the late 70s, and indeed, an unsatisfied longing permeates these songs. I've got this one on now. If that doesn't pique your interest, stick with Britney Spears. I have on "Calvary Cross" -- the best piece I ever heard on the electric guitar, over 12 minutes of it, and I love every guitar master you can name. Richard Thompson not only is a uniquely gifted instrumentalist and a nonpareil songwriter, but he can pick the people he plays with like nobody. "Cross" stands out so much not only because of his stark voice and polymathic guitar, but because each of the other players - bass, drum, accordion, yes, accordion, just buy the record - has such a strong sense of nuance, such a keen understanding of what to play when and how loud or soft. They're all playing lead, and all meshing in harmony. It's transcendent. The Island records Richard and Linda made are hair-pullingly hard to find in the shops, mate. (God, the playing on "Cross" now is so delicate my keyboard's drowning it out. Trust me, a few minutes ago a bomb couldn't have. ) I have "Hokey Pokey" and that's it. But I'll get `em all, trust me, now that I have this one. I'll probably always consider the Stones' "Hot Rocks" and "More Hot Rocks" - while we're on guitar masters - the ultimate best-ofs. But man this one is close. Well-sequenced, well-chosen (if other tracks on the originals blow these away, I'll die from anticipation right now), evocative, moody. Stunning. (BTW, don't rant about the absence of "Shoot Out The Lights. " It wasn't recorded for Island. But get the damn thing, and put it right next to this in your collection. You'll play them waaaaay too much for your mental health. ) Thank God for Richard Thompson. And that he's sustained himself through his undeserved obscurity so much better than Nick Drake did. While we're on guitar masters. . You can see a complete list of all Richard and Linda Thompson discography, or go back to the Richard and Linda Thompson tabs