my least favourite since '91
His publicist certainly wanted to make his money by proclaiming: "Best work yet"! "RT is back and better than ever"! I hear none of that in this cd. This has very little dazzling guitar work from RT. This is the type of RT cd if you are trying to get your girlfriend to appreciate him and she has been turned off by all the guitar oriented dark melancholy songs of his - give this one a try. It reminds me of the RT cd you would put on in the background while chatting w/ others. if I want an epic guitar workout or storytelling-like songwriting I never put this one on for that.
splendid!
I love it, but I'm no expert. I live with a Fairport/Richard junkie, and I've had 6 years luxurious exposure to this music now. That said. . . Miss Patsy and a couple other elements of this album bring Steve Tilston to mind-- not just the spare guitar sound, but the bluesiness. When We Were Boys At School is classic Richard, boiling a bit of life down to the really sad reduction; the depressing reality, expressed so beautifully. This album is growing more captivating with each play, and is already one of my favorites. Acoustic Richard is the best. .
The essence of a hidden protest song
A friend had been recommending him to me for a while. This is the first RT solo album I've heard. Probably because of his fine guitar playing and his tendency to arrange his lyrics to the note, i. e. break the rhythm and simply parallel a vocal line with the guitar.
This happens in "Row, Boys Row" (should have read the small print) But what makes this song so striking to me is it's veiled message of protest. This falls in line right where I am striving for, simple acoustic songs protesting the Iraq War and the lies and perpetrations of the current administration. But to disguise the message in the guise of a sailor's song is a sign of songwriting genius. In the choruses alone, he speaks of the plight of the homeless and refugees of Katrina, the soldiers in Iraq who are sitting ducks "in a shark-filled sea" the obiesance of the minions forced to fall in line with W. Alas, the ship must push on for fear of the captain's lash.
Richard Thompson's "Pink Moon?"
" But the resemblance proved to be superficial. Listening to this CD (something I, sadly, don't foresee myself doing much in the future), I was struck by its resemblance to Nick Drake's brilliant "Pink Moon. When Joe Boyd received the tapes of PM, he remarked that he thought they were just demos, but soon realized he was listening to the finished product.
No such luck here. This CD seems incomplete. While the musicianship is first-rate as always, the songs themselves are unfinished, and the vocal work is downright sloppy in spots. The melodies, such as they are, are too high-pitched for Richard to reach, and reach he does, almost always unsuccessfully.
The CD almost sounds like a recording made simply to fulfill contractual obligations. I have seen Richard in concert every time he has come to town in the last fifteen years. If his current tour will be including a lot of songs from this collection, I may have to pass up the opportunity this time and wait until only a few of these are sprinkled into future concerts.
RT Scores Again
There is certainly a laid back feel to this release, but the 13 tracks contain Thompson's usual flair for poignant lyrics and impressive if understated guitar playing. By my count, this is Richard Thompson's twentieth studio release as a solo artist (or duo with former wife Linda), and like all of his other albums it is uniformly excellent.
The album begins with the rollicking "Let It Blow. " [Favorite line: "A life of volcanic activity/Left him nothing to spout but hot air. "] Other uptempo numbers include "The Boys of Mutton Street," which recalls "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" with its folky acoustic fingerpicking; and the melanchalia of "A Solitary Life. " [Favorite line: "You work on your pallor, complexion like paste/Like the grey defeat on an inmate's face. "] Thompson also adds some mandolin flourishes to the jaunty "Miss Patsy. "
The rest of the album falls loosely under the heading of brooding ballads with tracks like the haunting "My Soul, My Soul" and the remorseful "For Whose Sake?"
All told, this is a thoroughly satisfying album from arguably the greatest singer-songwriter-guitarist of our time. Why Richard Thompson has spent the better part of forty years without mainstream success simply shows the ignorance of the music-buying public. For those of us who enjoy finely crafted music, let's be grateful that he continues to follow his muse. [Running Time - 46:55] VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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You can see a complete list of all Richard Thompson discography, or go back to the Richard Thompson tabs
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