S/D: Richard Thompson

I could be wrong, but I was under the impression that Thompson was more popular here than at home. Relatively speaking, of course.

“Beeswing” I do get, so thanks.

Those Poppy Bush Interzone albums sure are overstuffed.

"most requested song in NPR history" is oft-repeated but I'm like: my NPR station doesn't play songs, let alone folk-rock songs by request. Some shows broadcast on NPR play music, but are there NPR-affiliated stations out there that have long segments of folk-rock songs that people have requested? IDGI.

I mean, who is out there calling up "Morning Edition" or "All Things Considered" and saying "Hey, maaan, me and the boiz are gettin' wicked high and we need to hear some Zeppelin, like now! Hook a brutha up!"?

That said, I do regularly call up the BBC World News and say, "Listen, my bae and I just had a big fight, but I love her and I want to send out a special dedication to her: please play 'Girl You Know It's True' by Milli Vanilli. Please say that this goes out from Tony in Poughkeepsie, for his darling Charlene."

Some NPR stations have homegrown musical programming alongside the syndicated radio shows (in Houston it's Classical). They also have an automated online station called Mixtape that's rooted in Adult Alternative (a typical block there goes a little like this: Richard Thompson->Vampire Weekend->Muddy Waters->Los Lobos->Janelle Monae->Neko Case etc.)

ok thanks, I did not know that

1952 Vincent Black Lightning is by some distance the best song Thompson has ever written, so there's that.

also npr programming has def. changed in 25 years.

"1952 Vincent Black Lightning is by some distance the best song Thompson has ever written"

But how? Can this song’s adherents not quantify their appreciation somehow? Is it the storytelling? (In which case one wonders why the lyrically similar "Shane and Dixie" gets little love.) Is it the guitar part? The production? Thompson's vocals? It just doesn't stand out to me from Thompson's body of work.

a moment of silence for "Waltzing's for Dreamers."

He has written rather a lot of good songs.

my faves are like

Waltzing's for Dreamers
Withered and Died
When I Get to the Border
Turning of the Tide
Wall of Death
I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight
Beeswing
Happy Days and Old Lang Syne

And a few other things I can't think of right now. 52 Vincent is really good; my fondness for it comes and goes. Probably in my top 10 but not top 5?

But how? Can this song’s adherents not quantify their appreciation somehow? Is it the storytelling? (In which case one wonders why the lyrically similar "Shane and Dixie" gets little love.) Is it the guitar part? The production? Thompson's vocals? It just doesn't stand out to me from Thompson's body of work

It's impossible to quantify, but I guess it's the combination of all those things.

"1952 Vincent Black Lightning is by some distance the best song Thompson has ever written"

crazy talk. to me it's always been kind of a joke song — thompson trying to do rebel without a cause as an english folk ballad. ok maybe not a joke, but a novelty.
anyway, didn't it get covered a few times in the 00s and that was why it suddenly became a favorite? I don't even think he played it the first few times I saw him in the 90s.

Those mid '80s albums have plenty of good tunes and performances:

Al Bowlly's in Heaven
Don't Tempt Me
Walking Through a Wasted Land
How Will I Ever Be Simple Again
Love in a Faithless Country

His catalogue is far too vast for me to have a proper handle on it, and those 90s (and beyond) albums do indeed get bloated, but some of his 2010's work is been solid. I recommend searching "Here Comes Geordie" (from Dream Attic), and "She Never Could Resist a Winding Road" and "Beatnik Walking" (from Still).

his recent stuff has been very good

His catalogue is far too vast for me to have a proper handle on it, and those 90s (and beyond) albums do indeed get bloated, but some of his 2010's work is been solid. I recommend searching "Here Comes Geordie" (from /Dream Attic/), and "She Never Could Resist a Winding Road" and "Beatnik Walking" (from /Still/).

I was just thinking this is a ballot-poll oversight.

"Fairport Convention et al (R Thompson, S Denny)" is in the poll queue, but Thompson's catalogue could easily be its own poll, I'm sure.

I was just thinking this is a ballot-poll oversight.

― Miami weisse (WmC), Sunday, 15 March 2020 18:15 (twenty-four minutes ago)

didn't it get covered a few times in the 00s

Mary Lou Lord covered it

i think it's the del mccoury cover i'm thinking of — was kind of a crossover bluegrass hit. seems as though a lot of future covers are based on that as much as they are on thompson's rendition.

I saw him last month solo acoustic (mostly) at a very small venue on Long Island and he was great. Beeswing was the song I didn't know that blew me away, but Vincent Black Lightning definitely got the biggest reaction of anything be played.

I wonder whether he cocks an eyebrow remembering that "I Feel So Good" was the lead single from Rumour and Sigh.

Scored Carthage vinyl pressings of Pour Down..., First Light, and Sunnyvista this weekend.

― a bevy of supermodels, musicians and Lena Dunham (C. Grisso/McCain)

Would vote in a ballot poll.

Ooof it would be tough. Some 17 or so solo albums ...

Maybe instead of “vote for your favourites”, it should be “rank all the albums you’ve heard”.

I’d be more stoked about the campaigning than the countdown tbh. I need a guide to the last 20 years.

Kind of lost track after You, Me, Us?

The Old Kit Bag has some excellent stuff on it though a bit front-loaded - I still come back to "One Door Opens." A lot of people love Mock Tudor but I remember it being spotty, it may just have been the switch back to more stripped-down production.

I prefer Semi-Detached Mock Tudor for those songs

Old Kit Bag has this one, which I think is one of the prettiest songs he's ever written:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPxy0HJFZHE

Youtube threw this at me yesterday, a Richard & Linda TV concert from '81

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60Kdf17Btrs

I've been listening to Daring Adventures a lot. I stan for "Nearly in Love," written seemingly to get a hit.

I think he's playing a solo acoustic living room show right now ...

https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=144162387012169&external_log_id=3d56609a8922a74fb71654ef8fdb1cb8

Dunno if that works, but his facebook page!

He's a class act, that guy.

This is a pretty funny stream.

He's always been funny whenever I've seen him in concert.

Good stuff. Reminded me a bit of when I saw him solo at New Orleans jazz fest

Robyn Hitchcock has been doing the same. He warns that his connection is slow though and to expect glitches lol

Is this the same set as posted above? Seems ten minutes shorter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhSt-WUKXvs

1952 Vincent Black Lightning has too much braggadocio for my liking

lol

Fair comment, i think.

I don't know how anyone could possibly claim that there is an ounce of braggadocio in this song, so I'm going to write it off as a prime example of ILX challops.