Richard Thompson
It’s not often we get sent through a record from someone who has achieved a Top 20 spot in the UK, let alone someone who has received a BBC Lifetime Achievement Award, MOJO’s Les Paul award, and an OBE! That’s exactly what we got recently though when we were sent through a copy of Electric, the latest album from guitar legend Richard Thompson. Having been declared as one of the Top 20 Guitarists of all time and considered to be one of the UK’s most outstanding songwriters, Richard Thompson is without a doubt, someone we should all be paying attention to!
For the album, Thompson recruited Buddy Miller (Robert Plant’s Band Of Joy, Solomon Burke, Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin) on production duties, Alison Krauss on ‘The Snow Goose, Siobhan Maher Kennedy (River City People) on vocals, and Stuart Duncan (who has performed on recent albums from Robert Plant, Alison Krauss and Elvis Costello) on fiddle, resulting in a sound which Thompson has described as ‘sort of a new genre – folk funk. It’s quite snappy, somewhere between Judy Collins and Bootsy Collins’ – which is sounding pretty damned cool to me.
From the opening moments of Stony Ground it’s clear that this is an album which is from the heart, immediately showing off the bluesy, folky and funky guitar stylings and combining them with a folk style vocal line. Working to this recipe through Salford Sunday, Sally B and Stuck On The Treadmill, the album goes from strength to strength, each track presenting an insight into the inner workings of Thompsons musical mind, and a taste of what he’s capable of when armed with a six string. It’s also notable that throughout, there’s an almost catchy edge to things, refusing to allow the tracks to move too far in one direction or the other, simply using the music to convey the message at hand and allowing you to immerse yourself in the accomplished and deep tones on offer.
My Enemy is definitely a stand out track from the record here, moving more towards an emotional track and softening everything down to a gentle yet hard hitting tone. Soothing vocals combine with the soft guitars, a female vocal line backing everything up and forging a sound which will wash over you, immersing you in a sense of calm and reminding you of what real music is. Let’s not take away from title track Good Things Happen To Bad People which follows on, as once again Thompson proves that he knows what he’s doing and that he’s capable of producing something designed to grab your attention from the word go and not let it go until the track is completely finished with. Slightly more up tempo than the track before it, this one is another serious high point on an album which aims high throughout.
Continuing through Where’s Home?, Another Small Thing In Her Favour, Straight And Narrow and onto The Snow Goose, each track marks another step along the path of the album, each one adopting a unique approach whilst at the same time, managing to keep a real sense of continuity flowing from start to finish. Any doubts as to whether the vocals of Krauss would work on an album like this are immediately thrown out of the window on The Snow Goose as well, offering up an emotionally laden track, packed with subtle power and melodic hooks, once again marking a serious high point designed to achieve one simple emotion – calm. It’s such a shame that the next track, Saving The Good Stuff For You, marks the end of the album, bringing things to a close all too soon and leaving you not only wanting more, but wondering how you ever went through life without hearing this record.
Let’s be quite honest, when you’re dealing with a musician who has written more than 400 songs, had songs covered by REM, Robert Plant, Elvis Costello, The Futureheads, Bonnie Raitt, Dinosaur Jr, Linda Ronstadt and Los Lobos amongst others, and someone who has been hailed as ‘a perennial dark horse contender for the title of greatest living rock guitarist’, you know that the album is going to be a success – but nothing had prepared me for this. Speaking from a personal perspective for just a moment, I’ve always loved heavy rock, always looked for the next heavier thing, and all too often dismissed music in my own personal life, simply because it didn’t seem to match the other things I was listening to. Thompson has not only produced an album here which crosses boundaries and demonstrates his abilities, but he’s taught me a lesson in life – it’s not the heaviness of the music which matters, it’s the emotion, meaning and ability behind it – which when held against this album, stands this out as potentially one of the greatest achievements I’ve ever heard in my life, and something I simply feel humbled to have heard.
Check out the stream of Good Things Happen To Bad People HERE
Get the album for yourself HERE
Check out the Richard Thompson Facebook page HERE to find out more.
Words: Dave Nicholls
For the album, Thompson recruited Buddy Miller (Robert Plant’s Band Of Joy, Solomon Burke, Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin) on production duties, Alison Krauss on ‘The Snow Goose, Siobhan Maher Kennedy (River City People) on vocals, and Stuart Duncan (who has performed on recent albums from Robert Plant, Alison Krauss and Elvis Costello) on fiddle, resulting in a sound which Thompson has described as ‘sort of a new genre – folk funk. It’s quite snappy, somewhere between Judy Collins and Bootsy Collins’ – which is sounding pretty damned cool to me.
From the opening moments of Stony Ground it’s clear that this is an album which is from the heart, immediately showing off the bluesy, folky and funky guitar stylings and combining them with a folk style vocal line. Working to this recipe through Salford Sunday, Sally B and Stuck On The Treadmill, the album goes from strength to strength, each track presenting an insight into the inner workings of Thompsons musical mind, and a taste of what he’s capable of when armed with a six string. It’s also notable that throughout, there’s an almost catchy edge to things, refusing to allow the tracks to move too far in one direction or the other, simply using the music to convey the message at hand and allowing you to immerse yourself in the accomplished and deep tones on offer.
My Enemy is definitely a stand out track from the record here, moving more towards an emotional track and softening everything down to a gentle yet hard hitting tone. Soothing vocals combine with the soft guitars, a female vocal line backing everything up and forging a sound which will wash over you, immersing you in a sense of calm and reminding you of what real music is. Let’s not take away from title track Good Things Happen To Bad People which follows on, as once again Thompson proves that he knows what he’s doing and that he’s capable of producing something designed to grab your attention from the word go and not let it go until the track is completely finished with. Slightly more up tempo than the track before it, this one is another serious high point on an album which aims high throughout.
Continuing through Where’s Home?, Another Small Thing In Her Favour, Straight And Narrow and onto The Snow Goose, each track marks another step along the path of the album, each one adopting a unique approach whilst at the same time, managing to keep a real sense of continuity flowing from start to finish. Any doubts as to whether the vocals of Krauss would work on an album like this are immediately thrown out of the window on The Snow Goose as well, offering up an emotionally laden track, packed with subtle power and melodic hooks, once again marking a serious high point designed to achieve one simple emotion – calm. It’s such a shame that the next track, Saving The Good Stuff For You, marks the end of the album, bringing things to a close all too soon and leaving you not only wanting more, but wondering how you ever went through life without hearing this record.
Let’s be quite honest, when you’re dealing with a musician who has written more than 400 songs, had songs covered by REM, Robert Plant, Elvis Costello, The Futureheads, Bonnie Raitt, Dinosaur Jr, Linda Ronstadt and Los Lobos amongst others, and someone who has been hailed as ‘a perennial dark horse contender for the title of greatest living rock guitarist’, you know that the album is going to be a success – but nothing had prepared me for this. Speaking from a personal perspective for just a moment, I’ve always loved heavy rock, always looked for the next heavier thing, and all too often dismissed music in my own personal life, simply because it didn’t seem to match the other things I was listening to. Thompson has not only produced an album here which crosses boundaries and demonstrates his abilities, but he’s taught me a lesson in life – it’s not the heaviness of the music which matters, it’s the emotion, meaning and ability behind it – which when held against this album, stands this out as potentially one of the greatest achievements I’ve ever heard in my life, and something I simply feel humbled to have heard.
Check out the stream of Good Things Happen To Bad People HERE
Get the album for yourself HERE
Check out the Richard Thompson Facebook page HERE to find out more.
Words: Dave Nicholls