Richard Thompson

[rachelmanija]

In the comments to my prose poem Nine Things About the Oracle, I discovered that some of my readers were unfamiliar with the great singer-songwriter-giutarist Richard Thompson. The horror!

I lean toward his heartbreaking songs of heartbreak. But I've included some of his hard-rocking songs for those so inclined. I also highly recommend his song "Al Bowlly's in Heaven," which would go on my "Songs of PTSD" CD if I ever burned one along with Bruce Springsteen's "Shut Out the Lights" and Tori Amos' "Me and a Gun," but I don't have it to hand.

Though I unfortunately can't give you any Fairport Convention (I had quoted their song "Crazy Man Michael" in the poem), I do have some of his solo work on my computer, along with some he did with Linda Thompson. If you enjoy, please consider buying the albums.

Beeswing. Maybe that's just the price you pay/For the chains you refuse. Buy the album from Amazon: Mirror Blue

When the Spell is Broken. You keep handing me that same old line/It's just straws in the wind this time. Buy the album from Amazon: Across a Crowded Room

King of Bohemia. Did your dreams die young? Were they too hard-won? Did you reach too high and fall? Buy the album from Amazon: Mirror Blue

Oops! I Did It Again. Yes, really.

Waltzing's For Dreamers. Buy the album from Amazon: Amnesia

Put it there Pal. You're so full of love it leaks out like a sieve. Buy the album from Amazon: you? me? us?

Don't Renege on our Love. If love is a healing/why should we forsake it. Buy the album from Amazon: Shoot Out the Lights

ETA: "Crazy Man Michael" in comments.

Comments

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Thank you!!

And here, for your friends list, is Crazy Man Michael (http://www.sendspace.com/file/xvrm8c)... which seriously, is now one of my new favorite songs....

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

Feel free to link this entry, if you want to share the love.

[wintersweet.livejournal.com]

Trying out a couple, thanks!

[faithhopetricks.livejournal.com]

AWW YAY I NEED THIS. I love Thompson.

I also thought your Oracles prose-poem was gorgeous, btw.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[cofax7]

Richard Thompson: the guitarists' guitarist.

Have you heard the awesome tribute album, "Beat the Retreat"? It's so great.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

That's the one where Bonnie Raitt covers "When the Spell is Broken," right? I liked it but don't own it.

[affreca.livejournal.com]

I'm a sucker for tragic love story songs, so my favorite is 1952 Vincent Black Lightning (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxKTzwaEa2o&feature=related).

[faithhopetricks.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's so gorgeous, yeah. Why is this man so hot?

[a2zmom.livejournal.com]

On my user info page, I state "let me take my chances on the wall of death!" I've seen him live twice. Amazing.

[faithhopetricks.livejournal.com]

SO JEALOUS. I think one of the first times I ever heard him was when Terry Gross interviewed him for Fresh Air and he sang "Wall of Death" acoustic at her request and I was driving, and I had to pull over to the side of the road because I just bawled.

We were heroes then...

[daedala.livejournal.com]

Here's Al Bowlly's in Heaven. (http://www.daedala.net/music/Bowlly.zip)

Re: We were heroes then...

[daedala.livejournal.com]

I should add, if there's any obscure RT you need, I may well have it. I... got obsessed. I only have 2 GB of RT (counting stuff with Linda and Danny etc.)

Re: We were heroes then...

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Ooh, could I get "Meet on the Ledge?"

Do you have any really obscure stuff, like live performances and rarities? I have all his albums.

Re: We were heroes then...

[daedala.livejournal.com]

Yup.

Even Starring Henry the Human Fly? :)

Re: We were heroes then...

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Yep, even that. Also Two Letter Words and the old Live album with Genesis Hall and Meet On The Ledge.

Re: We were heroes then...

[daedala.livejournal.com]

Oh, ya, music. Here's (http://www.daedala.net/music/meetontheledge.zip) the one on this computer. It's a solo, not with Fairport. If it's an FC version you're looking for, it's on the other computer which should get set up this week, hopefully.

Re: We were heroes then...

[faithhopetricks.livejournal.com]

OMG. DUDE, do you have that "Wall of Death" he played for Terry Gross? Or....any version of it, really? I think that's probably my favourite song of his, sentimentally anyway.

Re: We were heroes then...

[daedala.livejournal.com]

I have Celtzschmerz, Shoot Out the Lights, Fresh Air, & Two Letter Words Live 1994. Would one of those be the one you are looking for?

Re: We were heroes then...

[faithhopetricks.livejournal.com]

WOW, that is like an embarrassment du Thompson! I think the Fresh Air one might be it?

Re: We were heroes then...

[daedala.livejournal.com]

It's one of his best songs, so there are a lot of versions. Someone made a data CD of all the obscure stuff and it was circulating locally a while back.

Here ya go. (http://www.daedala.net/music/wallofdeath.zip)

Re: We were heroes then...

[faithhopetricks.livejournal.com]

//GRABBY HANDS Thank you, so much!

//unzips, listens Oh my God, that's totally the right one. //gets all verklempt

[madam-silvertip.livejournal.com]

Very hard to choose a favorite. Depends on the mood. "Crazy Man Michael" has a personal significance for me (my closest childhood friend died in a traffic accident, according to some versions on her way to see me); but there are others. I identify a lot with his songs of girl trouble given that it's always been harder for me to be friends with women than men, not something I am happy about. "Now there's a horseman riding/Now through my hand it slips/And the same old demons paint their lips."

But I think "The Great Valerio" would be a choice for Desert Island Discs, so maybe that is my favorite. It's a sort of credo.

[madam-silvertip.livejournal.com]

"Mascara Tears" reminds me of a Dick Francis story somehow. "Mascara tears, bitter and black/Spent bullet drilled a hole in my back"...Maybe "Reflex"?

[faithhopetricks.livejournal.com]

angevin2 kindly sent me "Mingulay Boat Song" as I think part of a getting-to-sleep mix a while ago, and it's been one of my favourites ever since.

https://www.yousendit.com/download/UmNMNnFLbEptNEx2Wmc9PQ

[nomadvagabond.livejournal.com]

I somehow lost all my Richard Thompson in a computer move, so I grabbed Beeswing (one of my favorites) again. Thanks!

[madam-silvertip.livejournal.com]

Patti Smith's version of "Gimme Shelter" is a possibility for a "Songs of PTSD" CD. (Probably she has at least one other such, but I seem to be blanking on it. "Dancing Barefoot" may count since I think it's about her near-fatal fall in 1977, especially given the way she sings it on an extraordinary bootleg recorded with Nick Tosches, but perhaps this is too hypothetical.)

There's also a version of the Doors' "Crystal Ship" that she sings, that has that vibe for me. It's on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqmCx9nUyII