It is best not to try to categorise Richard Thompson's music, for his style is unique and always interesting. Prior to using a Stratocaster with Fairport Convention he used a Gibson Les Paul with P-90 pick-ups. The new LP is unlikely to have the public suddenly screaming over the man who's been described as looking like a 'typical polytechnic lecturer', but in his own relaxed way he will probably win people over gradually, whilst maintaining that fabled position of artistic independence.

This taut collection showcases his rocking side with tracks like "Jealous Words" and "A Love You Can't Survive", which are resplendent with his swerving, restless electric guitar lines. A typical performance would start with a medieval round, progress via a Purcell aria, Victorian music hall and Hoagy Carmichael and end with Thompson's take on the Britney Spears hit " Oops! In August of the same year Island released a live Richard and Linda Thompson album, compiled from recordings made during the November 1975 tour to promote the Pour Down Like Silver album.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Playboy did not use his list, but the exercise gave him the idea for a show which takes a chronological trip through popular music across the ages. Morris On was recorded with Ashley Hutchings, John Kirkpatrick, Dave Mattacks and Barry Dransfield, and was a collection of English traditional tunes arranged for electric instruments. Released on the Cooking Vinyl label in August 2005, Front Parlour Ballads was literally a homemade album. Despite this, certain notable artists plough their own furrow (pardon the gratuitous agricultural pun) to bring us new sounds inspired, among other things, by the musical traditions of the British Isles.

He uses a combination of pick and fingers, and amplification is usually either an old Fender combo, or a Musicman. His latest effort is Front Parlour Ballads, a mostly acoustic work recorded in a small studio in his garage. Although low key, Thompson's solo career has progressed steadily over the last few years; last year's album, Across a Crowded Room, his first for Polydor, sounded remarkably contemporary considering it's a style he's been exploring for years.Thompson occasionally makes use of a thumb-pick, playing in fingerstyle, the most notable example being on the motorcycle ballad " 1952 Vincent Black Lightning". The new album was recorded at Townhouse Three; it's hardly a big production job, just a group of people playing together. He's one of those names who are often quoted as 'influential', yet his public profile is only a couple of feet above sea-level. Here he is on the edges: at the famed 14 Hour Technicolor Dream event in Alexandra Palace 1967, watching Yoko Ono’s performance art as John Lennon wanders around.

Perhaps more significantly, the album continued the trend, begun with Across A Crowded Room, of Thompson's songs moving away from the seemingly personal material and towards the character sketches and narratives for which he has since become famous. A Financial Times subscription gives you so much more than just award-winning reporting, commentary and analysis. Or he does not know that the surround (rear) speakers are always mixed lower than the front and center speakers in advanced resolution surround sound discs. The critics, as usual, acclaimed the new release, but rather more surprising were strong early sales in both the U. For live work, his acoustic guitars are fitted with a Sunrise pick-up and an internal condenser microphone.Upon its release in 1982, Shoot Out the Lights was lauded by critics and sold quite well – especially in the U. A favourite of both Robert Plant and Elvis Costello, Thompson has also been covered by acts as varied as feminist punks Sleater-Kinney, REM, David Byrne and, most recently, Mark Ronson, who covered the 1974 title track of Thompson’s album with first wife Linda Thompson, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight. It was during this tour that Thompson and Covey developed an intimate relationship, and during that month, Richard and Linda Thompson separated. Included with the Print, Weekend Print, FT Digital Edition, FT Weekend Digital Edition and Premium Digital plans.

His parents were still asking Thompson when he was going to get a proper job when he was in his 40s; it’s ironic, then, that his dad’s collection of guitar 78s gave his son a means of escape. Thompson has displayed a penchant for the avant garde as well, working with former Pere Ubu singer David Thomas's grouping The Pedestrians on two albums in 1981 and 1982, respectively. She was previously deputy editor from 2016 to 2020, overseeing a range of newsroom initiatives and award winning editorial projects and leading a global network of over 100 foreign correspondents.

The Old Kit Bag is one of Richard Thompson's finest albums, and the surround mix only makes it better.