[various folk] play the music of Richard Thompson

I have a terrific Richard Thompson tribute album called "The World is a Wonderful Place". It is mostly folk-style and is on the Green Linnet label (GLCD 3086).

There's also a Richard Thompson tribute album called "Beat the Retreat", featuring R.E.M., Bonnie Raitt, and others, though I haven't heard it. I haven't heard of any RT tribute albums that have U2 on them.

Hope this helps. If you like RT, definitely try to find a copy of "The World is a Wonderful Place".

Hey, Peter, you could be right - I may be confusing U2 and REM - it was something I really overheard whilst my mind was elsewhere, so perhaps I filled in the gaps wrongly. The album you mention certainly sounds about right. Will check it out, ta...

TC '..'
"Girl, you thought he was a man, but he was a Muffin..."

quote:

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5 Blind boys of Alabama

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Aren't they absolutely brilliant! I recently bought their last album on the Real World label, and thought it was great.

Dev -- who doesn't normally listen to this sort of stuff.

I've heard their cover of my (so far) favourite RT song 'Dimming of the Day' which gives it a fresh prespective. I also have versions of this wonderful song by Emmylou Harris, Linda Thompson and Bonnie Raitt. It is Bonnies version that I think is the most emotive and heart rendering. The first time I heard it on my car radio, I had to pull to the side of the road and listen to it, then drive to the nearest music store to buy it. The clerk forgot to remove the security plastic frame from the disk, and I had to smash it to the road several times before I could free it and play it on the way home.

Ron
Dum spiro audio
Dum audio vivo

My cousin loves Richard Thompson, and played me some of the stuff from "Mock Tudor". He also dragged me to a live concert, when RT played here in Toronto. Overall, I was severely unimpressed. I just don't understand why everybody goes so ga-ga over this guy. His work is quite uninspired, and his guitar playing doesn't strike me as being overly impressive.

Things that make you go "Hmmmm..."

Maybe I should give it another stab. Perhaps I wasn't "in the mood" for his stuff at the time.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

His album work does indeed take some getting into - the biggest obstacle for most is his voice, which is an acquired taste and frequently puts many people off.

His guitar work is (in the main) sublime, though you have to see him work his acoustic guitar live to appreciate just what this guy can do. Amazing!

However, not for everyone. Certainly not average, though the 'overall sound' can sound a bit so-so (mixing, instrumentation and then 'that voice' ) but it's well worth a second go... it took me a couple of abortive attempts to get into his recorded work following a chance live encounter in 1997...

TC '..'
"Girl, you thought he was a man, but he was a Muffin..."

I generally hate folky stuff, but the first time I heard RT playing his battered '56 (or is it '57?) Stratocaster I thought I'd found nirvana. I was totally bowled over - I tried to convince my friend who just barfed - "I hate that voice!". Oh, well.

That's curious, as my cousin felt the RT's records were preferable to his live stuff.

I certainly don't have a problem with strange voices, as my collection includes The Flaming Lips, XTC, and a bunch of others that I can't recall at the moment, all of whom have questionable pipes.

As to his folk roots, I'm a big folkster myself. Then again, I don't really like Bob Dylan or Neil Young. Perhaps it's the rock'n'roll, guitar-centric kind of folk that doesn't do it for me. The straightahead aspect of these tends to bore me. I gravitate more to the jazzy side of folk, versus the rock side.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-