Thompson has almost as many albums as his old band Fairport Convention. That taken together with his consistently great song writing and unique guitar playing warrants a thread like this, imho. For those that don't know, Thompson was a founding member of Fairport Convention, at age 19 I believe, before going solo in 1970 after recording the band's great Full House album. I'm going to hit on Richard's contributions to FC before delving into his first solo album Henry The Human Fly and his subsequent albums with his then wife Linda Thompson (nee Peters). So enjoy the ride.
Fairport Convention 1968. Polydor Records. 1. "Time Will Show the Wiser" Emitt Rhodes 3:04 2. "I Don't Know Where I Stand" Joni Mitchell 3:43 3. "If (Stomp)" Ian MacDonald, Richard Thompson 2:45 4. "Decameron" Paul Ghosh, Andrew Horvitch, Thompson 3:42 5. "Jack O'Diamonds" Bob Dylan, Ben Carruthers 3:28 6. "Portfolio" Judy Dyble, Tyger Hutchings 1.58 Side two No. Title Writer(s) Length 7. "Chelsea Morning" Joni Mitchell 3:03 8. "Sun Shade" Ghosh, Horvitch, Thompson 3:46 9. "The Lobster" George Painter, Hutchings, Thompson 4:45 10. "It's Alright Ma, It's Only Witchcraft" Hutchings, Thompson 3:12 11. "One Sure Thing" Harvey Brooks, Jean Glover 2:52 12. "M.1 Breakdown" Hutchings, Simon Nicol The band at this juncture consisted of Richard on guitar and vocals, with Judy Dyble and Ian Mathews as lead vocalist mimicking American West Coast groups like Jefferson Airplane, featuring some Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan songs. Martin Lamble was on drums with Ashley Hutchings on bass and Simon Nicol on rhythm guitar. Richard's partial song writing contributions also mimicked West Coast tunes and I feel that he didn't find his muse until FC's second album which featured the great Sandy Denny taking over for Dyble. But Richard's guitar playing skills are already in evidence here.
What We Did On Our Holiday. 1968 Island Records. . "Fotheringay" Sandy Denny 3:06 2. "Mr Lacey" Ashley Hutchings 2:55 3. "Book Song" Iain Matthews, Richard Thompson 3:13 4. "The Lord Is in This Place…How Dreadful Is This Place" (based on "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" by Blind Willie Johnson) Hutchings, Thompson, Denny 2:01 5. "No Man's Land" Thompson 2:32 6. "I'll Keep It with Mine" Bob Dylan 5:56 Side two No. Title Writer(s) Length 1. "Eastern Rain" Joni Mitchell 3:36 2. "Nottamun Town" Traditional, arranged by Denny, Matthews, Thompson, Simon Nicol, Hutchings, Martin Lamble 3:12 3. "Tale in Hard Time" Thompson 3:29 4. "She Moves Through the Fair" Traditional, arranged by Denny, Matthews, Thompson, Nicol, Hutchings, Lamble 4:14 5. "Meet on the Ledge" Thompson 2:50 6. "End of a Holiday" Nicol Very much a collective album, with Sandy Denny introducing herself with her great song "Fotheringay", which was strong enough to lead off the album. Richard's collaborative songwriting efforts are again workman like but his first real classic song shows up in the solo penned "Meet On The Ledge", which is still played in concert by both Richard and Fairport Convention as a concert closer. A great song that would set the standard for Thompson's songs in the future.
Could write for hours and hours! I see the 1969 Albums 'Holidays'/'Unhalfbricking'/'Liege & Lief' as peak Fairport. I have a thing about 1968/9 being a peak creative window in non-Classical music anyway (inc. electrification of English Folk). I won't digress. RT on these three Albums, of course, confounded with Sandy Denny appreciation. The first Album you mention ''Fairport Convention' imo worth listening to as a whole Album like the 1969 three. Favourites are "Time Will Show The Wiser", "I Don't Know Where I Stand" and "Jack O'Diamonds". "I Don't Know Where I Stand", as we know, written by Joni Mitchell and features on 'Clouds'. Judy Dyble sings on 'Fairport Convention' and Sandy a version on 'Heyday' - which I prefer. 'What We Did On Our Holidays' is spine-tingling all the way through. I first tuned in to RT's exquisite electric strings work on 'Liege and Lief'. But yes - how can you "know"/understand RT without appreciation of early Fairport. The mind plays tricks on you ... I mean - it just happened I guess - but how did RT and Sandy get to be in the same place at the same time making the same stuff. Pure conjuring.
Yes, Fairport is one of my favorite groups and I was trying not to turn it into a FC appreciation thread and just concentrate on Thompson, but it's just too hard with a group as good as them.
I wish I knew some more about Richard's background, having never read any books about the man. Anyone who could fill me in would be appreciated.
Yes - and RT not lead voc. leaves you with recondite analysis of his guitar work - like that Pegasus Phil on YT - which I won't try. Goose bumps on my neck does the talking. I hope your RT thread takes off.
His memoir is titled 'Beeswing'. In the song "Beeswing" on 'Mirror Blue' (1994) RT talks about people who are "lost" - in this case a laundry girl: She was a lost child She was running wild, she said As long as there's no price on love, I'll stay And you wouldn't want me any other way Brown hair zig-zag round her face And a look of half-surprise Like a fox caught in the headlights There was an animal in her eyes She said, young man, O can't you see I'm not the factory kind If you don't take me out of here I'll surely lose my mind These lines reminiscent to me of "Devonside" on 'Hand Of Kindness' (1983): And surrender was the banner that she carried And hungry was the shiver in her eyes She met a boy, his health was failing She dropped the banner and took her prize And the only food she had was bread and morphine Ah, but he fed on the shiver in her eyes By Devonside his love was drifting He looked for comfort otherwise And there never was a rope or chain about him Ah, she held him with the shiver in her eyes Ah, she said, my John, I'll be your pillow I'll be your lover, mother, whore and wife And he knew that he loved and never seen her When the light fell from the shiver in her eyes I find this very striking - there are only two Artists I can think of who seem to capture an experience without actually suffering it - RT and Bob Dylan in e.g. "Moonshiner". I'd better stop. Going too far ahead.
Ian MacDonald listed in the credits for the first album is not Ian MacDonald of King Crimson, but rather Iain Matthews, whose real name is Iain Matthews MacDonald.
I came to RT via Fairport Convention (after having seen them first as support act for Jethro Tull in 1987) His first solo album I actually bought only because Sandy is singing background on it but immediately fell in love with him. And after having bought the 2 1987 Fairport Videocassetted there was no going back. He was great at Cropredy 1987
The memoir is a must of course. He chose to more or less end it in the mid 70's so for more about later years find Patrick Humphries's bio from the 90's.
my thoughts exactly on the books. i've seen richard over 100 times including a recent show only 20 minutes from home.
Holidays is widely regarded as a 1969 release but there's solid evidence it came out in December '68, which rather dispels the legend of three albums in one year. This ad is from the trade mag Record Retailer showing a release date of 13 December. And this is from Melody Maker 14 December, Island pushing it as a pre-Christmas release. Questions over release dates aside I would definitely agree that Holidays/Unhalfbricking and L&L represent Fairport at their absolute peak, although I'd also add Full House to that list.
Nice bit of research! And seven of those eight LPs made it to the back of the You Can All Join In sampler. Which must be where I first heard Fairport.
I can't claim any responsibility for the research, that was my friend Richard Morton Jack who is currently writing a new authorised Nick Drake biography, Richard's research is always thorough and meticulous!
I've seen RT about 15 or 16 times, more than any other performer (John McLaughlin is a close second.) The fellow that introduced me to Fairport remains my best friend to this day. The first Fairport album released in the US was not the Judy Dyble record. It was WWDOOH in a different cover. It was titled Fairport Convention and the cover shows the band sitting in leaves. That's the one I bought at the time. I've followed Richard's career since. I was at the famous Providence, RI concert of Richard & Linda's last tour together. He came out alone for the encore bleeding from the head because she'd clocked him with a beer bottle. Good times!
I recall watching this songwriters performance on one of the PBS channels. He totally upstaged Suzanne Vega and Loudon Wainwright III without even trying.
