» Review: Richard Thompson
Richard Thompson is the forgotten hero of music for over 40 years. Revered by such luminaries as Elvis Costello, Robert Plant and David Byrne, yet shielded from the spotlight that fame brings, Thompson has the enviable position of critical acclaim and cultural importance with the ability to walk down the street in relative anonymity. So is the adulation justified?
For those unfamiliar with his name and career, Thompson is a founding father of the contemporary British folk scene via his work with Fairport Convention in the ‘60s with seminal works ‘Liege & Leaf’ and ‘What We Did On Our Holidays’. The ‘70s saw his output blossom as duo Richard and Linda Thompson, his then wife. However, since the ‘80s he has performed solo, galvanising his stature as a guitar god.
Tonight, Thompson strode onto the stage almost apologetically, his four-piece band all dressed in black. He himself styled like a middle class Che Guevara complete with cocked beret, only this gunslinger has a pale blue Fender Strat as his weapon with his motley crew of renegade outlaw musicians.
For the first half of the show the band concentrated fully on the latest album, Dream Attic, an eclectic mix of folk (as expected) in tracks ‘Among The Gorse, Among The Grey’ and the hauntingly beautiful ‘Stumble On’, to a touch of polka (‘Demons In Her Dancing Shoes’), hoedowns on ‘Haul Me Up’ and the self proclaimed murder ballad/slipjig ‘Sidney Wells’. The two stand-out tracks being ‘Burning Man’, medieval in feel and origins but ramped up to placate rock tastes. You could still imagine it being played by a bank of lutes and citterns. And then the last track on the album and in the first half of the show: ‘If Love Whispers Your Name’, a standard love song to all intents and purposes. That is until Thompson unleashed all hell through his guitar at the end of the track, reminding everyone why he is the guitarist’s guitarist. Effortlessly gliding up and down the neck, he caressed it like a beautiful woman.
The second half of the show brought more of the same of Thompson’s virtuosity via his back catalogue of hits, delighting his fans along the way. His band matched him stride for stride, note for note. Special mention should go to Pete Zorn, guitarist and woodwind player – a musician who could seemingly get E flat out of a sack of spuds if plucked or blown correctly.
When it was over, the crowd stood long, the applause rang true.
So is the adulation justified? Absolutely!
Concert Hall, Brighton Dome, 3 February
5/5
Lee Stevens
