As it sometimes happens, a record will roll through without a genre listed, so it is in my hands to leave such information blank or do a quick search for this music and genrify it myself. Richard Thompson’s 1985, “Across A Crowded Room,” was intriguing enough just based on the cover art for me to look into and what a delightful wormhole I’ve fallen into from this search. This wormhole is not a cold, lonely and dark void, however, rather it is intelligent, humorous and filled with refined musicianship. Richard Thompson is a discovery for the ages.
It is my manner to simplify music into terms I understand, so right off the bat I equated Mr. Thompson to an English Adrian Belew. Beautiful singing voices, top notch songwriting and the expressive and highly creative guitar mastery of each musician is enough reason for my comparison, I felt. They are each singular and unique, and where Adrian Belew goes off into deep sonic exploration of the electric, Richard Thompson keeps it quite civil and English, with a more orchestral-style and folk-laden repertoire. Orchestral, not in that there is an actual orchestra backing his songs, but the amazing way in which he alludes to an entire orchestra with just his acoustic! I recommend checking out “1000 years of Popular Music” on YouTube, wherein Mr. Thompson and two backing ladies pair down centuries old songs largely just for voice, percussion and his guitar. Those being mainly covers, I am also into his right-up-to-this-minute work, as genius like this does not grow on trees and his appears to be the sort that only ripens with age and wisdom. These days he is conducting virtual concerts from his home in England, and being such a gentle instrumentation of his voice, his guitar and a backing vocalist, these online shows are not missing anything for lack of a live audience.
Having songs and recordings dating back to the 60’s, it’s impossible to name favorites at this point. I will only say “Beeswing” is so poignantly beautiful I felt I could only hear it once, if you know what I mean. Overall, I would recommend any of his live recordings as his humor and banter really add a shine to his performances.
– Crystal Fulbright