Richard Thompson advice?

[andy the fish]

hi guys,
i'm new to RT (and definately couldnt be called a folkie) and have just got the Sweet Warrior album. it's awesome!!
could anyone suggest which album i should go for next?

[Nick Reg]

Watching The Dark (3cd compilation) , Hand of Kindness, Shoot Out The Lights, Rumor & Sigh in that order methinks.

[PLW (Peter)]

Mock Tudor.

Mirror Blue and Rumour and Sigh from the early 90s both have some great songs on them, and if you want a totally different side of the man - 1000 Years of Popular Music is wonderful.

But I reckon Sweet Warrior is his best yet.

[johanna/ulla]

Definitely Mock Tudor. You will love it.
And The Old Kit Bag.
And don't forget Front Parlour Ballads.
Oh, and a live recording, like Live from Austin or Live in Providence.  

And don't forget to buy a ticket for one of the upcoming UK shows.

Enjoy!!!

[Jan_]

Oh dear, I have tried, I really have, but I just can't get beyond the voice  

I like 1000 Years because he shows us how well he can really sing.  

Sweet Warrior is growing on me - I think I like the electric sound.

[Jules Gray]

The man rarely receives a bad review.  More than in the case of any other artist I can think of, I believe (although I'm something of an RT newbie myself), but I believe you are fairly safe buying almost anything with the man's name on it.

At the very least it might be easier to draw up a list of albums to avoid rather than ones to recommend.

Jules

[Waterloo Wonderer]

See if they have any in the local library.

Listen and if you like buy.

[Jim]

as always in thesa cases i would suggest ,if youve got the inclination and funds,start at the beginning
"henry the human fly" and work your way forwards
the box sets "watching the dark" and "rt the life and music of RT" are worth getting as there is a lot of unreleased stuff on them,the various best ofs  dont have much thats not available elsewhwere

[Ollie]

See if they have any in the local library.

Listen and if you like buy.

They had his 5-CD boxset in mine, as well as some others. Also, check out Richard and Linda Thompson. I'd go for I Want to See the Bright Light's Tonight. And get Mock Tudor as well. I got it last week for £4.95 from Borders.  

[ColinB]

At the very least it might be easier to draw up a list of albums to avoid rather than ones to recommend.

Across a Crowded Room isn't one I play very often and Industry isn't one I'd recommend to a newbie.

If you like his band stuff I'd go for Mock Tudor, The Old Kit Bag, Rumor & Sigh and Daring Adventures. But if you like him in acoustic mode I'd recommend You? Me? Us? and Front Parlour Ballads.

As for live acoustic albums there's Celtschmerz or Live at Crawley 93.

[Mr Cat (Lewis)]

Although this may ultimately lead to a bit of duplication and extra expense (RT can be addictive), there are a couple of decent compilations:

"Action Pact" on Capitol is a good summary of his late 80's to late 90's work on Capitol
There is also an Island "Introduction to Richard and Linda Thompson", which cherry picks the better known material.

On the acoustic front, "Small Town Romance" is a good introduction to the solo acoustic side, taking in his career from Fairport days up 1982 or so.

If you enjoy Sweet Warrior, The Old Kit Bag would be the next logical stop on the stand alone albums.

[davidmjs]

It's got to be the Watching the Dark compilation - a vastly superior (in comparison with the 5 CD box) 3 CD compilation of the material to the end of the 80's.....bit of a bugger to get hold of these days though...

[Malcolm]

Hand of Kindness, which features most of FC plus Pete Zorn.

Mock Tudor which contains the track Cooksferry Queen which IMHO is about the best rock track ever. Listen to DM on the drums.

Best RT advice - get an increase in your credit card limit

[Jan Wann-Snyder]

I have only two:  Action Packed and Sweet Warrior.  I loved Action Packed, but I think I need to get the live in Austin one.  I had a listen at the store, and it sounded amazing.  

I have been having some trouble getting into Sweet Warrior.  I like his live performance without the band, and I think the band kind of muddies up Sweet Warrior.  Not all of it, though--just some parts.  Sorry.  


Exit, stage left.  

[Nick the Stick]

Mock Tudor. Agree about Cooksferry Queen. DM's finest moment.

[jude]

I am very fond of 'Industry', but perhaps not as an introduction to Richard's work, just one to be aware of later on

[davidmjs]

I am very fond of 'Industry', but perhaps not as an introduction to Richard's work, just one to be aware of later on

Pedantic Ed. (he's busy tonight!) points out that this is actually credited to Richard Thompson and Danny Thompson...  doesn't stop it being fab, mind  

[andy the fish]

thanks guys and gals, knew i could rely on you to point me in the right direction.
have ordered a few from the library so will go from there.
would love to go see him but am spending all my time when im not at work studying so will have to wait till next time round.
am looking forward to exploring his records - tis always exciting finding someone new.

[Nick]

Something that's always surprised me about RT is his consistency. If you like his sound you can pick any album from his career - solo, duo or band - and not be disappointed.

I struggle to pick out a "best" album because I can't think what his "worst" is! For most artists there is at least one album which I find myself avoiding playing because it is not up to standard. This doesn't happen for me with RT. He has hit the mark with every single album in my opinion.

So get whatever you find out of the library and give it all a whirl...

Cheers

Nick

[Jules Gray]

as always in thesa cases i would suggest ,if youve got the inclination and funds,start at the beginning
"henry the human fly" and work your way forwards
the box sets "watching the dark" and "rt the life and music of RT" are worth getting as there is a lot of unreleased stuff on them,the various best ofs  dont have much thats not available elsewhwere

...and that's the way I'm doing it.  Started with Fairport, picked up Henry The Human Fly (still my favourite), and then the early ones with Linda, but then I hit a brick wall because First Light and Sunnyvista are out of print.  So I picked up those two boxed sets recently and am playing them while I hunt high and low for the two Chrysalis albums on CD...

Jules