If there is a greater singer/songwriter/guitarist currently performing, the Beast Who Slumbers hasn’t heard them. In fact, El Somnambulo considers Richard Thompson to be the best guitar player he’s ever heard live. Yet, RT remains a relatively well-kept secret. Not to WXPN listeners, who named his “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” the #1 all-time quintessential ‘XPN song in the 2008 WXPN Countdown.
But Thompson, who started his career with the seminal British folk-rock band Fairport Convention, then recorded a series of wonderful albums with then-wife Linda Thompson, and has perhaps surpassed this work during his subsequent solo career, remains atop the list of what Robert Christgau calls ‘semi-popular’ musicians. His audience is fiercely loyal, and El Somnambulo is among that audience. ‘Bulo strongly encourages you to sample a song or two. You might just realize what you’ve been missing:
“I’ll always be a man who’s open to…persuasion”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3DS6xglAfQ[/youtube]
‘Persuasion’ (w/Teddy Thompson)- “Action-Packed: The Capitol Years”
“Oh, she was a rare thing, fine as a bee’s wing, and I miss her more than ever words could say…”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HApy-Xoix-g[/youtube]
‘Beeswing’- “Mirror Blue”. This one actually brings tears to ‘bulo’s eyes. Just beautiful.
“Well my head was beating like a song by the Clash
It was writing cheques that my body couldn’t cash”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hEWFsXrXv4[/youtube]
‘Tear Stained Letter’- “Hand of Kindness”
“I thought she was saying ‘good luck’, she was saying ‘goodbye’.”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQl_HTpDY0A[/youtube]
‘I Misunderstood’- “Rumor and Sigh”
“It’s a secret, but no secret. It’s a rule, but no rule.
Where you find the darkest avenue, there you’ll find the brightest jewel.”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGKkhUkxvc4[/youtube]
‘Cooksferry Queen’- “Mock Tudor”
“… red hair and black leather, my favorite color scheme.”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lCH5JgWCZY[/youtube]
CAUTION: Amateur Guitar Pickers-Do not try this at home!
‘1952 Vincent Black Lightning’- “Rumor and Sigh”