Richard Thompson
Discussion List FAQThe Recordings
Which recordings should I listen to and purchase first?
What are the titles of RT's recordings?
Why was Small Town Romance no longer available?
Have any RT "tribute" albums been produced?
Are "bootleg" recordings of RT's music available?
What is the recording Hard Cash all about?
What is the recording Sweet Talker all about?
What is the recording The Marksman all about?
What are these Hokey Pokey charity albums all about?
What are these Doom & Gloom From The Tomb tapes all about?
Are lyrics to RT's songs available on the Internet?
Are chord progressions and tablature for RT's songs on the Internet?
Has a concert video of an RT performance ever been produced?
Which recordings should I listen to and purchase first?
This was one of the first topics discussed on the RT Discussion List. Many list members contributed their opinions on which albums should be listened to and purchased first. There were lots of different opinions.
Rather than try to summarize these opinions, this question will be answered purely from the perspective of the writer of this FAQ. To make this very clear--this is my opinion. My advice: grab your credit card and go buy them all! :-)
Seriously, I suggest that the best place to start is Watching The Dark: The History of Richard Thompson. This is the three-cd set released by Ryko/Hannibal in 1993.
This collection of previously released studio recordings, rare live recordings, and other previously unreleased studio recordings is indispensable to gaining an understanding of RT's musical development. It also includes an informative booklet with details on each of the 47 tracks included. You cannot go wrong starting here, IMHO.
What are the titles of RT's recordings?
- 1972 The Bunch Rock On (RT was part of this group)
- 1972 Morris On (RT performing with Ashley Hutchings, Simon Nicol, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick, and Barry Dransfield)
- 1972 Henry The Human Fly (RT's first solo record and a classic!)
- 1974 I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight (with Linda Thompson)
- 1975 Hokey Pokey (with Linda Thompson)
- 1975 Pour Down Like Silver (with Linda Thompson)
- 1976 (guitar, vocal)
- 1978 First Light (with Linda Thompson)
- 1979 Sunnyvista (with Linda Thompson)
- 1981 Strict Tempo!
- 1982 Shoot Out The Lights (with Linda Thompson)
- 1983 Hand Of Kindness
- 1984 Small Town Romance (long deleted but now reissued)
- 1985 Across A Crowded Room
- 1985 Doom And Gloom From The Tomb (the first Flypaper production)
- 1986 Daring Adventures
- 1987 Live, Love, Larf & Loaf (with John French, Fred Frith, and Henry Kaiser)
- 1988 Amnesia
- 1990 Invisible Means (with John French, Fred Frith, and Henry Kaiser)
- 1991 Doom And Gloom From The Tomb II: Over My Dead Body (the second Flypaper production)
- 1991 Saturday Rolling Around (with the GP's: Ralph McTell, Dave Pegg, and Dave Mattacks)
- 1991 Rumor And Sigh
- 1993 Watching The Dark: The History of Richard Thompson
- 1994 Mirror Blue
- 1995 Live At Crawley 1993 (Limited edition concert recording with Danny Thompson)
- 1996 you?me?us?
- 1997 Industry, a concept album with Danny Thompson and others
- 1997 Two Letter Words (limited edition live band recording from the 1994 tour)
- 1998 The Bones of All Men (a collaboration with Phil Pickett, Sharona Joshua and some Fairport Convention members)
- 1998 Celtschmerz (a live recording from the 1998 tour)
- 1999 Mock Tudor
- You can also find contributions from Richard on a number of Fairport Convention albums, most recently the 30th anniversary box set, and he appears as a supporting musician on a considerable number of other albums from artists as diverse as Norma Waterson, Al Stewart and Christine Collister.
Why was Small Town Romance no longer available?
RT was dissatisfied with this live recording, and requested that Small Town Romance be deleted.
Once it was deleted, it immediately became a collector's item, and copies of the album and the CD became extremely difficult to locate. Following considerable pressure from fans the album has recently been reissued by Hannibal.
Have any RT "tribute" albums been produced?
Yes. As of this writing, three tribute albums have been released:
1. Dave Burland's album His Master's Choice: The Songs Of Richard Thompson, includes Clive Gregson, Christine Collister, and RT, among others.
2. The World Is A Wonderful Place: The Songs of Richard Thompson, released on Green Linnet Records, contains 18 tracks by such artists as Christine Collister, Victoria Williams, Plainsong, and Martin and Jessica Simpson, among others.
3. Beat the Retreat, released on Capitol Records, includes 16 tracks of RT songs performed by such artists as Bonnie Raitt, R.E.M., Maddy Prior, Los Lobos, and Martin Carthy, among others.
Are "bootleg" recordings of RT's music available?
Yes. A number of bootleg releases have been mentioned in Hokey Pokey and other music publications. The author of this FAQ and the RT list administrator do not encourage the purchase of these recordings. The artist receives no royalties from the sale of bootlegs, and the sound quality of many bootlegs is often far from the quality of legitimate recordings. Discussions of boots are strongly discouraged on the list.
What is the recording Hard Cash all about?
This recording contains 14 songs specially recorded for a BBC tv series on exploitation in the workplace titled "Hard Cash." To date, this series has not been broadcast. Three RT compositions are included: "Time To Ring Some Changes," "Mrs Rita," and "Oh I Swear." Clive Gregson and Christine Collister also appear on two songs on this recording.
What is the recording Sweet Talker all about?
RT collaborated with Peter Filleul and contributed to the soundtrack of this motion picture. This soundtrack album consists of 11 tracks. RT plays a variety of instruments on this recording: electric and acoustic guitars, banjo, mandolin, and hammered dulcimer, and also provides lead vocals on three songs: "Put Your Trust In Me," "To Hang A Dream On," and "False Or True."
What is the recording The Marksman all about?
This was a collaboration with Peter Filleul and is a soundtrack album for a TV film called ‘The Marksman’. It was released on the BBC’s own label in 1987 on vinyl and cassette only. It is not the type of music RT typically writes and performs
What are these Hokey Pokey charity albums all about?
Four Hokey Pokey charity albums were released between 1990 and 1994 on the Hokey Pokey label in the UK and on the Green Linnet label in the USA. From the liner notes: "All proceeds from the sale of these albums will be distributed to various schools and charities for disabled children."
- Volume 1: Circle Dance. Includes Clive Gregson and Christine Collister, FC, RT, and LT, among others.
- Volume 2: All Through The Year: A Calendar In Music And Song. Includes John Kirkpatrick and Sue Harris, FC, and the "Mele Kalikimaka Serenaders" (RT, Henry Kaiser, and others), among others.
- Volume 3: The World Is A Wonderful Place: The Songs Of Richard Thompson. This recording was discussed in the previous question on RT "tribute" recordings.
- Volume 4: Out On The Rolling Sea: A Tribute To The Music Of Joseph Spence & The Pinder Family. Includes Victoria Williams, Taj Mahal, and David Lindley, among others. RT was not involved in this album.
What are these Doom & Gloom From The Tomb tapes all about?
These tapes were produced by the US RT fan club "Flypaper" and compiled by Frank Kornelussen, Edward Haber, and Ilana Pelzig. Doom And Gloom I ( From The Tomb) was produced in 1985, and Doom And Gloom, II: (Over My Dead Body) was produced in 1991. These tapes included rare live recordings, early FC recordings, R< material, various studio demos, etc.
The first volume of D&G is sold out. Those seeking out volume two should contact "Flypaper." The address is
Flypaper J.A.F Box 7095 New York, NY 10116 USA
Are lyrics to RT's songs available on the Internet?
Yes. There are lyrics for a few R< songs at "ftp.uwp.edu" in "pub/music/lyrics/t/thompson.richard" and in "pub/music/lyrics/t/thompson.richard.linda".
World Wide Web access to these University of Wisconsin-Parkside Music Archives and Lyrics Pages is at: http://archive.uwp.edu.
Are chord progressions and tablature for RT's songs on the Internet?
Yes. There are chord progressions and/or tablature for a few RT songs at the On-Line Guitar Archive at http://www.olga.net.
Chord progressions and partial tablature have also been posted on the newsgroup rec.music.makers.guitar.tablature.
Richard Kendrick also maintains a Richard Thompson Guitar TAB Archive.
Has a concert video of an RT performance ever been produced?
Yes. During the Across A Crowded Room tour, a concert performed at Barrymore's in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, was filmed. The date of this show was April 10, 1985. This concert recording was officially released in videotape format, then later in laser-disc format. As of the date of this FAQ, list members are reporting that copies of the laser-disc version of the concert do not seem to be available. Used copies occasionally are listed in publications such as Goldmine, but new copies are apparently not being produced in the US at this time.