At the age of 69 Richard Thompson still has a twinkle in his eye when addressing an audience. “I know you’ve paid good money for your seats but really, they’re just a suggestion” he nudges early in tonight’s set. Quite rightly so, touring the UK on the back of latest album ’13 Rivers’ he’s fully immersed in his electric trio (although they are often augmented by a fourth performing guitar tech guy) making this in every sense a Rock show. OK it is a Rock show by a Folk-Rock artist with a strong melodic tradition but a Rock show it is all the same. The album itself, unusually for Thompson, is extremely light on the ballads and the current that knits all thirteen tracks together is an electrical one.
Sadly for Richard though, as strong as the record is (I’d call it a return to form if I could think of a time that he’s ever really been off form) and as committed to his electric strand as the artist is, the audience are content to soak up this masterclass from a seated position. That’s a real shame for you can see that Richard really wants to tear it up. He respects his paying customers enough to ask them politely, but that doesn’t alter the fact that he is here with this exceptional little band to rock the joint. And there is no doubting that he can deliver on that ambition. The word ‘legend’ really does apply to one of the greatest songwriters and guitarists of our time and to have him still putting in the hours on the live circuit, as well as writing and recording new music, remains a source of legitimate excitement.
Tonight’s gig leans heavily on the high tempo rockers. Richard sticks to his electric guitar for at least two-thirds of the set and there are only a couple of pauses for some, typically breathtaking, solo acoustic interludes. Opening with ‘Bones Of Gilead’ he’s quickly laying on the charm, promising with full knowing irony that “all those popular classics” will be coming later. But jokes aside that’s not really what we get, one or two obvious “hits” are missing in a set that spans 50 years playing an even-handed and eclectic song selection. The delightful excursions arrive early with a genuine 1968 Fairport Convention deep cut, ‘Tale In Hard Time’. Thompson recalls this not being played live at the time. “Maybe it wasn’t very good? We’re about to find out!”
‘Guitar Heroes’ was, for me, one of the less essential tracks on 2015’s ‘Still’ album. Live however it’s a different story, laying a platform for Richard to honour his formative guitar influences whilst simultaneously blowing it out with his own fretboard wizardry. The Richard Thompson back catalogue is vast and a wealth of hidden gems are waiting there ripe for rediscovery. With that in mind, it’s a joy to hear albums like ‘Mock Tudor’ (with ‘Dry My Tears And Move On’) and ‘You? Me? Us?’ (‘Put It There Pal’) still getting a nod. The bleak anthem of ‘Can’t Win’ is a signature Thompson no-hoper of a theme lyrically and it positively shines nowadays freed from the clean 1980s production on the original album. ‘Wall Of Death’ too, one of only a couple of dips into the Richard & Linda era, benefits from the added grunge and grit of the electric trio.
The audience are in for more gentle goading later when Thompson announces a song “off of an album that none of you bought”. He’s talking about last years ‘Acoustic Rarities’. When someone shouts out that they had bought it our man is quick-witted once more with his “yes, one in the Cambridgeshire area, that tallies with our figures” retort. The song in question is a moving study on one senior man mourning the loss of a beloved venue, the scene of youthful happy memories. In that sense ‘They Tore The Hippodrome Down’ bears a resemblance in tone to the classic ‘Al Bowlly’s In Heaven’ and it performs a similar role within this latest show. Just like the earlier song, ‘Hippodrome’ has space to progress into a forties style swing allowing bassist Taras Prodaniuk and jazzy drummer Michael Jerome a brief spotlight moment. They are a watertight unit, and yet they’re loose and speedily spontaneous too; it’s plain to see why they’ve become Richard’s mainstay group over the last decade. Upon leaving the auditorium tonight I overhear audience members asking the sound crew what the drummers name is.
Naturally Thompson plays ‘1952 Vincent Black Lighting’ and of course it is an incomparable acoustic standard. One of two encores features a sublime solo ‘Beeswing’. But even if these are career cornerstones that Richard must pay respect to, he won’t lose sight of the fact that tonight it should be loud, and he wants you on your feet. Finally, after a scuzzy cover of The Sorrows sixties garage classic ‘Take A Heart’, everyone is rising in unison for a wholly worthy standing ovation. Just consider if you will, people stand for the Queen even though she’s never done anything remotely like entertain an audience for two hours with such godlike musical prowess! All the while the man who genuinely deserves such unquestioning reverence still must go out every night and earn it. It really is time we were all standing up in appreciation of Richard Thompson.
Read our recent interview with Richard here.