Saw him twice in the last few years in solo gigs. He still has it all. So unbelievably creative & tasteful. We are so fortunate to live in a time when there are such musicians.
Still the most interesting and versatile guitarist, singer, and lyricist on the planet! Bravo! Thanks for sharing; real nice camera angles on all the action.
@Keith Clark - I bet you know - Dave Swarbrick told Martin Carthy the same thing about Richard Thompson after Swarb first met RT, when Swarb sat in with Fairport Convention to record the epic 11 minute song "A Sailor's Life" on _Unhalfbricking_.
AND apart from all the great music Richards voice NEVER gets boring AND I can hear word's AND I don't want to miss any either cos RT's songs are quite superb. TOP MAN !
Pre-comment: Dig the Pete Townsend-like song ending jumps - fcking awesome, you geezers! Seen this dude play many many times, electric and acoustic. In my opinion (which is the correct take), Richard Thompson is THE best guitar player. He's said that back during the Confair Portvention days, they chose not to go down the blues road like so many of that time (eric clapton, peter greene, john mayall). I bow down to Cream but that's another thing. By doing so Richard Thompson has developed a style that's his own, and he absolutely CRUSHES that style, effortlessly. (dude practices, gotta give props to that) I heard him introduced in Boulder , CO as "the thinking persons guitar monster". His skill combined with exceptional songwriting and its an easy choice to make. couple things that should be appreciated : over the years - hasn't gotten stale or relied on past numbers to milk it along, and the lyrics have always been relevant to what's going on at the time. Protest songs?? I'm a disciple of "if you don't have any thing to say what's the point." one last bit ... he played this coffee shop in Boulder, small place and tickets were very small. Dude had index cards handed out and the audience write him questions which he would answer over the course. cool huh? thank you richard thompson, your music has made my life so much more. Enos Abner Delomont III
Enos Abner Delomont III - I agree with everything you say - but RT does sometimes do a bluesy electric number. I love how he uses those open drone notes to make his guitar sound like bag pipes - who else does that?? If you really love his electric work check out an album that never had a general release but is available from his website: More Guitar is the name and every track showcases his electric style and it's all live!!!!! It has been uploaded to TH-cam in pretty high quality. I absolutely love the first track "Don't Tempt Me". If you haven't already found this gem you are in for a real treat. By the way I love the Electric album - my favs are Tic Tac Man and "Another Small Thing in her Favour".
His name is Michael Jerome Moore, and he's an ambi-dextrous drummer. He has previously worked with John Cale . Good stuff, huh?. I like the fact that the whole trio do vocals.
I’ve got my ticket for London Oct 16, can’t wait. This trio is so tight. RT, what can you say, great song writer, singer, performer and that guitar playing, no one else sounds like him.
R.T. remains a mystery too me in that I understand where he gets his Keltic British style of playing and song composition but there is another element of scales that fit and belong but somewhat eastern to my ears. As a hobby musician with a decent ear for music I can often predict where a solo is going but not with R.T. and convinced he does it just to piss me and everyone off 😅. That said in the early 90,s I met him backstage at the Fabriek in Hamburg after the end of his gig and he was kind enough to exchange pleasantries and appeared genuinely appreciative that I had. I had a rare opportunity to say where I first saw him which was at the Cambridge Corn Exchange together with Linda Thompson and albums and songs had significance for me and that his "Hand Of Kindness" album on cassette tape I gave to a Canadian/Scot who was doing time in San Pedro Prison Bolivia. Great to see and hear a good quality live recording and nice choice of material.
Thanks for posting this fine set. Always good to hear "For Shame of Doing Wrong," one of the great RT songs (there are so many!) His Strat coda here is customarily sublime. So well supported by Michael's ferocious drumming and by solid-as-a-rock Taras. Richard, Linda, Simon, DM and Pete did a version of that song in Bloomington, Indiana back in May, 1982, that has achieved legendary status among the locals.
In case anybody interested hasn't seen it there's a BBC documentary 'Richard Thompson, a Solitary Life' available on TH-cam. Highly Recommended. Also 4 CD box set,' Richard Thompson at the BBC' although that's largely acoustic solo performances so different in character to this show.
Ever since I bought Fairport's What we did on our holidays and heard RT's solo on Dr Lacey I've been following this genius for over 50 years. And he plays cricket too!
Now that you say that...YES! Rory was obviously bluesier but also had a unpredictable way of playing with a heavy Celtic bent and a wonderful cutting sound. This trio here is simply phenomenal, I hope to catch them live someday soon.
LOL Richard-"If faith should break my stride??"Went soldiering as a lad and had many adventures cross this Norhern parts-CIS (INC)/Senora/Esesnada/Berlin(on a Spree-ha ha) take great care all -enjoy this ride -it's the last one?
Setlist with timestamps: 01 Stuck On The Treadmill 0:49 02 Sally B 5:17 03 For Shame Of Doing Wrong 9:14 04 Saving The Good Stuff For You 15:27 05 Fork In The Road 19:23 06 Good Things Happen To Bad People 24:18 07 I'll Never Give It Up 29:24 08 Wall Of Death 33:14 09 1952 Vincent Black Lightning (solo) 37:10 10 This Wheel's On Fire 42:30 11 Tear Stained Letter 46:34
I was told when acting on stage to never look at the first 2 or 3 front rows of the audiance WHY? because thats were the sleepers and negative with blank stares people sit and it can really ruin a performance .
I love RT and have been a big fan for nearly three decades. But I wish he did something to improve his electric guitar tone just a little. It has always sounded thin and brittle to my ears - and that's a shame, because he is otherwise such a great player.
That’s intentional. It was his reaction to the big, fat tones all of the other British guitar players were going for in the late 60’s. He saw it as a bit of a cliche as it was happening, and got rid of his p90 gold top in favor of a strat so he would sound different. I think the tone is really good.
The only other person I've heard that had similar tone and style to Richard Thompson's shivery Celtic style was Clarence White; I heard some tapes of him years ago that sounded very much like Richard's intro to Calvary Cross.
@Knox Harrington - if you want big, boring, fat bluesy sounds then don't listen to RT - simples!! He sets his guitars up to sound the way they do (a closely held secret: something to do with the pick ups) because that's how he wants them to sound. I get that it takes a while to get your ear in with his electric solos - they're not melodic and therefore aren't instantly appealing to anyone used to the easy listening style of - for example - Dave Gilmour (whom I love by the way) - but once you've developed your ear by really listening - you can't go back - all others become boring and samey. It's a bit like the British comedian Stewart Lee: he takes some work, but then, no other comedian will do!!
@@honeychurchgipsy6 As a guitarist myself, I’m reasonably knowledgeable about the instrument and guitarists generally, so I naturally assume that RT’s tone is very much intentional. And I know, and appreciate, that he’s very unique, and that his playing, while highly advanced from a technical perspective, isn’t your standard pentatonic blues riffing. And that’s actually what I like about his playing (although I appreciate him more for his songwriting). That said, uniqueness isn’t always necessarily good. I think guitarists focus more on tone today than they did back when I first started playing, in the early 1980’s. I could be wrong about this, but I just don’t remember reading or hearing much at all about players’ tone back then. It wasn’t until about 10-15 years ago that I noticed a more pronounced focus on tone - eg, instruction on how to achieve specific tones, or praise for a player’s tone. Anyway, it was only in light of this new focus on tone that it occurred to me that RT was, to my ears, “deficient” in this area (and this is of course strictly my opinion based on how he sounds to me). In other words, I was always kinda lukewarm about his playing - I appreciated it more from an objective than a subjective standpoint - but it wasn’t until more recently that I was able to articulate exactly why. Way more info than you need here....
Saw him twice in the last few years in solo gigs. He still has it all. So unbelievably creative & tasteful. We are so fortunate to live in a time when there are such musicians.
Still the most interesting and versatile guitarist, singer, and lyricist on the planet! Bravo! Thanks for sharing; real nice camera angles on all the action.
I want to play every gig for the rest of my life with this drummer.
There's nobody quite like him -- he's ambidextrous and double-jointed, BTW.
@@editorjuno - wow - a lot of drummers are left handed apparently - my nephew is left handed and is a drummer - lol!!
Michael Jerome is a fantastic drummer without question.
We should all be so lucky, right? Yeah, Michael Jerome is amazing.
@Keith Clark - I bet you know - Dave Swarbrick told Martin Carthy the same thing about Richard Thompson after Swarb first met RT, when Swarb sat in with Fairport Convention to record the epic 11 minute song "A Sailor's Life" on _Unhalfbricking_.
AND apart from all the great music Richards voice NEVER gets boring AND I can hear word's AND I don't want to miss any either cos RT's songs are quite superb. TOP MAN !
This is awesome. What a guitar player RIchard Thompson is. Great band.
i am on the verge of making an album about the last 4 years . this is a master class especially keeping songs stripped down .
Honestly, one of the most original modern guitarists around
Michael Jerome is one of the best drummers around!
Yep!
Those licks and fills...an endless textbook of surprise...like NO ONE ELSE.
Absolutely. He's got some slick slick guitar tricks.
Pre-comment: Dig the Pete Townsend-like song ending jumps - fcking awesome, you geezers!
Seen this dude play many many times, electric and acoustic. In my opinion (which is the correct take), Richard Thompson is THE best guitar player. He's said that back during the Confair Portvention days, they chose not to go down the blues road like so many of that time (eric clapton, peter greene, john mayall). I bow down to Cream but that's another thing. By doing so Richard Thompson has developed a style that's his own, and he absolutely CRUSHES that style, effortlessly. (dude practices, gotta give props to that) I heard him introduced in Boulder , CO as "the thinking persons guitar monster".
His skill combined with exceptional songwriting and its an easy choice to make.
couple things that should be appreciated : over the years - hasn't gotten stale or relied on past numbers to milk it along, and the lyrics have always been relevant to what's going on at the time. Protest songs?? I'm a disciple of "if you don't have any thing to say what's the point."
one last bit ... he played this coffee shop in Boulder, small place and tickets were very small. Dude had index cards handed out and the audience write him questions which he would answer over the course.
cool huh?
thank you richard thompson, your music has made my life so much more.
Enos Abner Delomont III
Enos Abner Delomont III - I agree with everything you say - but RT does sometimes do a bluesy electric number. I love how he uses those open drone notes to make his guitar sound like bag pipes - who else does that?? If you really love his electric work check out an album that never had a general release but is available from his website: More Guitar is the name and every track showcases his electric style and it's all live!!!!! It has been uploaded to TH-cam in pretty high quality. I absolutely love the first track "Don't Tempt Me". If you haven't already found this gem you are in for a real treat.
By the way I love the Electric album - my favs are Tic Tac Man and "Another Small Thing in her Favour".
rt is incredible and quite versatile. he is one of the musicians i have not seen in my extensive music fest tours. i could listen to him all day
Fantastic, beyond comparison, this trio rocks! Thank you for posting this, superb, great sound and image!
I’ve seen him perform over a dozen times in the last thirty years. He is simply phenomenal!
He is All Man ! Need to eyeball Live! 🏔💚🎸
His name is Michael Jerome Moore, and he's an ambi-dextrous drummer. He has previously worked with John Cale . Good stuff, huh?. I like the fact that the whole trio do vocals.
Super !
Grand bravo !
Pierre (Picardie/FRANCE)
Wow. Wow and Wow!
Thank you, Bruce, for sharing this exquisite document.
You're most welcome. 👍
I’ve got my ticket for London Oct 16, can’t wait. This trio is so tight. RT, what can you say, great song writer, singer, performer and that guitar playing, no one else sounds like him.
R.T. remains a mystery too me in that I understand where he gets his Keltic British style of playing and song composition but there is another element of scales that fit and belong but somewhat eastern to my ears. As a hobby musician with a decent ear for music I can often predict where a solo is going but not with R.T. and convinced he does it just to piss me and everyone off 😅. That said in the early 90,s I met him backstage at the Fabriek in Hamburg after the end of his gig and he was kind enough to exchange pleasantries and appeared genuinely appreciative that I had. I had a rare opportunity to say where I first saw him which was at the Cambridge Corn Exchange together with Linda Thompson and albums and songs had significance for me and that his "Hand Of Kindness" album on cassette tape I gave to a Canadian/Scot who was doing time in San Pedro Prison Bolivia. Great to see and hear a good quality live recording and nice choice of material.
Absolutely astounding - as always.
Best kept British secret is right. Just found this treat.
Thank you very much indeed, Sir:) Davy Graham, Richard Thompson & Graham Coxon : my fav. guitar players🙏
Thanks for posting this fine set. Always good to hear "For Shame of Doing Wrong," one of the great RT songs (there are so many!) His Strat coda here is customarily sublime. So well supported by Michael's ferocious drumming and by solid-as-a-rock Taras. Richard, Linda, Simon, DM and Pete did a version of that song in Bloomington, Indiana back in May, 1982, that has achieved legendary status among the locals.
You're more than welcome, Andrew -- and thanks for your commentary and recollections.
In case anybody interested hasn't seen it there's a BBC documentary 'Richard Thompson, a Solitary Life' available on TH-cam. Highly Recommended. Also 4 CD box set,' Richard Thompson at the BBC' although that's largely acoustic solo performances so different in character to this show.
Bruce Morgen- thanks for this post!
You're more than welcome!
One word: brilliant!
Micheal Jerome my favourite drummer ever
Still a monster on guitar!!
Ever since I bought Fairport's What we did on our holidays and heard RT's solo on Dr Lacey I've been following this genius for over 50 years. And he plays cricket too!
He has time to play cricket? I'm amazed. Can you find a team in L.A.?
EVERYTHING THAT IS GREEN GOES SO WELL WITH THESE GUYS ......
Thanks , Bruce !
You're more than welcome, John. 👍
Excellent!
Just CRUSHING it!!
i'm becoming a better drummer by just watching , and RT is absolutely wonderful
The man is a hero
You run out of superlatives after a while.
Yeah… # me too! …Remind me…
There's just just that extra something special about him.. and Rory Gallagher too (RIP). It's like they were just born with the magic dust.
Now that you say that...YES! Rory was obviously bluesier but also had a unpredictable way of playing with a heavy Celtic bent and a wonderful cutting sound. This trio here is simply phenomenal, I hope to catch them live someday soon.
The elegant ....unique... oozin' class...RT
The pinnacle of live performance. The audience must have been pinching themselves.
I love him.
Just brilliant
LOL Richard-"If faith should break my stride??"Went soldiering as a lad and had many adventures cross this Norhern parts-CIS (INC)/Senora/Esesnada/Berlin(on a Spree-ha ha)
take great care all -enjoy this ride -it's the last one?
Setlist with timestamps:
01 Stuck On The Treadmill 0:49
02 Sally B 5:17
03 For Shame Of Doing Wrong 9:14
04 Saving The Good Stuff For You 15:27
05 Fork In The Road 19:23
06 Good Things Happen To Bad People 24:18
07 I'll Never Give It Up 29:24
08 Wall Of Death 33:14
09 1952 Vincent Black Lightning (solo) 37:10
10 This Wheel's On Fire 42:30
11 Tear Stained Letter 46:34
Thanks! 👍
Top bloke 🙂
The acoustic he s playing l think is his signature guitar by Lowden.
that solo on track 3 bomb diggity
Damn I could got ticket nr me 10th Aug x
Wot ???
EnosEverything just he was in Torquay. I was going to go.
Sorry ErosEverything I was annoyed with myself as I could not go.
That's a sad tale - I've seen him here in Brisbane three times plus many years ago in 1974 when he was with Fairport Convention.
I was told when acting on stage to never look at the first 2 or 3 front rows of the audiance WHY? because thats were the sleepers and negative with blank stares people sit and it can really ruin a performance .
39:00 minutes
I love RT and have been a big fan for nearly three decades. But I wish he did something to improve his electric guitar tone just a little. It has always sounded thin and brittle to my ears - and that's a shame, because he is otherwise such a great player.
Get an old live version of CALVARY CROSS into you - silly man.
That’s intentional. It was his reaction to the big, fat tones all of the other British guitar players were going for in the late 60’s. He saw it as a bit of a cliche as it was happening, and got rid of his p90 gold top in favor of a strat so he would sound different.
I think the tone is really good.
The only other person I've heard that had similar tone and style to Richard Thompson's shivery Celtic style was Clarence White; I heard some tapes of him years ago that sounded very much like Richard's intro to Calvary Cross.
@Knox Harrington - if you want big, boring, fat bluesy sounds then don't listen to RT - simples!! He sets his guitars up to sound the way they do (a closely held secret: something to do with the pick ups) because that's how he wants them to sound.
I get that it takes a while to get your ear in with his electric solos - they're not melodic and therefore aren't instantly appealing to anyone used to the easy listening style of - for example - Dave Gilmour (whom I love by the way) - but once you've developed your ear by really listening - you can't go back - all others become boring and samey.
It's a bit like the British comedian Stewart Lee: he takes some work, but then, no other comedian will do!!
@@honeychurchgipsy6 As a guitarist myself, I’m reasonably knowledgeable about the instrument and guitarists generally, so I naturally assume that RT’s tone is very much intentional. And I know, and appreciate, that he’s very unique, and that his playing, while highly advanced from a technical perspective, isn’t your standard pentatonic blues riffing. And that’s actually what I like about his playing (although I appreciate him more for his songwriting). That said, uniqueness isn’t always necessarily good.
I think guitarists focus more on tone today than they did back when I first started playing, in the early 1980’s. I could be wrong about this, but I just don’t remember reading or hearing much at all about players’ tone back then. It wasn’t until about 10-15 years ago that I noticed a more pronounced focus on tone - eg, instruction on how to achieve specific tones, or praise for a player’s tone. Anyway, it was only in light of this new focus on tone that it occurred to me that RT was, to my ears, “deficient” in this area (and this is of course strictly my opinion based on how he sounds to me). In other words, I was always kinda lukewarm about his playing - I appreciated it more from an objective than a subjective standpoint - but it wasn’t until more recently that I was able to articulate exactly why.
Way more info than you need here....