Rumor and Sigh - Richard Thompson
National treasure is a phrase too easily bandied about, but IMO Richard Thompson clears the bar with some ease. Despite a relatively low profile, he’s been an integral and important part of the British and wider music scene since co-founding Fairport Convention as a teenager. Moving on to create classic albums with his then wife Linda, followed by a long and distinguished solo career that has included generous collaboration with all manner of musicians. A renowned guitarist and the acceptable face of folk-rock!
I don’t have a hugely personal story to go with this pick. Many years ago, a Deadhead I knocked around with asked if I fancied going to see Thompson; I said yes but accidently got quite drunk in advance of the gig and when subsequently asked by a couple of people what I thought of him, I was a bit lukewarm. They were really surprised by this, so I resolved to see him again sober and when I did I cursed myself for being such a numpty. I’ve grown very attached to his music over the years despite (or maybe because of) the fact that he’s never shown much interest in being famous or doing anything other than what he wants to. Generally it doesn't occur to me to think about the time when we won’t have certain musicians with us anymore, but I do in the case of Thompson.
There are 25 studio albums to choose from before you go near the live ones and collaborations, despite this being far from the aficionados favourite, I’ve chosen Rumor and Sigh for several reasons:
- Despite the American spelling of the title and and the nature of it's production (more of which later) it still sounds singularly British to me. I can’t imagine this set of songs coming from anywhere else in the world (we’ll gloss over the fact that it was recorded in the US!).
- This is seen as Thompson’s most commercially friendly album and most accessible introduction to him. That said it opens with a song about a mixed-up teenager traversing porn and sex manuals; followed by a tale about a recently released young sociopath; followed by a song about a brutal brush-off; followed by a song about mental health and old school electro convulsive therapy. You get the idea, except the music itself is often upbeat and jaunty.
- To this last point, it’s been said that Thompson’s songwriting can come off as cynical, but I think that much too often mischaracterises him. On this album, Thompson’s intelligent but far from po-face storytelling combines humour, pointedness and poignancy in equal measure. He’s sometimes sardonic but rarely descends into nastiness. The miscreants documented herein are treated more often with affection than scorn.
- Thompson is a fantastic guitarist with a distinctive sound both acoustic and electric but for all the talent he’s never unnecessarily flashy it’s always about the song.
- Within a cohesive sounding framework, there’s a pleasing variety of sounds and styles on this album ranging from blues-tinged ballads, an affectionate tribute to Scottish accordion player Jimmy Shands, some 'Briticana’, and a folkabilly anti-Thatcher rant.
- Most of all, it simply has some great tunes because IMO he’s a great songwriter. I Feel So Good, 1952 Vincent Black Lightening and God Loves A Drunk are much loved songs in the Thompson cannon and I hope you can see why.
It weighs in at just over an hour and it’s not an uncommon view that it means the song quality is variable as the album progresses. I understand this but the more I’ve played it over the years the more I found the ‘lesser’ songs having things to offer. I will leave people to their own conclusions on the album closer .
The perky production by Mitchell Froom is also a source of contention, many fans feel it strips him of his Richard Thompsoness. I would normally subscribe to that view but perversely I quite like the contrast between the material and the transatlantic feel Froom brings, at least as a one off. I know there are people on here who are very familiar with him (sadly not around for the clues!) but hopefully others with only a passing acquaintance will hear at least some of his qualities.
Thompson is a curio, not rocky enough for some, not trad enough for others, too restrained for some, too flippant for others etc. Where does he fit? But that’s what I like about him; he doesn’t seem to care and simply lets his songwriting and playing do the talking. He’s still fully active at 75 and has made it clear he intends to go out with his boots on. Hopefully that won’t be for many, many years yet; but one sad day they’ll be a Richard Thompson shaped hole in the UK and broader music scene and, given his singularity, for me it’s hard to see how it’ll be filled.
