The Album Review Club - Week #191 (page 1286) - Harlequin Dream - Boy & Bear

RobMCFC said:
I am interested to hear this for a number of reasons:-

1. This album had good write-ups when it appeared in magazines at the time it was released.
2. I have enjoyed pretty much all of the RT songs that have been nominated on the playlists (probably by threespires).
3. He co-wrote "Persuasion" with Tim Finn, a superb song that appeared on Finn's Before & After album in 1993 - I think threespires must be having a RT week as Thompson's version of that very song is on the playlist thread this week and is the best thing on it.

In fact I don't know why I haven't listened to RT more - this week will be the chance to put that right.
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I've never done this before but for this one I have had a bit of a guess to myself what a few posters might make of it, you being one of them.
 
threespires said:
I've never done this before but for this one I have had a bit of a guess to myself what a few posters might make of it, you being one of them.
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Entirely fair.

The signs are good - the instrumentation looks good, Mitchell Froom has produced a few great Crowded House albums (Woodface in the same year as this, which Alex Acuna also appeared on), Mickey Curry is a great drummer and Tchad Blake engineered Woodface.

Let's hope this listen stacks up against all of that good will!
 
FogBlueInSanFran said:
Rumour and Sigh is a line from a McLeish poem.

I got it after googling other record titles with "rumour", seeing this one, and recalling I thought I saw Thompson on Letterman in the 80s when I watched it every night (since I was in college). Sure enough the Wiki entry mentions the title coming from an AM poem.
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I think it would have been early 90's appearance performing I Feel So Good which is on this album. In fairness he looks like he's still very much in the 80s which probably explains the timeshift in your head.
 
RobMCFC said:
Let's hope this listen stacks up against all of that good will!
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Yeah, thanks to me it's dead on it's arse before the poor bastard has played a note!

Edit: I've just realised you meant in relation to personnel - I thought you were taking the piss about how much our happy band enjoyed the clues.
 
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threespires said:
I think it would have been early 90's appearance performing I Feel So Good which is on this album. In fairness he looks like he's still very much in the 80s which probably explains the timeshift in your head.
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LOL. It's funny the things you remember as having happened long ago. Since I stopped watching Letterman when I started getting up at 4 AM for work, I must have seen a clip somehow that made an impression on me.

Anyhow, I wonder if anything will come back to me since as noted my college roommate owned this but he owned hundreds of records and I don't recall listening to this unlike, say, Little Feat or Peter Gabriel, among dozens.
 
RobMCFC said:
Entirely fair.

The signs are good - the instrumentation looks good, Mitchell Froom has produced a few great Crowded House albums (Woodface in the same year as this, which Alex Acuna also appeared on), Mickey Curry is a great drummer and Tchad Blake engineered Woodface.

Let's hope this listen stacks up against all of that good will!
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Oxymoron.

JK :)
 
FogBlueInSanFran said:
Oh and I remember people raving about "Shoot Out The Lights" (with his wife, right?)
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Yeah, that crossed my mind as a nomination. Interesting album, their marriage had fallen apart, the record label had dropped them, Gerry Rafferty offered to bankroll proceedings but then him and Thompson couldn't work together, so had to be re-recorded on the cheap. Absolute clusterf**k, but ultimately produced what most people think was their best album.
 
RobMCFC said:
They're great in my head, and seem to be well regarded by press and public alike, but I appreciate to some that they must sound like a group of geography teachers giving a lecture through the medium of song.
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I like them fine, but nothing the brothers Finn did after True Colours and (especially) Waiata was ever going to compare.
 
BlueMoonAcrossThePond said:
Megadeth - Rust In Peace

10/10

RIP is *the* best "thrash metal" album. Each song is melodic, fast, head-banging and the lyrics are well-composed - not some inane ramblings typical of the genre.
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As per our DM agreement, I’ll send the money to you forthwith ;)




Edit; I’m pleased you and @Coatigan enjoyed my pick. You both have exceedingly good musical taste ;)
 
FogBlueInSanFran said:
I’m a moron, it was Across A Crowded Room my roommate had. This is later.
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In some fans eyes that's the last album before he sold out and went 'commercial' for a few years. Though the supposedly 'too commercial' next album didn't sell any better (despite having some stellar songs) than Across A Crowded Room and got him binned from the label he was on. In fairness, on the two* albums inbetween Across A Crowded Room and Rumor and Sigh you can hear a definite shift in production style but to me the song writing quality remains pretty consistent.

* He also did a soundtrack album in between for an Aussie film that flopped. @RobMCFC the soundtrack for Sweet Talker is where Persuasion comes from, so a full two 2 years before Finn added lyrics to it, which always makes me smile given how cohesive the music and lyrics of that song sound.
 
threespires said:
In some fans eyes that's the last album before he sold out and went 'commercial' for a few years. Though the supposedly 'too commercial' next album didn't sell any better (despite having some stellar songs) than Across A Crowded Room and got him binned from the label he was on. In fairness, on the two* albums inbetween Across A Crowded Room and Rumor and Sigh you can hear a definite shift in production style but to me the song writing quality remains pretty consistent.

* He also did a soundtrack album in between for an Aussie film that flopped. @RobMCFC the soundtrack for Sweet Talker is where Persuasion comes from, so a full two 2 years before Finn added lyrics to it, which always makes me smile given how cohesive the music and lyrics of that song sound.
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Yes, it was only yesterday, after hearing Richard Thompson's version but before this nomination, that I read about the genesis of the song. I always imagined the two of them sitting in a room together tossing around ideas. But it appears that Tim Finn heard the instrumental and came up with the lyrics. Like you said, the music and words sound so good together that it's hard to believe that this is how the song came about.
 
Mancitydoogle said:
Not of big fan of RT as such, however this is the one album of his I have.Ive already nominated a couple of tracks off it for the playlist thread.
Good album 8/10
Would welcome any suggestions of his other work @threespires
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I genuinely think the single biggest recommendation I would make re. Richard Thompson is, if at all possible, go and see him live. He's still got it, he always plays with excellent musicians, the guitar playing seems effortless, he's engaging without being over the top, the audience isn't there to add content to their social media but to listen and enjoy. I find it hard to think anyone would regret going to see him.

But to your question, just my opinion...
  • of his more recent albums Still is the best (but 13 Rivers is also v. good)
  • if you're not familiar with the early stuff with ex wife Linda, then the aforementioned last album Shoot Out The Lights is fantastic and is closely followed by their first 'I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight' (which is an interesting to listen to compare the young voice to the older one)
  • ones that didn't review as well but I really like include Daring Adventures and The Old Kit Bag
  • tbh if you like Rumor and Sigh then the compilation Action Packed, captures this part of his career really well and is a sort of mid-period greatest hits; Mock Tudor is the other 'big' album from this period
  • on the subject of compilations I don't know if it's on the streaming platforms but Watching The Dark has some great stuff including some outstanding live guitar stuff
  • if you like to hear the songs stripped back then there's Acoustic Classics Vols 1 and 2
  • Because he's a proper student of music his 1000 Years of Popular Song album is great fun
I'm trying to think of a duffer to steer clear of but despite his prolific nature which means there's sometime stuff you can fairly argue is filler, he always manages to magic up a gem or two on pretty much everything he puts out. I've got a playlist that is about 40 songs long that in terms of song writing quality I would imagine any songwriter, and I include the very best in that, would be happy to have written. On the playlist thread Coatigan and I had a brief discussion on simple but powerful/profound love songs as a theme, Thompson's Dimming of the Day would probably be at the top of my list.
 
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threespires said:
  • ones that didn't review as well but I really like include Daring Adventures and The Old Kit Bag
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When you nominated, I was looking from which album the song "I'll tag Along" came from and it's The Old Kit Bag.
I remember hearing it on the radio at the time, and I'm surprised to find out it was 2003 because I'd pretty much given up on the radio then. It must have been on a Bob Harris show.

Anyway, I'll be listening to that album this week as well.

EDIT - No I won't because The Old Kit Bag isn't available on Spotify! But just listened to the live version of "I'll Tag Along" instead.
 
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As ever my first listen was when driving in to work this afternoon.
A totally new one on me (yet again) and from first listen very enjoyable.
The first thing that struck me was the thought that he sounded a bit like David Byrne and a bit like Speaking in Tongues, Talking Heads, then latterly when the accordian came to the fore, a bit like Little Creatures.
Bits of Mellencamp and some varied tunes but all played very well.
I also got alot of fun/humour out of this which I thought was refreshing after the seriousness of last weeks musicians
 
I heard God Loves A Drunk this am at 4:30 when I was driving to work and having had one of my three best friends pass away just a few months ago due to liver failure, and having lost my father to the same disease many years back, I had to take a minute and compose myself before coming into the building. I was extraordinarily moved.

I'll save my full comments for my review but there's no getting around it -- this man is very, very, very talented.
 
LGWIO said:
As ever my first listen was when driving in to work this afternoon.
A totally new one on me (yet again) and from first listen very enjoyable.
The first thing that struck me was the thought that he sounded a bit like David Byrne and a bit like Speaking in Tongues, Talking Heads, then latterly when the accordian came to the fore, a bit like Little Creatures.
Bits of Mellencamp and some varied tunes but all played very well.
I also got alot of fun/humour out of this which I thought was refreshing after the seriousness of last weeks musicians
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I agree with a lot of what you said, and you know I love Mellencamp, but I don’t hear any similarity here.

First listen today and it’s definitely an album that will reward a few more plays.
 
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