Album Reviews

This five song 45rpm EP compiled for Mobile Fidelity by Thompson from his archive of live recordings includes “From Galway to Graceland” and “1952 Vincent Black Lightning,” recorded in 1994, “Oops! I Did It Again” and “It Won’t Be Long” from 2003, and a 1985 edition of “Shoot Out The Lights.”

Other than a different live performance taken from a cassette board mix appearing on the 1993 3 CD Rykodisc/Hannibal compilation Watching The Dark, The History of Richard Thompson(Hannibal HNCD 5303), the touching “From Galway to Graceland” has not appeared on any Thompson album. This live take is clearly not from a cassette, though it’s likely to have come from a DAT recording. The song traces a fanatical Elvis fan’s journey to visit his grave, but it’s really about music’s special grip on the human soul.

“1952 Vincent Black Lightning,” one of the great motorcycle love songs of all time, which first appeared on 1992’s Rumor And Sigh (Capitol EST 2142 LP) is probably taken from the same 1994 concert, with Thompson subtly backed by long time cohort Danny Thompson on bass. Thompson’s acoustic guitar work on this track is positively astounding for its agility, speed, clarity and musicality, and is alone worth the $19.95 price of admission, though his passionate vocal take is equally mesmerizing and exceptional.

Side two opens with the Britney Spear hit “Oops! I Did It Again,” and while Thompson is known for his sly wit and cutting sense of humor, he takes the stale pop tune seriously, working the chord changes to make the song sound almost as if he could have written it. Toward the end he indulges the audience in a good-natured sing-a-long, but I’d still bet Thompson admires the song’s craft.

Next up is a take on Lennon/McCartney’s “It Won’t Be Long,” with friend Judith Owen providing the harmony (she’s Harry Shearer’s wife and a major talent herself—search the site for reviews of her CDs). It’s probably from the same show as “Oops!....” and perhaps Thompson’s point was that pop music really hasn’t really changed that much over the years, just the setting has.

The side ends with “Shoot Out The Lights,” from the indispensable album of the same name, featuring Christine Collister on backing vocals and her then beau Clive Gregson on rhythm guitar, plus Rory McFarlane on bass and the always reliable Jerry Conway on drums. The 1985 recording is not quite as lucid as the newer recordings, but the performance, especially Thompson’s buzzsaw Strat work, more than makes up for the sonic deficit.

For Thompson hard-cores, it would have been nice to have more information as to where the recordings were made but that’s a minor complaint.

Sonically, Paul Stubblebine’s mastering is excellent, regardless of the probably digital source, though as with the Cream set (see review), one side of this disc was pressed eccentrically. What are the odds these two discs came from the same RTI press? Pretty good I’d say. Better QC is needed, especially if you’re being asked to pay $20 for fewer than 20 minutes worth of music—not that Thompson fans will be counting. Is it worth the dough? That’s up to you, but if you’re an RT fan, I’d say yes, if just for the guitar work on “1952 Vincent Black Lightning.”