Up the Richard Thompson sadness ante: "Bad News is All The Wind Can Carry" "Beat the Retreat"
"Beat the Retreat" isn't a sad song.
I'm about to depart for colder climes
We're all adults here, ben. You can say "pound one out".
I love RT, but if you wanted sad sackness you should have put on a lot more of his stuff with Linda from that last album, man. Ouch.
We're all adults here, ben
The adults went to bed a long time ago.
5: Obviously I disagree. A lot of the stuff on that album isn't in itself sad-sacky: "Back Street Slide", "Wall of Death", "Living in Luxury", even "Shoot Out the Lights". Even "Man in Need" isn't all that sad-sacky, and that only leaves "Don't Renege on Our Love" (which actually has the same problem as "Man in Need", to wit, the music's kinda upbeat), "Did She Jump", "Walking on a Wire", and "Just the Motion"—and I did include four of those. Plus there's a lot of stuff I omitted just because of time considerations—"Woods of Darney", "I've Got No Right to Have It All", "Drowned Dog Black Night", "Annihilation in Allah", "Killing Jar", "God Loves a Drunk", and more, dear sir, many more.
Plus as I said I more or less just threw it together.
Actually, though, it's true that this contains a mix of genuine downers and songs that aren't downers but are extremely bitter.
With ben indisposed, on a plane, and/or elsewhere, I'd like to take the opportunity to try to construct the sentence most offensive to his grammatical and logical sensibilities:
"If he was here and hungry, there are plenty of biscuits in the tin."
Dammnit, tèo, your almost to write too be wrong.
Has you're too forgotten that their's know more annoying sentience then "the reason why is because"?
"For Shame of Doing Wrong" -- Ben, how could you omit that?
Whatever. A forty year is a surfeit of riches. "Doom & Gloom" is a good collection. I think the 70s albums, before Shoot Out the Lights, are just slightly overlooked. I think my personal favorite is Pour Down Like Silver and "Dimming of the Day" is one of the his more covered songs. But his guitar coda just makes it well, mystical or something.
I also think "I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight" is just a perfect fucking rock song, especially for a female singer. But it's perky.
I could talk about Thompson for hours, and I don't even know him that well or like him as much as many. Not really. I just had so much Thompson and Denny in my playlist I just tore em all off in some kind of mood. Slowly putting them back again.
Ack, now that my machine has well and truly died, my commenting time is now restricted to those hours during which my night-school brother is asleep. /OT
I can't credibly comment on music, but what's the general feeling on Taj Mahal? My initial reaction was quite positive, but that could be an artifact of my ignorance of modern blues
Guy I can't get into is Pete Hammill's solo work.
I love that, OFE.
I guess it would be pointless to respond to Ben's audio-format trolling?
He has a really nice cover of Billy Joel's "1985"
Bless you, Ben! I have to check my RT archive, as I suspect all these lurk there, but I love any opportunity to recognize RT's greatness.
For any that have missed it, his son's new collection of standards is grand--& my most Thompson-lovin' friend was telling me just last night that RT's own new album (with a large band) is his best in years. RT's winter tour isn't coming to my town, but I can testify he's a real showman--plays like a demon, tells stories like a favorite cousin.
And hey, Linda's got a new collection as well (W00T!)--once again including not only her own relations, but also a few from my other favorite musical dynasty.
I found his new album (Sweet Warrior) rather mediocre, myself.
17:ogged doesn't like him. You can search for the post in which ogged wonders why he doesn't like Taj Mahal.
I used to like him more than I do, and I like everything from Blind Boy Fuller to Ten Years After to Rory Block to Rod Piazza & the Mighty Flyers. Taj Mahal started with Ry Cooder, and I think that may be where he belongs. "Not quite blues." Roots music, maybe.
Taj Mahal is a great musician but a little too NPR.
Ry Cooder is better IMO. There are a couple of places where collectors post old blues MP3; I like this one.
Joe Bussard used to make cassetes from his collection of 78s to order, but looks like he's stopped doing that, now selling an expensive boxed set that looks great. Yazoo records distributes through emusic. If I put an old-time blues playlist together, what's a good hosting svc to post it?
As a rule Taj Majal is just okay, but he did an album of children's tunes that is surpassingly awesome.
I believe -- just my luck -- I will be in Lampeter, a place looked down on as provincial by the inhabitants of Wrexham on October 25th, but if I were not I might be at RT's gig here; a very nice place to see him in.
This looks pretty sweet at the GAMH:
It is $75 though.
