In my feckless youth, I used to go to a lot rock concerts.
I'm often asked if there were artists I wished I had seen, but didn't. Well, I
never saw The Beatles or the per-geriatric Rolling Stones, but if I had to pick
one, it is that I didn't see Richard
Thompson in the 1980s when he was in his rock n' roll glory years. I've
seen Thompson numerous times in the past quarter decade and he always gives an
amazing show, but back in the 1980s he fronted a particularly muscular band
that often included several of his old Fairport Convention mates: Simon Nicol,
Dave Pegg, and Dave Mattacks. Thanks to a new MVD Audio collaboration with the
German TV station Rockpalast, I can see what I missed—and now my regret is even
deeper.
Richard Thompson Live at the Rockpalast is a three-CD/two-DVD
recording of two concerts, one in Hamburg, Germany (1983) in support of
Thompson's Hand of Kindness album and
another performance at the MIDEM (Marché International de Disque et de l'Edition)
festival in Cannes, France. These shows took place at a critical juncture in
Thompson's career. As artists often do, Thompson worked out some of his demons
on stage. His 1982 Shoot Out the Lights
Tour was brilliant musically, but was also known among his closest friends
as the "Tour from Hell." His songwriting has always gravitated to the
dark side, but the dissolution of his marriage immediately after the birth of
his daughter Kamila and the pressures of transcontinental residency in London
and Los Angeles put him in an especially sour mood. Thompson's 1983 concert saw
him trying to jolly himself along with covers of "Great Balls of Fire,"
"High School Hop," and a juiced version of the sentimental Irish
standard "Danny Boy," but the standout track are the no-one-gets-me
"Man in Need." Overall, though, I'm not sad to have missed this show;
it has a going-through-the-motions feel.
By contrast, his 1984 MIDEM show was a stunner, this time
with Gerry Conway on drums and Rory McFarlane on bass, as Mattacks and Pegg had
other commitments. What a show! Thompson was probably still partially in a
tunnel of depression, but he was also enjoying himself on the road. The Cannes
show saw him bring together various influences on his music: the English music
hall, skiffle, standards, and his own acid pen. You want dark? Check out
Thompson's eight-minute plus performance of "Night Comes In," or an
equally ominous take on "Shoot Out the Lights." Both of these have
elements that evoke acid rock, but without the clichés. Need some more pain? This the time
period in which Thompson wrote songs whose titles require no explanation:
"The Wrong Heartbeat," "Tear Stained Letter," "Don't
Renege on Our Love," "A Poisoned Heart and a Twisted Memory,"
and "How I Wanted You." Yet the same show features joyous accordion
work from Alan Dunn and high-powered saxophone performances from Peter Zorn and
Pete Thomas, the latter two of whom cavorted around the stage in post-disco
goofiness but laid down some seriously loud, soulful, and robust horns. Other rays
of light textured this show: the whimsical "Two Left Feet," an
English village dance treatment of "Amarylus," a giddy version of "Wall of Death," even a revival of
"Pennsylvania 6-500," a song originally popularized by Glenn Miller.
The entire five-disc collection is available for just $26,a
bargain even if the Hamburg show doesn't grab you. A word of caution, though:
Remember that this stuff was recorded back in the early 1980s. If you convert
the CDs to .MP3 files they will sound thin. The sound quality on the video
files is far better. I'm not enough of a techie to tell you why, though I
suspect it's somehow easier to enhance video sound files. But you'll want to watch
the DVD 1984 concert. It's live, the way a lucky audience experienced it. Wish I had been there.
Rob Weir
PS: It was hard to find available live performance video clips from these shows, so I have included links that are similar. The box set quality is many times higher in quality. Audio only files of these concerts are available on YouTube.
For the record: I think Thompson is even better on acoustic guitar.
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