ALBUM: Richard Thompson, ‘Still’
There’s a great song at the end of Richard Thompson’s new album, Still, called “Guitar Heroes” where the Fairport Convention legend beautifully mimics some of the players who influenced him, from Django Reinhardt to Chuck Berry, paying tribute to the styles and licks of the masters who helped inform him. At the end though, he ruefully admits, “I may be as good, but it’s never good enough” before telling us, “I still don’t know how my heroes did it.”
He may well still feel like a student to these guitar greats but, as humble as he may be about it, he comfortably sits alongside the names he mentions in his list, and truth be told, he’s every bit as unique: let’s face it, no one sounds like Richard Thompson. Thankfully, Jeff Tweedy of Wilco fame, who Thompson enlisted to produce his new album, is well aware of this fact, and unlike the recent Mavis Staples albums he produced that very much show Tweedy’s handiwork, this is simply Thompson doing what he does best and Tweedy wisely giving him the space to shine.
On Still, Thompson’s songwriting and guitar playing are at the forefront and closer to the folk rock that made his name rather than some of his recent more rocky efforts. This is demonstrated beautifully on the opening track, “She Never Could Resist A Winding Road” (what a title!), a gentle, lilting number that sounds like an old classic and slowly builds into a heart-warming Highlands march played expertly by Mr. Thompson on guitar.
“Beatnik Blues” is a sweet, shuffling affair that recalls his work with former wife Linda Thompson, and “Broken Doll,” a meditation on mental illness, has some subtle atmospheric production work courtesy of Tweedy giving the song an eerie, unsettling feeling. There are plenty of upbeat numbers, too: “Long John Silver” has a Celtic-sounding riff and a rousing chorus while “Patty Don’t You Put Me Down” has a cool, bluesy groove and, most fun of all, the stomping “All Buttoned Up,” about a girl who won’t give in to Thompson’s advances. You can just imagine how good all of these will sound live, and the ending guitar solo of “Long John Silver” is sure to be showstopper.
“No Peace, No End” is probably the most rocking of the tracks and features some amazingly intricate guitar work by Thompson, but it’s the haunting “Dungeons For Eyes,” a tale of a shady politician’s dark past, that shows him as a first-rate storyteller, something he’s sometimes not fully credited for. This is also heard in maybe the simplest song on the record and arguably the most effective of the lot, the plaintive and poetic “Josephine,” featuring Thompson’s hushed vocals and dazzling finger-picking — it’s a truly a thing of beauty.
Still was recorded in just nine days at Wilco’s studio in Chicago, giving little room for too much fussing or embellishments, and this is one of the record’s biggest strengths. In some ways, it’s like Neil Young’s Le Noise album, where he enlisted Daniel Lanois to help re-inspire his process and came out with one of his most personal-sounding records in years. But unlike that album, this record is not a reinvention or some big collaboration, rather a reminder of just what makes Richard Thompson so special. It’s his voice, his guitar playing, his songwriting completely undiluted. Like the album title says, it’s a first-rate reminder that he’s still Richard Thompson and really, what could be better than that.
Richard Thompson’s Still is out tomorrow, June 23, on Fantasy Records. Pre-order your deluxe CD or vinyl now on Amazon!
