The Old Kit Bag: Richard Thompson: Amazon.ca: Music

1. Gethsemane

2. Jealous Words

3. I'll Tag Along

4. A Love You Can't Survive

5. One Door Opens

6. First Breath

7. She Said It Was Destiny

8. I've Got No Right To Have It All

9. Pearly Jim

10. Word Unspoken, Sight Unseen

11. Outside of the Inside

12. Happy Days and Auld Lang Syne

Product Description

From Amazon.com

After a string of slick albums that de-emphasized his folk-rock past, The Old Kit Bag marks a return to Thompson's indie-label roots. Produced by John Chelew (John Hiatt, Blind Boys of Alabama), it was recorded quickly with a minimum of overdubs and just a handful of musicians (double-bassist Danny Thompson, drummer Michael Jerome, and background vocalist Judith Owen). Fortunately, this spare approach serves Thompson well because he's such a strong and varied songwriter plus a remarkably distinctive guitarist. Longtime fans will likely gravitate to the musical equivalents of comfort food--the weepy ballad "Happy Days and Auld Lang Syne," the revved-up rocker "I'll Tag Along," and the brooding melancholy of "First Breath." Yet subsequent listens reveal the subtler charms of a gorgeous jazz-pop ballad, "I've Got No Right to Have It All," and the righteous anger of "Outside of the Inside," on which Thompson, a devout Muslim, attacks the moral emptiness of religious fanaticism. Thirty-five years after his debut with Fairport Convention, Thompson proves that he's yet to exhaust his store of ideas or his will to challenge himself and others. --Keith Moerer

Chronique amazon.fr

Encore une fois, on pourra épiloguer à loisir, en se demandant pourquoi un tel guitariste, chanteur et compositeur demeure aussi méconnu du grand public, après plus de trente ans de carrière où il a croisé les plus grands dont Nick Drake. D'autant que sa musique a toujours su puiser son intarissable inspiration bien au-delà des principales préoccupations de Thompson en rapport avec le folk, c'est-à-dire dans un creuset d'influences multiples qui vont du jazz à la musique orientale en passant par l'avant-garde, comme en témoignent certains de ses opus où peut se lire l'empreinte d'un Tom Waits ou sa collaboration avec l'expérimentateur Fred Frith, ex-Heny Cow. Finalement, Richard Thompson, ancien de Fairport Convention, connaît quelque peu la même destinée que Robin Williamson, lui aussi encore en activité au moment où sort ce disque (2003), et autrefois coleader d'un groupe non moins culte des seventies : l'Incredible String Band. Comme ses précédents albums, The Old Kit Bag révèle une impressionnante musicalité, d'ailleurs idéale quand il s'agit comme ici de dépeindre certains états d'âme liés au désespoir amoureux. L'ensemble est évidemment émaillé de solos jamais vains, d'une virtuosité à couper le souffle, qui commence à être reconnue à sa juste valeur, jusque dans les rangs d'un groupe comme Sonic Youth. --Hervé Comte

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Customer Reviews

34 Reviews

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.6 out of 5 stars (34 customer reviews)

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3.0 out of 5 stars Traipsing down the folkie path, Jun 3 2004

By

J. Carroll "Jack" (Island Heights,NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Old Kit Bag (Audio CD)

Moving along in no particular hurry, the 12 cuts on this CD are a less than successful return to Thompson's folk roots. Earnest, romantic lyrics dominate, centered on Thompson's emotionally charged vocals, surrounded by traditional instruments like the mandolin and dulcimer, creating a sound that is just a bit too laid back. All the songs seem to be coming from the same musical base and some (particularly "First Breath") move along so slowly that I find my attention wandering long before the end. There were no stand outs here, just a friendly folk fest; my expectations for Thompson's work are much too high to be satisfied by this one.

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5.0 out of 5 stars How Does He Do It?, Feb 17 2004

By

Paul Carlson (Bethesda, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Old Kit Bag (Audio CD)

Here's another amazing effort from Mr. RT. What can I say, that he's improving with age? That's kind of a cliche and the fact is he's been so good for so long that some of the usual review tropes don't apply. But I will say that this album contains what may be Thompson's best singing ever. The music is complex, the playing assured, the lyrics edgy and thought provoking, the characters and their stories achingly real and strangely uplifting. A thinking person's rock and roll disc that reveals deeper levels with repeated listenings. Give a copy to someone you love.

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4.0 out of 5 stars No mere blast from the past., Jan 12 2004

By

Bob Dubery (Johannesburg, South Africa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Old Kit Bag (Audio CD)

This is a very good record from an artist who has been making high quality music for over 30 years. But it's not remarkable just because Thompson still has something to say after all that time. This is a very good record full stop.

Thompson manages to cover a wide stylistic ground on this recording (a pop song with great hooks, power trio rockers, eastern dirges, even a nightclub blues) yet so accomplished are he and his backing musicians that it never sounds like experimentation or art for art's sake. The subject matter is broad too - from the trademark Thompson cynical look at love affairs gone wrong to a chilling look at the world outside through the eyes of a religious fundamentalist. Not happy stuff on the face of it, but it's one of the abiding mysteries of Thompson's ouevre that he can dwell on the dark and unhappy side of life and yet make music that is so satisfying and joyous.

And, of course, there's the guitar playing. Not only does Thompson have chops way beyond most of the players we think of as guitar heroes, but even when he's shredding the strings and ripping the frets clean out of the fingerboard he always complements the song so well and his playing is very much to the point. He's no mere eccentric, not just a celtic oddball: Playing of this skill and inventiveness is reason enough to buy The Old Kit Bag.

I was just a touch apprehensive when I bought this record. All the Thompson I have on CD is at least 20 years old. Could he still be vital? Could his slightly eccentric style and his eclecticism still work in the 21st century and after 30 years of making music? After all, this is a guy who has played and toured for so long that he has RSI (seriously - he has to ice his left arm before and after every concert).

But I needn't have worried. The Old Kit Bag is no blast from the past, no token offering from old legend living on past glories. This is a collection of deft songs, superbly executed by a man who still has something to say, the passion and craft to say it very well and who clearly enjoys having his say about life and the world.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars This bloke will never dissapoint
Thommo has never put his name to a bad record. Started listening to him when he brought out Bright Lights with his old dear Linda. Read more

Published on Dec 27 2003 by A. CAMPBELL

5.0 out of 5 stars May the The Old Kit Bag never become empty
Richard Thompson does it all on this great disc, a satisfying amalgam of folk, folk pop, rock and music that defies such categorizations. Read more

Published on Aug 14 2003 by Fellow Pilgrim