Featured Artist: Richard Thompson

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Richard Thompson

by Ed Yashinsky

It’s been reported throughout the years that Richard Thompson is a musician’s musician. The kind of guy who puts out one critically acclaimed record after another; records that are only appreciated by critics who marvel at the music and hope the public will get it, hardcore fans who feel inspired by the bittersweet lyrics and memorable melodies, and guitarists who sit slack-jawed listening to Thompson’s guitar playing which grows more phenomenal with each passing year. Thompson, in a self-deprecating manner, considers a musician’s musician to be "obscure and underpaid."

While Thompson lingers in obscurity by commercial radio standards, the truth is he is one of the best guitarists on the planet, and his lilting folk tales, while thriving on lost love and destroyed relationships, somehow deliver slight glimpses of better things in the future.

As founding member of Fairport Convention, the most important British folk-rock group to emerge in the 1960s, Thompson grew up on folkie roots tinged with rock n’ roll. When he left Fairport Convention in 1971, he released his first solo record before forming a duo with his wife. Richard and Linda Thompson released six records, including the seminal Shoot Out the Lights in 1982, which painstakingly (and quite publicly) chronicled their personal and professional breakup. In 1983, Thompson rekindled his solo career, and while record sales might have been slow, the accolades flowed like water. Thompson’s first solo record to gain wide notice was 1985’s Across a Crowded Room, but since that time the records — most notably Amnesia, Rumor and Sigh, Mirror Blue, and You? Me? Us?, along with a stellar tribute record, Beat the Retreat — have continued to expand Thompson’s adoring audience.

Along the way, Thompson has nurtured his rock music palette while staying committed to his folk roots. The result is a guitar sound that unleashes a sharp staccato edge while retaining fluid feel true to the song’s melody. And while this restraint keeps the focus on Thompson’s folk roots, his distinctive style evokes a soulful passion that explodes within long extended guitar solos or quiet acoustic passages that have both found their way onto his solo records. Thompson’s guitar evokes a sound eerily familiar to the road Eric Clapton might have followed if he hadn’t wandered into the deep woods of half-baked ballads and bland mid-tempos rehash. And While Clapton has garnered numerous Grammy Awards, Thompson has focused on his craft. In the process, Thompson can play circles around Clapton while retaining more passion in his fingertips than Clapton can muster in a stale rewrite of "Layla."

On his latest release, Mock Tudor (Capitol Records), Thompson piles on more hook-laden songs with continuing loser-in-life titles like, "Crawl Back (Under My Stone)," "Dry My Tears and Move On," and "That’s All, Amen, Close the Door," with hauntingly beautiful results.

But that is only part of Mock Tudor’s appeal. For the first time since Shoot out the Lights, a second Thompson has been brought back into the fold, making Mock Tudor a family affair that offers a brief glimpse into the future of the family craft.

Only 23 years old, Teddy Thompson might seem a bit young to be involved with the sobering heartaches his father loves to spin, but on the new record and on tour the younger Thompson proves a perfect foil to his father’s guitar and vocal lines. And while Mock Tudor is purely his father’s record, Teddy will be branching out into his own uncharted waters after completing the current tour.

Teddy grew up listening to his parents’ studio records, as well as the likes of Buddy Holly, the Everly Brothers, and Chuck Berry. At 12, Teddy moved toward country acts like Patsy Cline and Hank Williams, mainly because of the simplicity in the music along with the clean melodies and sweet harmonies. Then at 18, Teddy left England for Los Angeles to pursue a music career.

On the strength of some fantastic acoustic demos, Teddy signed a contract with Virgin Records. And while Teddy has his own sound, his musical roots are set deep within the framework his mother and father built for many years. "Both my parents are folk musicians, and I’ve developed a real love for English and Scottish music because of them," explains Teddy Thompson.

Yet Teddy’s music carries his own stamp, with each song documenting his own evolution. "I’m still learning how to write songs," says Teddy. "You can’t just wait around for the music to touch you. A good song should flow with a sense of ease and simplicity, but that simplicity is deceptive; it’s usually the result of hard work."

While Teddy is about to step out into his spotlight, Richard’s shines and continues to grow brighter. And whether commercial success continues to elude the elder Thompson, it seems inconsequential. As a musician’s musician, Thompson’s legacy will influence countless guitarists, fans, and critics for many years to come, whether or not he ever reaches a Top 40 list.