Richard Thompson
Southampton Brook
9th August, 2007

View: the cheap seats

“What a band!”, enthuses Thompson at the end of the first song. “What? A band?”, adds double-bassist Danny Thompson sardonically. Yes, it’s rare for Richard Thompson to tour with a band, so this sold-out performance was a thrilling way to announce that it’s back in business. All the real and would-be guitarists in the audience were in ecstasy, and there can’t be a greater guitar player in the world, Thompson playing extraordinary sequences of notes. The emphasis was very much on the new album, Sweet Warrior, standouts being the Iraq war song Daddy’s Gonna Kill Me and the less serious but equally engaging Too Late To Come Fishing. There was something for fans of all aspects of Thompson’s career, from the acoustic whimsy of Al Bowlly’s In Heaven, to perennial favourite 1952 Vincent Black Lightning. But he’s always at his best on the twisted electric guitar ballads, like I Still Dream. The evening climaxed with the irresistible singalong of Tear Stained Letter, which turned into a Pete Zorn saxophone wig-out. Thompson is a national treasure and never lets us down.

Reviewed by Oliver Gray
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