#479 Richard and Linda Thompson- I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight (1974)

I feel it needs to be chronicled that Whitney Houston died last night.  Her 1984 debut album placed #254 on this list...at the rate I've been going lately, I'll be reviewing it around July 31st, 2014 (put down the calculator, I already did the math).  Maybe it's a simple function of supply and demand, but we all tend to value things, people, art more after they're gone.  For those of you old enough to remember when television stations actually signed off at the end of the day, I feel this is the only suitable goodnight for Miss Houston.

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My first introduction to the genius of Richard Thompson came as I was nosing my way through the CD collection of a girl I dated shortly after college.  I borrowed an album that took me many months to return, and then only after purchasing my own copy.  That was 1992.  Twenty years later I'm married, that girlfriend is now a dear friend of ours both,  but I still keep Rumor and Sigh on heavy rotation.  The album I'm about to listen to was written twenty years before that, when Richard was married to Linda.  It's the first of six albums, two of which make the 500 list, that were released by them before their break-up.  I can't claim to have listened to any of them full through, so this seems a good place to start.  I wonder if Richard and Linda are dear friends now too?

When I Get to the Border-  It's like seeing a picture of a friend when he was much younger and lankier.  I can hear the youth in his voice, but his playing was just as brilliant then.  This song seemingly about heaven, has this endearing ending section of what I can only explain as a parade of instruments going by with Richard and guitar leading: concertina, dulcimer, krummhorn, penny-whistle.

The Cavalry Cross-  The drone organ intro behind his guitar playing sounds like a bagpipe.  The backing vocals are so thick and warm...was this really recorded in '73?  Also loving the hard tremolo.  Is this a song about drugs or religion?  His metaphors are loose and open for interpretation.

Withered and Died-  Linda's voice is very Natalie Merchant sounding in its pureness. The song is a heart breaking account of the loss of dreams, love, and general loss of one's way.  Richard's guitar solos are unmistakable in any decade.

I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight-  The title song seems a complete 180 degree turn from the last song.  The double tracked vocal of Linda now sounds like Blondie, both sonically and in attitude.  The song could have come from the 80's that is until the flugelhorn of the Manchester Brass Band kicks in.  Perhaps the brass represents the stuffy old-fashioned English town the singer is trying to escape, if only for the weekend.

Down Where the Drunkards Roll-  Dulcimer and Electric Piano... who would have known such a pairing would sound so sweet?  It's another song about escape, but this time via bottle vs. train.

We Sing Hallelujah-  The krummhorn's nasally signature sound transports me to old-world England.  The song is a collection of wonderful similes, all describing the futility of a man's life.  We're all just rolling along awaiting death... yeah I know sounds depressing, but the music's great.

Has He Got a Friend For Me-  Linda sings this song of loneliness, despair, and desperation.  Knowing Richard's singing style so well, it hits me how similar her phrasing and style is to his.  I'm not sure who influenced whom.

The Little Beggar Girl-  Folk-rock has gone almost completely Irish folk-traditional here.  Linda turns on the cockney and thumbs her nose at the rich of pocket, and poor of heart.  "Oh the poor they will be rich, and the rich they will be poor, That's according to Saul when he wrote down the law, and I'd much rather be rich after than before."

The End of the Rainbow-  Wow, they don't make songs much more depressing than this.  "Life seems so rosy in the cradle.... There's nothing to grow up for anymore"  To me, the song isn't just the song, it's the story of the singer.  The song itself is pure despair, but I believe our interpretation of what has happened to the protagonist, the singer and how he has gotten to this point; that's the art.

The Great Valerio-  Whoa, metaphor 3 levels deep.  This song is about a tight-rope walker who symbolizes IMHO those that completely risk their hearts and/or do not fear death.  Or maybe the song is about those of us on the ground who are afraid, and our fascination with them above.  The name Valerio is derived from the Latin verb "valere" which means "to be strong."  Based on Erik Satie's Sports et Divertissements, Richard's ending guitar work mimics the man walking the wire, until it just stops.  Did he fall or make it to the other side?

After listening, I try to imagine these songs sung by Richard instead of Linda.  While I can't explain it, I feel much more empathy for Linda's desperation, longing and sorrow than I think I would have if Richard had sung these songs.  Is it a form of sexism, in which men are meant to be the rescuers and women the rescued?  Or is it some social programming that women more readily share these feelings and men don't?  I'm probably barking up the wrong tree here.

What I have listened to is a joint effort; a beautifully sorrowful album rich with folk instrumentation, emotive heartbreaking singing, and genius guitar playing.  All this built on the writing of a 24 yr old Richard Thompson--the album seems to have come from the vantage point of someone who's tired and broken from carrying the world on his back, someone 40 years his senior.

Next up #478  LL Cool J- Radio (1985)