From Amazon.com
Fine album, eclectic and brooding
Album Rating: (5 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: A nice work. Songs are varied and played with conviction. Experimentation with the rhythmic sounds and just enough guitar solos.
Of course, you have the classic Thompson crying and complaining over lost love, but the material is diverse and creative enough that it doesn't annoy you as some of his other albums do.
a sadly underrated album by a master songwriter
Album Rating: (5 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: This is actually my favorite Richard Thompson album of the 1990s. Why? The SONGS. "I Can't Wake Up to Save My Life" is arguably the best of his woman-as-succubus songs. "MGB-GT" has a riff that rivals "Back Street Slide" and a delicious sense of loneliness buried under its nerdy, infectuous enthusiasm for a car. "The Way that It Shows" attacks the subject of false love from a wholly original angle, brought to life with an astonishingly off-kilter but inevitable chord sequence. Even "Shane and Dixie" is a good deal deeper and creepier than people seem to recognize.
The tragic character sketch of "Beeswing" is one of the finest lyrics ever written by RT or anyone else. When the girl says "You may be lord of half the world, you'll not own me as well"... that's just when we sense the knife. He stabs it straight in your heart with the last verse, "Maybe that's just the price you pay for the chains you refuse". Incredible.
A lot of people dislike Mitch Froom's production, and it IS quirky (I happen to like it), but don't let that get in the way of enjoying these gorgeous songs!
Why?
Album Rating: (5 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: Why is this performer so little known and gets so little attention? For the life of me, I don't understand how Clapton, McCartney (who I dislike), Springsteen (who I love), Dylan, get so much attention and this man barely registered a blip (if that at all.
And
i Beeswing
never fails to bring tears to my eyes. The pain in his voice is so palpable!
Love this man!
And I agree with the poster who said Shoot Out the Lights is not that great. For one thing, it's very short and another the songs are not as good as his others. But even with that, I'll take Richard Thompson over almost anybody, including Clapton, who I admit is a great blues singer but not that varied in his songs.
my favorite RT album
Album Rating: (5 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: Mitchell Froom's inventive production (surely a personal best) gives each of these songs a delightfully individual feel. Mr. Thompson matches it with his best collection of songs ever, nearly every one a classic. How could anyone give this marvelous CD less than five stars? One of the all time great disks.
Yet another underrated Thompson effort...
Album Rating: (4 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: Richard Thompson's voluminous output for Capitol (from roughly 1988-1999) deserves a rebirth. Most of it suffers from an unjustified out of print status (were sales that bad?). "Mirror Blue" from 1994 was by no means the best from this bag, but it contains many notable songs.
Why does this album have such a retched reputation? It really only pales in comparison to its predecessor "Rumor and Sigh" (one of Thompson's best Capitol albums). Maybe the general public wanted another "I Feel So Good" and didn't get it? Thompson rarely if ever repeats himself and this album didn't carbon copy "Rumor and Sigh" whatsoever. Whatever the reason this album doesn't deserve to be spat at. "I Can't Wake Up To Save My Life" almost pays for admission alone, but add to that at least two more incredible songs, the medieval madrigal "King of Bohemia" and folksy "Beeswing", and something undeniably great emerges. Of course these songs appear on Capitol's compacted compliation "Action Packed". But that collection leaves out other greats such as Thompson's ode to his "MGB-GT"; the heavy and unforgettable "The Way That it Shows"; the rousing tale of fame and immortality "Shane and Dixie"; and the laid back defiance of "Taking My Business Elsewhere". All great stuff and all out of print at the time of this typing.
Thompson survived his Capitol woes and still tours and releases great albums. An all-acoustic album is apparently planned for late 2004 early 2005, and right now he's on a scaled down "1000 Years of Popular Music" tour. Everyone should see this show (I saw the October 13th show in St. Paul). Thompson continues to age gracefully, and "Mirror Blue" represents one step along the way. An underrated and underappreciated step, but a good one nonetheless.
Purchases
1 For the Sake of Mary
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