The best music you may not have heard yet

Photo by Pamela Littky

Any fan of pop, rock, folk, country or Celtic music who hasn’t heard of Richard Thompson should fix that situation as soon as possible.

In my humble opinion, of course.

Thompson is an obscure cult artist, but perhaps one of the best-known of the lot. He has become the poster child for artists who have spent years or decades creating a wonderful body of work, but don’t have even a small fraction of the name recognition of Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen or Prince.

Over a career that has lasted nearly five decades, Thompson has made between 40 and 50 albums, either by himself, with former wife Linda, or with British folk-rock band Fairport Convention. His extensive body of songs and recordings compares favorably to those of Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, and Paul Simon. But at concerts he cracks dry jokes about how poorly some of his albums have sold. He was named the 19^th best guitarist ever in a list compiled by Rolling Stone Magazine.

His songs are recorded by other artists such as David Byrne, Bonnie Raitt, Alison Krauss, Elvis Costello, and bluegrass senior statesman Del McCoury. These cover versions get much more attention than Thompson’s own (although Thompson’s versions are arguably every bit as good).

Although mass popularity has eluded him, Thompson has received recognition for his musical accomplishments. He’s received a lifetime achievement award from the BBC, named Office of the Order of the British Empire, honorary doctorates, and more.  No Grammy let, but he has been nominated.

At age 65, he still writes new music and releases albums every couple years. He tours almost constantly. 

Describing Richard Thompson and his music is no easy feat. He’s a native Londoner who has lived in Los Angeles for the last 30 years. He’s a Sufi Muslim, and close listening reveals how his faith sometimes informs his music. The building blocks of his music come not from the blues, like so many others in the rock and folk rock idioms, but from traditional Scottish and British bagpipe and fiddle tunes, airs and ballads. A listener might also pick up smatterings of 1930s jazz, Middle Eastern, and African sources as well as country-and-western twang.

But his songs are no dry lesson in ethnic musicology. They are a distinctive, highly personal blend of all the sources listed above. Thompson’s lyrics can be tender or cutting, full of dry humor, sly humor, dark humor, sarcasm, desperation, and longing.

Then there’s the guitar playing. It is like none other. For my money, rating him as the 19^th best player ever is under-valuing his prowess. Thompson is equally skilled and daring on electric and acoustic guitar. He never shows off; every note, chord, arpeggio, harmonic, and bent string is played in the service of the song. On electric, he can shift from playing fills and chords during a verse into a screaming solo that pushes the bounds of improvisation. Imagine the ghost of Jimi Hendrix playing a bagpipe, distorted, through an amplifier, and you’re approaching the effect of a vintage Thompson electric solo.

When Thompson picks his acoustic guitar, you catch yourself looking for whoever is playing the second or third instruments. But it’s him, solo.

I bought my first Richard Thompson album when I was 21 years old or so. FYI, that was a bit more than 30 years ago. The first time I listened, it sounded too … different and I put it back on the pile. I tried to sell it at the local used record shop, but nobody would pay a quarter for it. A year later, I pulled it off the shelf one rainy day, put it on the platter, and my ears were opened.

But enough. Just listen:

Vincent Black Lightning:

Can’t Win (electric guitar, with band):

Dimming of the Day with Linda, 1982:

 

Sources:

Allmusic.com: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/richard-thompson-mn0000359016

Richard Thompson website: http://richardthompson-music.com/

 

The Mona Lisa of acoustic guitar?

“I have seen the David, I’ve seen the Mona Lisa, too, and I have heard Doc Watson Play ‘Columbus Stockade Blues’"  – Guy Clark, Dublin Blues

Fans of the Avett Brothers, Nickel Creek (and their mandolin wizard Chris Thile) and Old Crow Medicine Show, all of whom have helped breathe new life into roots music, may not know it. But they have a guitar player and singer named Arthel “Doc” Watson to thank.

Watson, who died in 2012 at age 89, never had fame or fortune to match his artistic stature. But in nearly 60 years of making music, he left behind a lot of fans, among them musicians influenced by his fast, clean guitar picking, warm singing, generous and gentle personality, and vast repertoire of songs: fiddle tunes, early country, bluegrass, ancient ballads, blues, folk and gospel.

Not bad for a blind boy who grew up in the mountains of western North Carolina and lived there all his life.

Before finding a national audience, Doc spent much of the 1950s playing electric guitar for a local band that played western swing, country and popular music. The band had no fiddler, so Doc taught himself to play fiddle tunes on the electric guitar. But it was his acoustic picking with Clarence Ashley’s String Band that gained attention of audiences in New York during 1960s folk revival. In fact, Doc’s first solo performances at Gerdes Folk City are available on CD, and it’s amazing to listen to that time capsule and hear the musical technique, repertoire, and stage personality so fully developed already.

Once he was discovered by national audiences and began recording, Doc’s repertoire consisted largely of picking old fiddle tunes on acoustic guitar. He also championed songs by the Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, Mississippi John Hurt, and many mountain ballads, gospel songs, and folk and country songs. He was accomplished on banjo and harmonica as well, but it was his dazzling, fast yet clean guitar picking technique that gained the most influence and recognition.

Doc toured and recorded until shortly before his death in 2012, leaving behind dozens of albums. He recorded for several labels and the best of his work has been anthologized several times over. I discovered Doc’s music in 1976 and got to see him play three times, all in the 1980s: at a bluegrass festival at Longmont, Colo.; in the high-school auditorium in my own town, Scottsbluff, Neb.; and at another bluegrass festival in Red Rocks, the concert venue built into a natural amphitheater in the mountains west of Denver.  

Watson won seven Grammy awards and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and his music and influence have been cited by generations of musicians. Music fan who haven’t heard Doc should do themselves a favor and check out his studio recordings as well as audio or video recordings of his live performances. YouTube is a good place to start.

For me, Doc Watson is not only a sheer joy to listen to, but he also opens the door to a world of music that I might not otherwise be exposed to. Do  any artists do the same for you?

Doc Watson playing Black Mountain Rag: