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Originally Posted by vivaldirules
Dennis, thanks for mentioning Richard Thompson who I had never heard of until now. I YouTube'd him and now I'm likely to buy every CD he's made.
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Richard has been around a long time. He first came to prominence as lead guitarist for seminal British folk-rock band Fairport Convention, featuring the late Sandy Denny on vocals, Richard on lead guitar, Simon Nicol on rythym guitar, Dave Swabrick on fiddle, Dave Pegg opn bass, and Dave Mattacks on drums.
Richard left Fairport to go solo after the Full House album, and recorded an assortment of albums with ex-wife Linda as Richard and Linda Thompson for Island, Chrysalis, and Hannibal Records. He and Linda broke up, and he continued to record as a solo artist for Polydor and Capitol.
Richard's music derives principally from Scottish ballad forms, but anything is grist for his mill. My CD of The Old Kit Bag includes a bonus CD with a cover of one of Prince's songs.
I saw him do a solo date in NYC years back, where he played a hornpipe he had transcribed for acoustic guitar. I remember a chap sitting front and center, staring open-mouthed, like "I see him playing the notes, and I hear the notes he's playing, and I
still can't believe he's doing that!"
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Hip-Hop and opera? I also like very little of it. But you know, there are always gems amongst the poop. Rap is crap (for me) but this one always makes me pause because of the intensity, sincerity, and the theme (you've got one chance and you had better make the best of it). Okay, it doesn't make me cry, but I'm impressed.
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A lot of it
is impressive, and as I said, it connects with the audience it aims at. I just don't happen to be part of that audience.
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Dennis