Jeff has some well-chosen words about Sweet Warrior, Richard’s current album.
As one of the world’s greatest singer-songwriters, he’s followed an eclectic path toward non-stardom for over 35 years. Sweet Warrior isn’t going to change any of that… you have to accept Thompson for what he is, and just appreciate the high level of musicianship he brings to each album. The opener here, “Needle and Thread”, contains echoes of a ton of other songs of his.
The strongest echo for me is of “When I Get to the Border,” the opener of my favorite album, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight. More than 30 years later, RT still nails the combination of mandolin and electric guitar.
I’ve posted before about RT. For example, here’s my post from the Sweet Warrior release day. Here’s an article I wrote about Ian MacLeod and Richard Thompson on my very first blog.