>Richard Thompson has argued that both the writing and recording of SOTL
>preceded the events that led to the breakup of the marriage, FWIW. On
>the other hand, the tour to promote the record happened while they were
>breaking up and apparently was pretty tense.
>
It's also worth keeping in mind that RT has denied that any song on _Across
a Crowded Room_ is about Linda in any way. He knows best, of course, but
anyone who's heard that record can't help thinking that he's not being
entirely truthful there (which is his prerogative, of course). "When the
Spell Is Broken"? "You Don't Say"? "She Twists the Knife Again"? Sure, he
just happened to spin out a string of bitter end-of-love songs shortly
after going through a bitter and acrimonious divorce. Right.
So what he says about _Shoot Out the Lights_ should perhaps be taken with a
grain of salt too.
I'm happy to see that there are others who rank _Pour Down Like Silver_
above _Shoot Out the Lights_, as I do--not that either record is any too
shabby, of course, just that _SOTL_ has always been the consensus critical
fave, and _PDLS_ has been unjustly ignored, I think. And I was unhappy to
see Lance who started this whole thread, and who I seem to have been
agreeing with a lot lately, dismiss Thompson as merely a part of Fairport.
RT was pretty young when he was in Fairport, and though I'm a huge Fairport
fan, I don't look on that era as Thompson's best work by any means. I
understand why many people can't stand Fairport, and I understand why
people find Thompson's later solo work inconsistent as hell (because it
is), but neither of those points discounts the fact that he is perhaps the
greatest guitar player in the history of rock. (Ordinarily I wouldn't even
put a "perhaps" in there; guess I'm feeling circumspect at this late hour.)
And that's the significance of his contribution, much more than the
Fairport stuff (seminal though that was, in its own way).
--Amy, always happy to join in a Richard Thompson and/or Sandy Denny thread
