Strict Tempo!

by Richard Thompson

Overview

While some listeners have expressed mixed degrees of enthusiasm with Richard Thompson's often down-beat work as a songwriter and his sometimes craggy vocals, no one has ever argued his gifts as an instrumentalist, and on Strict Tempo! Thompson lets loose on an instrumental collection of traditional British and Celtic jigs and reels, with a swinging Duke Ellington cover thrown in for variety and one new original offered as the finale. Thompson multi-tracks himself playing a variety of acoustic and electric guitars, basses, mandolins, and dulcimers with his usual (i.e., dazzling) degree of dexterity, with only percussionist Dave Mattacks for company on most of the tunes. If the performances don't quite match the head-spinning ferocity of the traditionally based folk-rock he pioneered with Fairport Convention on Liege and Lief and Full House, Thompson was certainly a better player in 1981 than he was when he left Fairport, and the arrangements reveal a degree of taste, imagination, and subtle wit that's second to none. Strict Tempo! was a pet project of Thompson's, originally released on his own label, and it sometimes sounds like it was created more for his own amusement than anything else, but even in its more esoteric moments, it shows one of the finest guitarists on Earth showing just how well he can play, and that's always a pleasure to hear. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	11/29/2011
Label:	Omnivore
UPC:	0816651010097
Rank:	242323

Tracks

1. New-Fangled Flogging Reel/Kerry Reel
2. Vaillance Polka Militaire/Belfast Polka
3. Scott Skinner Medley: Glenco/Scott Skinner's Rockin' Step/Bonny Banchory
4. Banish Misfortune
5. Dundee Hornpipe/Poppy-Leaf Hornpipe
6. Do It for My Sake
7. Rockin' in Rhythm
8. The Random Jig/The Grinder
9. Will Ye No Cam Back Again/Cam O'er the Stream Charlie/Ye Banks and Braes
10. Rufty Tufty/Nonsuch ¿¿ La Mode de France
11. Andalus/Radio Marrakesh
12. The Knife-Edge

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Richard Thompson   Primary Artist
Dave Mattacks   Drums,Piano,Percussion

Technical Credits

Traditional   Composer
Simon Nicol   Engineer
Irving Mills   Composer
Cheryl Pawelski   Reissue Producer
Duke Ellington   Composer
Greg Allen   Art Direction
Gavin Lurssen   Mastering
Richard Thompson   Arranger,Composer,Musician,Producer,Song Notes
John Borthwick   Engineer
Harry Carney   Composer
Reuben Cohen   Mastering
Lyn Fey   Editorial
Bryan George   Licensing,Music Clearance
Audrey Bilger   Project Assistant
Tim Bernett   Management
Cory Hillis   Project Assistant
Harvey Drivian   Project Assistant
Nikki Nieves   Project Assistant
Brad Rosenberger   Project Assistant