Sunday, August 29, 2010
Saturday Night At The Liberal Curmudgeon: Richard Thompson Shoots Out The Lights
After leaving the British folk-rock group Fairport Convention in 1971, Richard Thompson launched his solo career as a singer-songwriter. In this 2009 performance of "Shoot Out The Lights," Thompson is accompanied by Elvis Costello and the Impostors. The lyrics are characteristically dark and the jangling, rapid-fire, aggressive solos demonstrate why Thompson is one of the greatest rock guitarists alive.
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5 comments:
He is also, if I recall correctly, a convert to Islam.
Yes, of the mystical Sufi strand.
Am I missing something here? In all the years listening to Thompson, both solo and with former wife Linda, it never occurred to me to care about his religious preference. I fail to see the relevance.
You're right, Jon. It's of no relevance at all to Thompson's music. A reader raised a biographical point, so I responded.
I've seen scores of RT concerts and, although I am aware of his religion, it never came up in concert banter; nor should it. Actually, as far as I understand it, he no longer considers himself a Sufi Muslim. In an interview he called himself a "lapsed Sufi." But he did say that he still embraces the Sufic interpretation of Islam. (Whatever that means.) Anyway, RT is, without a doubt, one of the greatest guitar players in rock today, with a very distinctive style, as well as one of England's top songwriters. I could give you thousands of examples of both at the drop of a hat - i. e. if I had a hat.
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