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Tracklist:Disc 101. Fire in the Engine Room 04:0802. She Twists the Knife Again 03:1803. Shoot Out the Lights 06:0304.
You Don’t Say 04:3105. Warm Love Gone Cold (Peter Filleul) 07:1806. Wall of Death 03:5907. How I Wanted To 05:4408. Little Blue Number 03:1509.
When the Spell Is Broken 06:1910. Did She Jump or Was She Pushed (Linda Thompson / Richard Thompson) 05:5411. Wrong Heartbeat 03:3412. Introductions 01:58Disc 201. Summer Rain (Clive Gregson) 06:2302. For Shame of Doing Wrong 07:5603. I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight 04:0004.
Nearly in Love 04:2905. Love in a Faithless Country 07:5006. I Ain’t Going to Drag My Feet No More 05:3607. Tear Stained Letter 08:4408. Withered and Died 03:4009.
Living with a Skull and Cross Bone (Barbara Morgan) 04:27. After Shoot Out the Lights (1982) and Hand of Kindness (1983) transformed Richard Thompson's audience from a tiny cult into a medium-sized cult, he landed a new record deal with Polydor Records, and his first album for the label, Across a Crowded Room, arrived in 1985. This was a time when a growing number of music fans were upgrading their video setups and labels were issuing home video releases on their leading artists, so someone at Polydor got the idea of producing a long-form video of Thompson in concert. A show at Barrymore's, a club in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, was shot with a multi-camera setup and saw release in 1985 in tandem with Pioneer Artists under the title Across a Crowded Room. However, in the United States the concert only appeared on laserdisc, never an especially popular format, and it quickly went out of print, becoming a much sought-after item among Thompson's fans. In 2019, Real Gone Music finally gave the Across a Crowded Room video a re-release.sort of.
Across a Crowded Room: Live at Barrymore's 1985 delivers the audio if not the visuals from that 1985 performance, and captures Thompson and his band in great if not exceptional form. The recording and mix sound a bit hollow, as if Thompson and his band are far away from one another on a huge stage, and this performance lacks some of the fire of the recordings that circulate of the Hand of Kindness Big Band that toured in 1983 and 1984.
But bringing Clive Gregson and Christine Collister into the road band was an inspired choice; their harmonies are superb, and their rhythm guitar work fills up the sound while leaving plenty of room for Thompson's typically excellent leads. Bassist Rory McFarlane and drummer Gerry Conway are a rock-solid rhythm section, though Conway's playing is noticeably more colorful than McFarlane's. On the night, Thompson was kind enough to let Collister and Gregson each sing lead on a song; while their numbers were edited from the laserdisc release, they appear here, and Gregson's 'Summer Rain' is an especially strong performance, with Thompson's guitar subtly accenting the melody. Though the set predictably focuses on material from Thompson's most recent albums, 'For Shame of Doing Wrong' and 'Withered and Died' are welcome additions to the set, while the band tears through the fast numbers (especially 'Fire in the Engine Room' and 'Tear Stained Letter') with joyous abandon, bringing the show to a big finish.
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It would have been nice if the Across a Crowded Room video had been given a second chance on DVD, but Across a Crowded Room: Live at Barrymore's 1985 is a more than reasonable substitute, and it offers another opportunity to hear one of the greatest guitarists in the world work his magic in his natural environment, in front of an appreciative audience. Mark Deming.
The brilliant guitar work of Richard Thompson and the beautiful voice of Linda Thompson were a match made in heaven – even if the two of them weren't. SHOOT OUT THE LIGHTS was the last of six albums the U.K. Duo recorded together before their marriage disintegrated, and the tension is close to the surface on such songs as 'Did She Jump Or Was She Pushed?'
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And 'Don't Renege On Our Love.' The 1982 collection was produced by Joe Boyd following abortive sessions with Gerry Rafferty, and despite the discord between the Thompsons by the time of the set's release, they toured the U.S. In support of it; the Rhino Handmade reissue of SHOOT OUT THE LIGHTS includes a dozen live recordings drawn from that tour. The critical acclaim that greeted the album revitalized Richard Thompson's career, and we'll give the collection another spin in honor of his birthday.
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March 2023
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