Richard Thompson: The Music Nerd's Guitar God

Welcome to my first blog post of 2011. This time round, I have decided to shine the spotlight on the great Richard Thompson.

In Nick Hornby's High Fidelity (required text for music dorks worldwide), the character Dick, in an effort to convert his new female friend in the ways of indie-boy fandom, describes Thompson as "England's finest guitarist". To music nerds like Dick, it is silly even to pause when asked who is the greatest guitarist of all time. While others will plum for one of the Jimmys or Clappers, Richard Thompson just seems to have a very special place in the hearts of many music fans' heart. He is the definition of the alternative guitar hero, the music boffin's choice.

The track above is one from the back catalogue of Fairport Convention, the band where Thompson made his first musical mark. He had grown up, during the 1950s, in a music-appreciative environment, soaking up his Scottish father's native folk ballads and bagpipe tunes, as well as his Django Reinhardt and Les Paul records. Thanks to his sisters, his ears were opened to the energetic sounds of Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly. Combined with a love of the new beat groups of the mid 1960s, young Thompson's precocious guitar style began to take shape. He formed a school covers band with future Stranglers' leader Hugh Cornwell, playing the hits of the day. However, his first serious musical exploits came when he joined the ranks of the fledgling Fairport Convention, a band whose musical outlook was very influenced by the West Coast sounds of The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield. Cover versions made up a big part of their early repertoire. Here is one of their first attempts at an English folk-rock sound.

This track comes from the group's second album, What We Did On Our Holidays, an album which marked the transition from the West Coast leanings of the group to a far more British folk influenced sound. Around this time, Richard began to refine his song-writing talent with tunes like Genesis Hall and Meet On The Ledge. Throughout this period also, Richard Thompson's exquisite guitar-work shone through, at time conjuring up the sounds of droning bagpipes and razor sharp fiddle, as well as the odd Django quote or James Burton twang. He is another track from Fairport's most celebrated work, Liege & Lief.

Thompson decided to leave Fairport in 1971, choosing to pursue a solo career and session work. He worked on albums for John Martyn, Sandy Denny and Nick Drake, as well as releasing the idiosyncratic solo debut, Henry The Human Fly. This album gave the world a first glimpse at Thompson skewed and humorous, yet sometimes bleak, world-view. However, while Thompson's first foray into solo territory was at best, misunderstood, or at worst, ignored, his musical partnership with his new wife, Linda Peters, would have critics and fans swooning for the next decade. Linda would become the voice for Richard's masterful tunes. Their debut, I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight, was a classic, its songs full of stoical imagery, Victorian gloom and somber tales. This slightly pessimistic view of the world gave the Thompsons an ill-found reputation for miserabilism. On the contrary, their concerts from the period were noted for Linda's soulful vocals and Richard's capricious, off-the-cuff remarks, as well as some truly inspired guitar-work. Here is the legendary live version of The Calvary Cross, a vehicle for Richard's thrilling playing. Please, play this mother loud!

The Thompson released two more albums, Hokey Pokey and Pour Down Like Silver, both to universal praise. It was around this period that Richard and Linda convert to Sufism, a mystic-based branch of Islam. Many have speculated as to how much this religious conversion affected Thompson's writing output. What is clear though is that Thompson felt he and his young family needed to move away from the music industry for a period in the late 1970s. He and Linda would slowly re-emerged in the wider public's eye with two albums in the late 1970s, only to hit their creative highpoint with 1982's Shoot Out The Lights. Sadly, martial problems would come to the surface during the pair's US tour of the same year, with a divorce following. Shoot Out The Lights remains one of Richard Thompson's great achievements. Here is the closing track, Wall Of Death.

After parting ways with Linda, Richard released a string of solo records during the 1980s and early 1990s that showcased his growing songwriting talent and ever-inspired guitar playing. Many classic Thompson tunes come from this period, She Twists The Knife Again, Tear Stained Letter, Waltzing's For Dreamers, Al Bowlly's In Heaven and many others. Here is Thompson's most requested number in recent years, from 1991's Rumor And Sigh.

As Thompson continued to produce great music in the 1990s and 2000s, he began to move further away from the mainstream. He now, instead of being contracted to a big record label, produces his own work and licenses it to small independents for distribution. He boasts an extremely dedicated following who follow their hero's output closely. His songwriting seems to get better and better with every release. Here is a belter of a track from Richard's 2007 album, Sweet Warrior, detailing the plight of a US soldier in Iraq.

One of Richard's more unusual and rewarding projects of the last decade is his 1000 Years Of Popular Music stage-show. Prompted by the turn-of-the-millennium fascination with documenting the greatest songs ever written, Thompson set out to chart the evolution of the popular song form throughout the centuries in an entertaining show. In each show, he includes material such as fugal tunes from medieval monks, Renaissance dances, Gilbert & Sullivan operetta songs, Victorian Music Hall, jazz standards, country & western songs, rock 'n' roll jukebox hits, even the odd Britney Spears classic.

My love for Richard's playing grows with ever new tune of his I hear. The man seems to be a bottomless pit of inspiring licks, jaw-dropping solos and consistently great songwriting. His guitar style is true unique, and very rarely strays into the blues-box cliches of other players. The main characteristic of Richard's style is his use of hybrid picking, a combination of pick and fingers to construct highly technical licks and riffs. He uses this technique for both electric to acoustic work. His electric tone is sharp, spiky, clear and jagged, while his acoustic tone is round, plummy and warm. He can enliven the most basic folk tune with a flurry of diverse licks that will leave any guitar-lover breathless. He is a pure musician, taking innumerable influences from many different sources and distilling them into a truly individual style. He remains a wondrous musical talent, hopefully with many years of rippin' solos left in him. Just like this one from his latest offering, Dream Attic.

Recommended Listening: Richard & Linda Thompson - I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight
 http://allmusic.com/album/i-want-to-see-the-bright-lights-tonight-r20101

Some Choice Thompson Tunes: She Twists The Knife Again (Across a Crowded Room), The Money Shuffle (Dream Attic), Waltzing's For Dreamers (Amnesia)

James Burton: Chicken Pickin' Master

As I post more on this lil' ol' blog of mine, I've come to realise that I have a soft spot and great respect for sidemen. Those players that more than often are to be found, not on the front cover picture of those classic albums, but, if they are lucky, somewhere in the dense liner notes of the album's insert. In the annals of great rock 'n' roll, there are only a few players that have managed to gain a reputation of their own, away from the spotlights of the superstars they back up. James Burton is one such picker. To get us underway, let us have a listen to one of his earliest, and still gnarliest, recordings.

James Burton was just 18 years old when he lay down that iconic riff on rockabilly star Dale Hawkins' biggest hit. He had begun playing guitar early in his childhood, going semi-pro at 13. He soon moved west to Los Angeles and started finding work in the studios, playing on some of the most enduring rock 'n' roll hits of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He joined teen idol Ricky Nelson's band in 1958, playing smokin' lead on his records until 1967. Here is one of Ricky's biggest hits.

In his time on the mid 1960s L.A. session circuit, James played guitar for The Everly Brothers, "Mama" Cass Elliot, Randy Newman, Joni Mitchell, Buffalo Springfield and The Monkees. He was a regular member of the house-band of pop show Shindig. Country legends Merle Haggard and Buck Owens utilised his chicken-pickin' Telecaster sound on some of their mid 1960s records,  His picking style, a highly-skilled combination of plectrum and finger plucking, known as hybrid picking, is the standard left-hand technique now employed by country players. Also, his use of the Fender Telecaster with a razor-sharp clean tone created the archetypal twangy country electric guitar sound we know today. Here is some of that good ol' country twang in action.

His most high profile gig came in 1969. Elvis Presley, basking in a post-'68 Comeback Special resurgence in popularity, was easing back into the live environment he had forsaken in favour of schlock flicks and novelty records. He needed a new band to back him in the Las Vegas hotel venues and concert halls that would soon be his home. James Burton, fresh from leaving Ricky Nelson, accepted the gig and set about putting together the band for Presley. Along with drummer Ronnie Tutt, rhythm guitarist John Wilkinson, pianists Glen D. Hardin and Larry Muhoberac and bassist Jerry Scheff, he formed the core Elvis group, the TCB (Takin' Care Of Business) Band. This group backed The King until his untimely death in 1977. While not regarded as Presley's finest musical years, Burton's rippin' Telecaster playing would always shine through even the most schmaltzy song choices Elvis would throw at him. Here, however, is the exception to the rule. This tune just plain rocks. James is in the back somewhere, sporting his signature Pink Paisley Tele.

In between rockin' out with The King, James was a vital element in the formation of country rock. When Gram Parson left that genre's foremost pioneers, The Flying Burritos Brothers, he called upon Burton to add a even more countrified sound to his new solo material. James, being a good man to form a band around, formed the core of Parson's studio band, playing on both of Gram's influential solo albums, GP and Grievous Angel. Here is one of my favourite Gram solo tracks."Pick it for me, James!"

The harmony singer on that track was one Emmylou Harris. After Gram's death in 1973, Emmylou formed the Hot Band, of which James was a founding member. He played on her first two solo outings, Pieces Of The Sky and Elite Hotel. Here they are on The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1976.

James Burton continued to work with various legends throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. MOR superstar John Denver had him in his touring band in this period. The other Elvis, Costello that is, asked him to play on his first post-Attractions album, 1986's country-tinged King Of America, as well as a variety of other future projects. Roy Orbison, on the comeback trail in the late 1980s, asked Burton to be part of his Black And White Night TV special. James, alongside his TCB bandmates, fitted in nicely with the galaxy of stars that turned out to back The Big O on that gig. Here is a sample of this fine concert. See how many familiar faces you recognise.

As you can see, if it's country twang and consistently face-melting playing you want, James Burton is your man. The unassuming mustachioed gentleman, in the background somewhere, will hopefully continue to twang that Tele for many more years. Here is one final track, uniting the two Elvises in one rockin' little package. Happy Twangin' y'all!

Recommended Listening: GP - Gram Parsons - 1973
http://allmusic.com/album/gp-r14895
Some James Burton Twangy Classics: Susie-Q - Dale Hawkins, Boulder To Birmingham - Emmylou Harris, Brass Buttons - Gram Parsons

Sweet Jesus, That's Smooth! The 1970s Guitarists of Steely Dan (Part 2)

Welcome to Part 2 of this brisk jaunt through the guitar world of those smart-alecs of the 70s rock scene, Steely Dan. We take up the story in 1975.

This track, with fine guitar work from Walter Becker himself, is the opening gambit from Katy Lied, the album where Becker and Fagen really began to utilise the talents of session players from the L.A. studio scene. Most of the these musicians appeared on many of the classic albums of the period. These players brought with them a level of professionalism and musical expertise favoured by the priggish pair of songwriters, capable of producing the goods take after take. In Becker and Fagen's eyes, these instrumentalists could also inject each tune with his or her own personality, thereby giving the songs a distinctive identity and making for a varied album overall.Let's have a look at some of those great players that showed up on the albums Katy Lied, The Royal Scam, Aja and Gaucho. First up, Denny Dias' return to the fold after the dissolve of the touring Steely Dan lineup. On Katy Lied, he provided this eye-watering little number.

As I mentioned before in a previous post, Dias is more than capable of injecting a dollop of bebop-influenced lines over the sometime complex chord runs constructed by Becker and Fagen. It is in this role that Dias would be deployed in future. Any tricky chord changes that needed a solo over them, Denny was the man. Here is his cameo from Aja.

Another man who would return to the fray to provide some storming guitar work was Elliot Randall. Randall was the soloist on the band's first hit single, Reelin' In The Years and would be ask to contribute to the Katy Lied and Royal Scam sessions.

Randall's playing style on these albums is characterised by wild fuzztone, chancey licks and fearless soloing. His guitar work seems to combine rock-solid blues phrasing with off-the-wall flights of fusion-esque riffery. Here is one of my favourite Randall-assisted tracks, taken from The Royal Scam.  
 

Studio man Dean Parks has featured on some of the most celebrated albums of the last 40 years. Thriller, Innervisions, Songs In The Key Of Life and Let's Get It On all bear traces of his versatile playing. He was another early addition to Steely Dan sessions, first featured on Pretzel Logic, playing acoustic guitar on many of the tracks, as well as talk-box guitar on the band's cover of Duke Ellington's 'East St. Louis Toodle-Oo'. He returned to the scene on Katy Lied, adding a solo to Rose Darling. Parks would feature prominently on Aja, playing rhythm guitar on Deacon Blues and Josie. However, it was on The Royal Scam that he made his most celebrated contribution.

One new player on the scene who would go on to make a huge mark on the Dan's future guitar sound was one Larry Carlton. Carlton had been on the LA. studio radar since the early 1970s, getting his big break after providing simmering guitar work to Joni Mitchell's 1974 commercial highpoint, Court and Spark. His first appearance on a Steely Dan album was as featured soloist on the Katy Lied tune Daddy Don't Live In That New York City No More. Carlton peppers this tune with slinky blues licks and a gritty tone, a combination that would reappear in a larger capacity on the subsequent album, The Royal Scam.

It was Carlton who provided one of the most memorable and awe-inspiring guitar highlights in the Steely Dan catalogue. I am, of course, talking about The Royal Scam's opener, Kid Charlemagne. With his trusty '69 Gibson ES 335 plugged into a tiny 1950s Fender Champ amplifier set to crunch, Larry ripped into the instrumental section, only needing one take to produce the snaky, lyrical solo and funky outro heard on the finished product. Kid Charlemagne continues to feature highly whenever the subject of great rock 'n' roll solos come up in musos' conversation. This is probably down to the fact that the solo largely steers clear of the pentatonic cliches normally favoured by the rock guitar fraternity, as well as for the high singable nature of the passage. It also showcases how the Dan injected a good dose of jazz into the contemporary rock scene without ever slapping people around the head with it. It was just another flavour to add to their multi-faceted songs. Alright, enough waffle.

Carlton's fingerprints are all over The Royal Scam and successive albums. Larry recorded some great solos on tracks like Don't Take Me Alive, I Got The News and Third World Man, as well as laying down rhythm parts on most of the Aja and Gaucho albums. He even acted as Becker and Fagen's musical director on sessions, filling in the other musicians as to what was expected of them. All in all, Carlton became an important part of the latter day Steely Dan sound. Larry is one of those perfect session players that seems to constantly produce just the right part to suit the song, only drawing attention to himself with his breath-taking flights of jazz-infused bluesy soloing. Here is a final Carlton special, from The Royal Scam.

Walter Becker, himself, began to contribute guitar more and more to these Dan albums. His trademark style is a jazzy take on blues rock. Here is a fine example of Becker's guitar work.

A glut of other great players graced the grooves of late 70s Steely Dan long players. Here is a few worth mentioning.

Rick Derringer, most famous for his Johnny Winter's assisted rock 'n' boogie hit 'Rock 'n' Roll Hoochie Koo', as well as for writing WWF superstar Hulk Hogan's entrance music, first showed up on Countdown To Ecstasy, adding dirty slide guitar to Show Biz Kids. He also played lead on this Katy Lied cut.

 

Jay Graydon's only appearance on a Dan track was this next one. Becker and Fagen had employed half of L.A.'s guitar-wielding population in an effort to get the perfect solo for the track, only cracking it when Graydon adding his wild shred to to the song. Here it is in all it's pop perfection.

Other axemen that featured on these Dan albums include future Billy Joel rhythm player Hugh McCracken (Katy Lied), jazzers Steve Khan (Aja and Gaucho) and 'Captain Fingers' Lee Ritenour (Aja), even Dire Straits leader Mark Knopler on this Gaucho highlight.

 
Thus conclude this overview of Steely Dan's many guitar high-spots. Now, away with you and purchase the back catalogue, 'tis pretty, pretty good.

Recommended Listening: The Royal Scam
http://allmusic.com/album/the-royal-scam-r18951
Some Great Dan Guitar Moments: Josie (Aja), Haitian Divorce (The Royal Scam), Throw Back The Little Ones (Katy Lied)