Richard Thompson - Strict Tempo! - Folk Music - CD

It took nearly a decade, but in 1981, Richard Thompson finally followed up his solo debut, 1972's "Henry the Human Fly", with this instrumental album released on his own Elixir label. Ever the multi-instrumentalist, Thompson plays everything apart from drums (which are handled by ex-Fairport Convention drummer Dave Mattacks) and the material is mainly traditional jigs and reels, with an original Thompson song ("The Knife Edge") and a Duke Ellington cover ("Rockin' in Rhythm") added to the swinging mix. 12 rollicking tracks plus new notes on each song from the man himself!

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, Rovi

Performer	Richard Thompson
Music genre	Folk Music
Media format	CD
Original release date	1981
Number of tracks	12
Has parental advisory label	N
Number of discs	1
Track listing	New-Fangled Flogging Reel/Kerry Reel, Vaillance Polka Militaire/Belfast Polka, Scott Skinner Medley: Glenco/Scott Skinner's Rockin' Step/Bonny Banchor, Banish Misfortune, Dundee Hornpipe/Poppy-Leaf Hornpipe, Do It for My Sake, Rockin' in Rhythm, The Random Jig/The Grinder, Will Ye No Cam Back Again/Cam O'er the Stream Charlie/Ye Banks and Brae, Rufty Tufty/Nonsuch la Mode de France, Andalus/Radio Marrakesh, The Knife-Edge
Record label	Omnivore Recordings
Composer	Richard Thompson
Songwriter	Richard Thompson
Track name	The Knife Edge
Music media format	CD
Is edited	N
Is enhanced	N