( continues...) Shoot Out The Lights again. There was a keyboard-heavy album in 1985 that did not do well, then Linda succumbed to hysterical dysphonia, the psychological inability to sing. After the moderate success of a retrospective in 1996, Linda overcame the dysphonia and recorded an album in 2002. She has played a few limited dates since then, but mostly stays out of music today. Richard Thompson, of course, remains the perennial critical favorite who cannot achieve mainstream success.

Intermittently, while telling the story of the rise and fall of the Thompsons’ marriage, I would discuss the album, track by track. There are only eight songs on the album, and I don’t want this type of analysis to overwhelm the narrative, so I intend to keep these sections succinct and informative. I would examine the lyrics, which combine a fatalist approach to dissolution with a near-philosophical wisdom, and the music, concentrating on not-too-technical reads of the production and guitar sounds. The first track, “Don’t Renege On Our Love” would introduce the early period of the Thompson’s marriage. The second track, “Walking on a Wire” would introduce the commune period, and so on.

Strangely enough, the only current Richard Thompson biography (called simply Richard Thompson: The Biography by Patrick Humpries, which I intend to use as a secondary source) manages to make the rollercoaster ride of the Thompson’s marriage and the recording of Shoot Out The Lights into an immensely boring affair, which I attribute to Humphries’s barebones writing style. I intend to interview Richard Thompson, Linda (Thompson) Kenis, their son Teddy Thompson, Joe Boyd, Simon Nichol and Dave Mattacks (of the Fairport Convention), Martin Carthy (another longtime friend who was the spiritual father of the late 60s/early 70s Brit-folk scene), Gerry Rafferty, and anyone else I can find who can shed light on the Thompsons’ marriage and Shoot Out The Lights.

Shoot Out The Lights is a good candidate for the 33 1/3 treatment because it has a built-in audience in Richard Thompson fans, a group whose numbers have swollen immensely in the last decade, many of whom are starving for a better book than the lackluster biography. The album was remastered and re-released in 2004. I don’t know about its total lifetime sales, but I do know that Richard Thompson fans tend to be both fanatical and bookish, which ought to be worth something.

See? Leaden, dull, prolix. It's much worse than I remembered.

I'm thinking about expanding on the whole issue of Richard Thompson's generational belief that following his muse was always correct. He made those he loved most suffer in his quest to find himself, and he more or less betrayed his talents on First Light and Sunnyvista. I think Shoot Out The Lights is brilliant because it's the sound of Linda (and, presumably, others in his life) pushing back.

Jon, words fail. I can only offer condolences and vibes for strength.

And yet, Swordfishtrombones wasn't unprecedented. There are hints in his earlier work that point toward it.

Hec, if you haven't in a while, you might give Heartattack and Vine a spin. He's still working a lot of his 70's shtick, with many of the same characters, but the lurching, guitar-driven numbers on the album (the title track, "Mr. Seigel", "Downtown") sound like a direct pre-cursor to the howling, Beefheartian stuff he seemed to pull out of nowhere on i Swordfish. It's also got "Jersey Girl" which was probably his most stunningly gorgeous song to date.

I think this was when he really knew he was trapped in his persona, and by the people he was always working with at the time (I'd guess Bones Howe especially).

Thanks for the condolences. I'm doin' alright (uh huh).

::the role of Hec will be played this morning by JZ, as Hec isn't even halfway through his first cup of coffee::

It's also got "Jersey Girl" which was probably his most stunningly gorgeous song to date.

Hec has mentioned that song in particular a lot around the house if not in the pitch, and I'm fairly sure that it'll get a mention in the book, as he wrote it immediately after meeting Kathleen Brennan; that meeting was the beginning of so very much that led him to Swordfishtrombones.

Jon, I'm so sorry for your loss.

You know what is great way to start off the day? Sir Duke.

I've followed it up with a little Jackson 5 - I Want You Back and now some Marvin Gaye - You're All I Need To Get By.

Record label defends teenager in RIAA lawsuit.

Jon, I'm so sorry to hear about your father. You and your family are in my thoughts.

Hec, if you haven't in a while, you might give Heartattack and Vine a spin. He's still working a lot of his 70's shtick, with many of the same characters, but the lurching, guitar-driven numbers on the album (the title track, "Mr. Seigel", "Downtown") sound like a direct pre-cursor to the howling, Beefheartian stuff he seemed to pull out of nowhere on i Swordfish. It's also got "Jersey Girl" which was probably his most stunningly gorgeous song to date.

You're absolutely right. I've come late to my appreciation of Heartattack and Vine as a transitional album into the Swordfish era, but I think that's exactly where Tom was straining at his leash. One From The Heart represents the other half of that transition, I think, where he explored a much broader range of instrumentation and composition.

One From The Heart represents the other half of that transition, I think, where he explored a much broader range of instrumentation and composition.

Also, although he's never really worked with another vocalist the same way, I think working with Crystal Gale really recharged his batteries a bit.

It's funny, a friend in high school introduced me to Small Change and Nighthawks at the Diner which I absolutely loved (the second more as a comedy album than anything, though there are some strong songs). So I was already a fan when Swordfishtrombones came out. I didn't even have to get to side two of that before a) I knew a big change was in works, and b) that I loved that album more than anything I'd heard by him up until that point. In fact, I think I might have ONLY heard Small Change and Nighthawks at that point. I didn't find Heart Attack until I was filling in the back catalog, but it struck me immediately that the seeds were there.