Following a conversation between our writers we’ve come up with this new occasional feature which we hope you will enjoy. The question posed is “What is the best or definitive version of any given tune. Is it the original, the first version that you heard or the one that got recommended by a friend?” It’s a tricky one, right? Over the course of this series we will be looking at individual songs and how different artists have interpreted them. This could be different artists covering the same tune or indeed the same artist interpreting their own tune in different ways. First into the fray is my chief collaborator on this feature Rick Bayles who gives us an in-depth analysis of the song ‘1952 Black Lightning’ for all you motorcycle enthusiasts. Continue reading “VERSIONS – “1952 Vincent Black Lightning””
Mark Underwood continues his irregular feature on music by great songwriters with great lyrics.
You know how some birthday parties can be a bit of a washout? Well, that’s not going to happen whilst Richard Thompson is on the case, his invitation lays out his expectation for a good time: “Please join me” he has said “as I celebrate my 70th birthday with an evening of music! The venue is the Royal Albert Hall, London, the date is 30th September, there will be many guests covering 50 years plus of music and a memorable evening guaranteed.” 
Richard Thompson has announced an extensive UK tour for October and November 2018 in advance of a new studio album which will be released later this year on Proper Records, kicking off in lovely Liverpool’s Philharmonic on 11th October. Last year, Thompson released two volumes of acoustic recordings: ‘Acoustic Classics Vol. II’ featuring acoustic renderings of songs from the Richard Thompson catalogue, and ‘Acoustic Rarities’ featuring new recordings of some of the more obscure songs in his repertoire. He celebrated the 50th anniversary of Fairport Convention, the groundbreaking band he co-founded as a teenager in the ‘60s, with a performance at its annual Cropredy Festival last August. He also briefly did a remarkably authentic stint as Abe Simpson when he berated the state of modern music at the AMAUKs last year. 
As we reported last month, folk legend Richard Thompson will release Acoustic Classics Vol. II on his own Beeswing record label, distributed via Proper, on August 11. On the heels of Acoustic Classics in 2014, the follow-up will feature acoustic renderings of classic songs from his catalogue, some previously recorded by other singers, some previously available only in a band format. A second album Acoustic Rarities will be released later in the year featuring new recordings of some of the more obscure songs in the Thompson catalogue, some previously existing only as cover versions. 
Following the success of his Acoustic Classics album in 2014 when the celebrated singer songwriter and guitarist revisited his back catalogue Richard Thompson returns to the format with two new albums which will be released simultaneously on August 11th.