http://slate.msn.com/id/2089459/

..."Kiss" works partly because he sings it straight ("strategically … about an octave lower than Prince," he notes) and partly because Prince's arrangement was so spare to begin with that it's impossible to strip down. Thompson's phrasing also gives the song an undercurrent of pain that escapes both the pure-pleasure tease of the 1986 original and the lusty hamminess of the 1988 version by Tom Jones and the Art of Noise."

Sound sample here: http://img.slate.msn.com/...rack18.asf

that hurt.

Kiss my ass, Richard.

Number23 said:

lol, who is richard thompson

cloud9mission said:

A legend, quite simply. I haven't listened to the sample yet, because just the idea of Thompson covering Prince is weird! I'll get to it though.

In the meantime, check out this bio :

"Born April 3rd 1949 in North London, Richard Thompson remains one of modern music's best kept secrets. The son of a policeman, Richard developed his formidable guitar style in fledgling bands like Emil & the Detectives and Tim Turner's Narration. At seventeen he became a founding member of the band Fairport Convention the foremost British folk-rock ensemble.

Playing an inventive musical mix of blues and 'West Coast' style rock, Fairport Convention quickly established a reputation as the 'new Jefferson Airplane'. They were 'discovered' playing at the Happening 44 club in London's Soho by producer Joe Boyd, who secured the band a recording contract and their debut album was released in 1968.

Over the next four years, Fairport Convention gradually developed a more personal and British based music including stunning arrangements of traditional songs and ballads. Through albums like 'What We Did On Our Holidays', 'Unhalfbricking' and 'Liege and Lief' - all three recorded and released in 1969 - they invented the British version of folk-rock. 'Liege and Lief' has long been regarded as a milestone recording, defining British rock in the same way that 'Music From Big Pink' was to define North American rock with traditional roots. It was this album that finally revealed the extent of Richard's talent as a songwriter - writing contemporary songs whilst drawing upon deep traditional modes.

1970 saw the release of 'Full House' - Mr Thompson's last album with the band. It was also during that year that the group made their long overdue American debut, touring with Traffic and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Richard left Fairport soon after the tour.

'Henry The Human Fly' - his first solo album - was released in 1972 and is regarded by many as a classic. Songs like 'Poor Ditching Boy' and 'The Angels Have Taken My Racehorse Away', instrumental colourings from accordion and silver band, all helped to establish an overtly English voice. Significantly for the once reticent singer in Fairport, this album was the first declaration of his singing abilities.

In the same year Richard married folk singer Linda Peters. The combination of her superb vocals and Richard's talents as a songwriter and guitarist subsequently led to the recording of six albums by the duo. The first, 'I Want To see The Bright Lights Tonight' was released in 1974 and met with universal critical acclaim. The title track providing a brief UK hit single.

The next year saw the release of two albums by Richard and Linda Thompson - 'Hokey Pokey' and 'Pour Down Like Silver' - containing such classic Thompson material as 'Never Again' and 'Night Comes In', both demanded in concert to this day.

After a period of semi-retirement, they returned to live performance in 1978 and soon released 'First Light' and 'Sunnyvista'. The former album includes 'Don't Let A thief Steal Into Your Heart' which was later covered by the Pointer Sisters. In 1981, Richard recorded the solo instrumental album 'Strict Tempo'. This is an exuberant collection of tunes from the British Isles and North Africa performed with Thompson's by now signature guitar style. The record is also notable for it's recording of Duke Ellington's 'Rockin' In Rhythm' with the well-known horn lines arranged for guitar and mandolins.

'Shoot Out The Lights' proved to be the Thompsons' most successful album. Originally produced by Gerry Rafferty, but for a number of reasons unreleased, the collection was re-recorded with Joe Boyd and released on his Hannibal label in 1982. The record was a success, critically and commercially, on both sides of the Atlantic and was subsequently voted into Rolling Stone magazine's 'Top ten Records Of The Decade'. Although including some of Richard's best loved songs such as the title track and 'Wall Of Death' and some of Linda's finest vocal performances on 'Walking On A Wire', it was to be their last recording together.

Mr Thompson returned to the studio to record 'Hand Of Kindness' in 1983. This album saw the introduction of a brass section for the first time, saxophones trading solos with Richard's guitar. The resulting Big Band tour was rapturously received both in Europe and America. As a 'Big Band' they included Glenn Miller and Lord Rockingham numbers in the set each night alongside vintage Thompson like 'Calvary Cross' and 'Tear Stained Letter'.

'Across A Crowded Room' released by Polygram in 1985 marked the beginning of a successful association with Christine Collister and Clive Gregson. Since then Christine has appeared as a backing vocalist on all of Richard's albums and frequently appeared in the Thompson touring ban. Thompson's songwriting genius was by now detailing serial murders and political incest, as well as gossip and dancehall romances. This record was quickly acknowledged a critical and commercial success worldwide.

1986's 'Daring Adventures' marked the start of a new era for Richard, being his first recording in Los Angeles with Mitchell Froom as producer. Contributors to the album included the legendary Jim Keltner on drums and Jerry Scheff on bass - both had recorded with Elvis Presley and Elvis Costello. Constantly in demand as a live performer both as a solo artist and leading a band, Thompson now divides his time more equally between Britain and America.

The past decade has also seen the recording of several soundtracks for film and television - 'The Marksman', 'Hard Cash' and 'Sweet Talker', and collaborations with John 'Drumbo' French, Fred Frith and Henry Kaiser on two eccentric and frequently odd-ball albums - 'Live, Love, Larf and Loaf' and 'Invisible Means'.

Moving to Capitol records in 1988 Thompson released 'Amnesia', followed by 'Rumor And Sigh' in 1991 and 'Mirror Blue' in 1994 - a trilogy of albums that united the strengths of the LA based rhythm sections with Thompson's profound understanding of traditional song forms and an often humorous desire to experiment with texture and technique whilst in the recording studio. The Capitol albums and the three cd 'Watching The Dark' retrospective have consolidated Mr Thompson's awesome critical reputation and begun to achieve a wider commercial success.

Two tribute albums - 'The World Is A Wonderful Place' (1993) and 'Beat The Retreat' (1994) - stand as evidence of the remarkable esteem in which RT is held by his fellow musicians."

shane said:

What the hell was that? :O

Oh. My. Gawd!!!


That was crazy! Sounded like my dad in the shower or some shit like that. Let us be spared for experiences like these in the future: if this is the alternative to Prince being completely forgotten, I know what I prefer.



"Undercurrent of pain"...
[This message was edited Wed Oct 15 1:25:59 PDT 2003 by disdain4theunfunky]

Aerogram said:

See, if u'd actually listened to the sample, I imagine u might not have written all this.



I'm sure the guy is a legend to some, but the track is god-awful and no biography can change this.

Wrong track choice perhaps?

shane said:

oh Please...why do people keep trying to improve on perfection?

I hate it when peopel can't have an open mind about people covering Prince music...but this IS shit.


[This message was edited Wed Oct 15 7:19:26 PDT 2003 by purpledoveuk]

Hasn't covering Kiss been made a capital offence punishable by death yet,sheesh...

"Thompson's phrasing also gives the song an undercurrent of pain "

is that the same as saying,Thompson's version is painful to listen to?

"lusty hamminess of the 1988 version by Tom Jones "

Hehe,lusty ham,what a perfect description of Tom Jones

leave Kiss alone people , for chrissakes , the original is perfection , don't meddle with songs that are plainly way above your stations and abilities.

cloud9mission said:

Although it is impossible to tell from this sample, Richard Thompson is actually quite talented. The funny thing is that his voice sucks, but he somehow manages to pull off a fairly interesting brand of music. Kind of the whole Bob Dylan thing. He knows how to use the voice that he was given. He writes some brilliant songs and is one helluva guitar player. Quite a funny guy also.

Uh... No! Thank U!

That really did suck. I can't believe I even listened to it.

While the original version is perfect, the only way to improve on that perfection (I know .. an oxymoron) was the "extended version" by Prince, which really took it to a new level!

(Eric... gimme some horns! Unnh!")

gmcb said:

Yes, obviously quite the comedian.

OK folks. I am a music fanatic! Yes it is true! One of my all time favorites is Prince! Yes! I have seen at least 50 live Prince shows dating back to March, 1982 and have billions and jillions of recordings etc. Everyone knows I am a Prince freak. Guess who else is one of my all time favorite artists? RICHARD THOMPSON! The man is BEYOND amazing! I was upset that Prince was not among Rolling Stone's 100 greatest guitar players and I can't remember if Richard was or not but I would say that Richard is by far a more talented guitar player than Prince. Prince is amazing! Richard is beyond amazing! He can do stuff where you swear it is at least two people playing but no it is all one dude. Check out his stuff! He has been around since the late 60's (doing music anyway) is an incredible performer (a Richard Thompson show is a TREAT to say the least!) and is just mind blowing! If your first and only exposure to him is his cover of Kiss I can see how you would not have a clue where he is coming from but the man is a force to be reckoned with! Check: www.richardthompson-music.com for more info. Richard ROCKS! that is all the people need to know!
[This message was edited Wed Oct 15 15:55:22 PDT 2003 by sonicfreak]

sonicfreak said:

I bet you wish you never took the red pill now, sonicfreak.

I don't care if this guy is the queen of england, that is some painful shit to listen to.