Search - Richard Thompson :: 1000 Years of Popular Music

A fun overlooked gem

spiral_mind | Pennsylvania | 10/07/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Sometime in 1999, inspired by a potential (misnamed) Playboy feature, Richard Thompson got the idea to do a series of live shows covering a full range of music from A.D. 1000 onward. The result was this album: Baroque music, Renaissance stuff, trad. folk songs, a jazzy tune or two, and quick brushes with Gilbert & Sullivan, Pete Townshend and Prince (among others). It serves as a great eclectic sampler of older music most of us weren't familiar with, and it's still fun listening even after the novelty of hearing RT tackle "Waiting at the Church" or "Drinking Wine Spo-dee-o-dee" fades a little.



That probably says it all, really. If you know Thompson, you know what wonderful things happen when he's got a guitar in his hands; all that's needed here is a percussionist and backup singer to fill in the spaces. (If you're not familiar with him you can enjoy this album anyway, but you really also need to check out Mock Tudor or Rumor & Sigh. Trust me on this.) Maybe it's not for everyone - the material probably isn't of very widespread interest and the CD is way overpriced - but it makes for some great listening (and learning) if you do decide to splurge a little."

Terrific overview of music from the last 1000 years. Really.

Wayne Klein | My Little Blue Window, USA | 10/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Thompson was asked in 2001 to provide the top 10 most influential songs from the last 1000 years by Playboy Magazine. Thompson provided a list that did just that realizing too late that Playboy wanted him to focus on songs released in the last 20 years. Perhaps Playboy thought the millennium was shorter. Beginning with "Sumer Is Icumen In" (which dates from the beginning of the millennium) through to "Oops! I Did it Again" (yes the Britney Spears song which is actually a good song but covered some what in jest), it's a fun recording featuring Thompson ably supported by Judith Owens (on vocals) and Micahel Jerome (on drums).



The recording sounds great. Packaging includes notes by Thompson on the material covered. This is available at Thompson's website as well. Highly recommended."