Search - Richard Thompson :: Rumor & Sigh

Rumor & Sigh
Richard Thompson
Rumor & Sigh
Genres: Folk, International Music, Pop, Rock
 
  •  Track Listings (14) - Disc #1

His odyssey through British and American folk and rock has taken Richard Thompson from Fairport Convention's initial stabs at becoming England's Jefferson Airplane to deserved status as an inimitable guitarist and songwrit...  more »

     
   
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CD Details

All Artists: Richard Thompson
Title: Rumor & Sigh
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 1
Label: Capitol
Release Date: 5/21/1991
Genres: Folk, International Music, Pop, Rock
Styles: British & Celtic Folk, Contemporary Folk, Singer-Songwriters, Folk Rock
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPCs: 077779571321, 0077779571352, 077779571314, 077779571345, 077779571352, 762185183748

Synopsis

Amazon.com
His odyssey through British and American folk and rock has taken Richard Thompson from Fairport Convention's initial stabs at becoming England's Jefferson Airplane to deserved status as an inimitable guitarist and songwriter; "possessor of the magic touch," as the Fairport anthem "Come All Ye" aptly dubbed him. Also playing Stratocaster, acoustic guitar, or mandolin, he has written an astonishing body of songs that can time-travel from moor and meadow to factory town and cyberspace and keep both tragedy and farce in focus. This superb 1991 solo album is no exception. Spurred by his darting electric jigs and reels, up-to-the-minute and old as the hills, the set juggles traditional forms and modern production to comment on sex education ("Read About Love"), homicide ("I Feel So Good") and, as always, love gone wrong ("I Misunderstood") or tragically interrupted ("1952 Vincent Black Lightning," at once a gentle parody of Beach Boys car songs and a rigorously constructed acoustic ballad). --Sam Sutherland

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Member CD Reviews

John T. from LACONIA, NH
Reviewed on 10/15/2010...
RT in his Mitchell Froom phase- some great songs, the production actually helps

CD Reviews

And 1/2 Stars...His Best Album of the Nineties
Steve Vrana | Aurora, NE | 05/24/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)

"Looking back over Thompson's Nineties output, it is clear that this 1991 effort was the best of the lot. Rumor and Sigh's batch of songs mines familiar themes of broken hearts and failed love. Sometimes Thompson approaches these topics with humor as in "Read About Love." Sample lyric: "I do everything I'm supposed to do/If something's wrong, then it must be you/I know the ways of a woman/I've read about love." But usually his lyrics reflect a more realistic look at the darker side of relationships, as in "I Misunderstood" ("I thought she was saying 'good luck'/She was saying 'goodbye'"), or the melancholy "Why Must I Plead" ("All your bitterness and lies sting like tears in my eyes/And a thousand lovesick tunes won't wash away the wounds from my mind").Thompson, however, is not terminally morose. He turns in an upbeat performance on the accordian and fiddle number "Don't Sit on My Jimmy Shines." And while lyrically "Mother Knows Best" is the stuff of nightmares, Thompson's piercing guitar keeps things moving along at a rollicking pace. And "Psycho Street"--which may not warrant many repeated listenings--exhibits Thompson's gallows humor.The centerpiece of this collection though has to be the stunning solo acoustic guitar performance of "1952 Vincent Black Lightning." Almost ten years later I still get goosebumps when Thompson sings the final verse. [This song alone is worth owning this album. I still can't understand why it got left off his 3-CD career retrospective "Watching the Dark."] Thompson is quite simply the English-speaking world's best-kept secret. He is an amazing songwriter, an unbelievable guitarist and a strong vocalist. It's a shame he is not a household world. Along with "I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight," "Pour Down Like Silver" and Shoot Out the Lights," this is a must-own album for any serious Thompson fan. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED"
Sensational
william woolum | 05/17/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)

"If my house were burning, before I would rescue family photographs, the deeds to the house and our motor vehicles, precious jewelry, birth certificates, family heirlooms, my grandmother's Bible, or my manuscript in progress, I would rescue my Richard Thompson music collection. The second recording I would grab would be RUMOUR AND SIGH (after I grabbed SHOOT OUT THE LIGHTS). Richard Thompson is the music lyrics equivalent to Geoffrey Chaucer. Like Chaucer, who creates a group of vividly individualized tale telling pilgrims making their way to Canterbury, Richard Thompson creates vividly individualized characters who tell their tales through Thompson's songs. They are complex characters: a vengeful young man just released from jail, a geek devoted to the accordian recordings of Jimmy Shands, a felon with a tender heart in love with a 1952 Vincent Black Lightning and a red-headed girl, and a forlorn man whose lover turned out casual, not serious, etc. Thompson, like Chaucer, is by turns whimsical, satirical, ironic, enthusiastic, tender, cruel, angry, surreal, and always fresh and deeply intelligent. But I've saved the best for last: Richard Thompson is a guitar messiah. Whether electric or acoustic, few guitarist can match Thompson's versatility and virtuosity. If you enjoy traditional British folk, sizzling speed metal, polkas, reels, atmospheric expressionism, Chuck Berry styled rock and roll, and sundry other styles of popular and progressive music, Richard Thompson is king."