Mock Tudor Richard Thompson

• 1 Cooksferry Queen 04:13
• 2 Sibella 04:15
• 3 Bathsheba Smiles 03:56
• 4 Two-Faced Love 04:03
• 5 Hard On Me 05:58
• 6 Crawl Back (Under My Stone) 04:06
• 7 Uninhabited Man 04:52
• 8 Dry My Tears And Move On 03:50
• 9 Walking The Long Miles Home 04:11
• 10 Sights And Sounds Of London Town 04:57
• 11 That's All, Amen, Close The Door 05:56
• 12 Hope You Like The New Me 05:01
• Total Runtime 55:18

Info for Mock Tudor

„Mock Tudor“ is one of Richard Thompson's finest releases in a career that has spanned 30 years. The album was produced by Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf, who've worked with Beck and the Foo Fighters. There's a scrappy immediacy to these dozen songs and an earthy quality that's evident as soon as a harmonica joins in the mix on the opening track. Many of the songs chronicle Thompson's time spent growing up in and around London in the '60s. These offerings are fraught with soured romances, lost dreams and scheming hucksters, but always retain a glimmer of hopeful prayer. Though they've never attracted as much attention as his casually innovative guitar playing, Thompson's vocals have always been masterful, and again they dazzle on MOCK TUDOR. Thompson is a genre unto himself, crafting stellar albums one after another. This one is near the top of the list.

„Just how lost Richard Thompson was under Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake's direction during the '90s is made clear by Mock Tudor, the brilliant sequel to the botched You? Me? Us? Producers/engineers Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf keep the production clean and direct, allowing the songs to breathe and letting Thompson play guitar. That decision alone would have made Mock Tudor a satisfying listen, but what elevates it into the first rank of his albums is, naturally, the songs themselves. Thompson structured the album as a portrait of suburbia, tackling a different subject with each song. It's not all about desperation, although there certainly is a lot of that there. Instead, Thompson is at the top of his form, offering subtle shadings in his lyrics and remarkably catchy, memorable melodies throughout the album. As a matter of fact, it's a bit of a tour de force, opening with the rollicking 'Cooksferry Queen' and closing with its polar opposite, the hushed, intimate black comedy of 'Hope You Like the New Me.' Between those two songs, Thompson covers all sorts of emotional textures, resulting in his most affecting effort in years. Since even on his uneven '90s efforts he demonstrated that he still was in full grasp of his talents, it can't be said that Mock Tudor is a comeback, but it's certainly the best album he's made in over a decade.“ (Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG)

Richard Thompson, guitar, vocals, mandolin, harmonium, hurdy-gurdy, dulcimer
Mitchell Froom, keyboards
Atom Ellis, bass
Dave Mattacks, drums, percussion
Judith Owen, backing vocals on Uninhabited Man & Two-Faced Love
Danny Thompson, double bass
Teddy Thompson, guitar and backing vocals
David McKelsy, harmonica
Jeff Turmes, baritone saxophone
Charles Davis, cornet
Leslie Benedict, trombone
Randall Aldcroft, trombone
Larry Hall, cornet
Joey Waronker, extra drums on Bathsheba Smiles
Lovely Previn, violin (on Mr. Rebound)
John Bergamot, percussion (on Mr. Rebound)

Recorded November 1998 at The Sound Factory, Los Angeles and RAK Studios, London
Engineered by Rob Schnapf, Tom Rothrock
Produced by Tom Rothrock, Rob Schnapf

Digitally remastered

Richard Thompson
Named by Rolling Stone Magazine as one of the Top 20 Guitarists of All Time, Richard Thompson is also one of the world’s most critically acclaimed and prolific songwriters. He has received Lifetime Achievement Awards for Songwriting on both sides of the Atlantic - from the Americana Music Association in Nashville to Britain’s BBC Awards as well as the prestigious Ivor Novello. In 2011, Thompson received an OBE (Order of the British Empire) personally bestowed upon him by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. In the USA Thompson has been nominated at the Americanas for both “Artist of the Year” and “Song of the Year”. HIs recently released CD, Still was produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy which reached #6 in the UK charts (just ahead of Taylor Swift)!

Having co-founded the groundbreaking group Fairport Convention as a teenager in the 60’s, Richard Thompson and his mates virtually invented British Folk Rock. By the age of 21 he left Fairport to pursue his own career, followed by a decade long musical partnership with his then-wife Linda, to over 30 years as a highly successful solo artist who tours both solo acoustic and with his electric trio.

A wide range of musicians have recorded Thompson’s songs including Robert Plant, Elvis Costello, REM, Del McCoury, Bonnie Raitt, Patty Lovelace, Los Lobos, Tom Jones, David Byrne, Don Henley, Robert Earl Keen and many others.

Thompson’s massive body of work includes over 40 albums, many Grammy nominations, as well as numerous soundtracks, including Werner Hertzog’s Grizzy Man.

As an in-demand live performer, the past two years saw Richard Thompson headlining dates around the world as well as co-headlining shows with Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell as well as the Americanarama Tour with Bob Dylan, Wilco, and My Morning Jacket - which culminated with Dylan himself performing RT’s classic song “’1952 Vincent Black Lightning”.

Thompson’s genre defying mastery of both acoustic and electric guitar along with dizzying energy and onstage wit continue to earn Richard Thompson massive new fans and a place as one of the most distinctive virtuosos in Folk Rock history.

“Genius appears early. Legends are earned. But history’s greatest never stand on their laurels. This is the artistic arc for Richard Thompson!”

This album contains no booklet.