The Old Kit Bag - Richard Thompson (2003)

Richard Thompson is the man who made me quit playing guitar, when I despaired of ever even being able to copy him. That’s more on me than on him, of course, but he’ll always be that way in my head. And he is a fantastic and inventive guitarist, who can play basslines and finger picked melodies so uncannily that you might not realize there’s just one guy playing.

I saw Thompson live and solo just before this record came out. He opened with Gethsemane, which instantly became (and still is) one of my favorite of his songs. Just at the end, before the final flourish, he paused a half second, and the space was filled with someone in front of me letting out an awestruck “fuuuuuck.” And that’s about all there is to say about the man as a musician.

His playing is steeped in English folk music traditions as well as blues, folk, and celtic music. Aside from his fierce guitar skills, he also has a knack for heart-rending lyrics and tales of sadness, loss, and sometimes silliness.

This album’s songs tend to the dour, downtrodden, and cynical side of Thompson’s interests, but it’s solid throughout.

Tracks I Liked

Gethsemane - Seriously. It’s a novel wrapped up in a song.

One Door Opens - rollicking and twisting and rousing

Outside Of The Inside - a stark post-911 examination of the dim view an extremist might take of art and science. Thompson was (is?) involved in Sufi Islam, so I suppose he’s as well qualified to interrogate a Muslim worldview as well as any white guy with a guitar.