Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CLXXXI--Richard Thompson: I Feel So Good

You might think, as this is the second tune from Richard Thompson ("Wall of Death" with now ex-wife Linda Thompson was the first) that's been featured here on FNJ that I was a big fan of  Richard Thompson...but I actually only own two of his albums.  So much for my street cred....

As I've already done my half-ass bio of Richard Thompson, I'll just do a brief recap--born in England, modicum of commercial success with Fairport Convention, much critical success with Linda Thompson (especially Shoot Out the Lights), with continued modicum of commercial success and much critical success as a solo artist.  Thompson is quite well regarded as a guitarist.  He continues to release new material (the last in 2017) and tour regularly.  Also known for converting to Islam in the 1980s.  Over the course of his career he has released 27 albums and been on more tours than I can count.  In sum, another in a long line of talented musicians who has managed to make a more or less fifty year career out of playing music--and good for him.

Released in 1991 on his Rumor and Sigh LP (and a fine LP it was--even garnering a Grammy nomination), "I Feel So Good" did not chart as a single, though it made #15 (with a bullet!) on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks.  The album didn't chart here in the States, either, though it was Thompson's only top 40 hit in his native U.K., and is considered his best selling solo effort.  I came to the song from seeing on MTV the video you'll see below, which is once again proof that MTV wasn't always completely fucking irrelevant.  It's a nice video, too.

Not really sure where my love for this song came from--I'm generally not into songs about a young man just released from prison on a Bacchanalian rampage.  But Thompson does an excellent job both musically and vocally of capturing the abandon one supposes one would have upon release from prison.  Thompson's guitar verges on delirium and his vocals evoke the elated ravings of a budding psychopath.  Thompson has said that the protagonist is neither a hero nor a villain, and that the song is an indictment of the society that created him.  In any case, the premise of the young man in such a state of joy that he feels the need to break somebody's heart is a tour de force for a pop song, and that Thompson could create such a premise and put it in a pop song is a testament to why forty some odd years down the road I am still fascinated by the machinations of rock and roll.

Lyric Sheet:  "They put me in jail for my deviant ways/Two years, seven months, and sixteen days/Now I'm back on the street in a purple haze..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CX--Richard and Linda Thompson: Wall of Death

For those thinking the Wall of Death is some sort of maudlin metaphor, you're going to be disappointed.  It was actually, back in the day, an amusement park ride for thrill seekers wherein motorbike riders would ride around in a circular structure, somewhat similar to a rather large barrel, and defy gravity as they rode at a 90 degree angle around and around the Wall of Death (check out the video for the song--it'll give you a better idea).  And near as I can tell, no one ever died from riding it.

Richard Thompson may be the most talented songwriter and guitarist that next to nobody ever heard of (though it's said by some that he reached the level of fame that he was comfortable with).  He started his career with the seminal English folk rock band Fairpoint Convention which had a modicum of success in the sixties (they remain together to this day).  He left in 1971 to start a solo career and shortly thereafter met Linda Peters (who would become Mrs. Thompson), and they began recording together.  They would go on to have three children, convert to Islam, and release seven albums together before an especially bitter divorce (which would be the inspiration for their last album, though Mr. denies this as Mrs. rolls her eyes) ended their musical partnership.  All told Richard Thompson has released 25 LPs. and remains recording and touring to this day.  He has received numerous accolades, and whether by design or bad luck, has managed to avoid any kind of commercial success.

Shoot Out the Lights, the album from which "Wall of Death" emanates, was released in 1982 and became an instant classic to the half dozen or so people who actually heard it.  Honestly, it will show up on almost any 1980s best album compilation, was ranked #333 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all-time--and it never even charted on the Billboard 200.  Still, as one of the few people who has actually heard it (and owns it--on an LP, no less), it is a hell of a record, chronicling the demise of a marriage.  It's also Richard Thompson's best selling album of his career.

And so it goes.

I'd nearly forgotten about "Wall of Death" until a few years back--I was in a bit of a Nanci Griffith kick (for the umpteenth time) and was listening to her second record of classic folk song covers, Other Voices, Too, and her rendition of "Wall of Death" (very well done) jogged my memory.  "Wall of Death" is something of an oddball tune on Shoot Out the Lights, as it's a bit more upbeat than the other songs and, unless it's some sort of metaphor, doesn't really have much to do with the end of a marriage.  Still, it's a great tune, taking its listeners on a trip to the carnival while it's extolling the wild ride that is the lives we lead.  It features some understated guitar work by Thompson, some great backing vocals from his former Mrs., and, fittingly with it's theme, some roll of the dice lyrics and music.  Let me take my chances, indeed.

Lyric sheet:  "You can waste your time on the other rides/This is the nearest to being alive...."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee