bondsnstocks asked:
Tags: type of music, rolling stone magazine, Guitar Players, Richard Thompson I saw that Rolling Stone magazine had Richard Thompson listed as the 19th best guitar player on their list of the top 100 greatest guitar players of all time. Anybody ever hear of him? What type of music does he play?
Richard Thompson was a founding member of Fairport Convention in the sixties. He then went solo, formed a duo with his then wife Linda, and has returned to his sole career. He is a singer-songwriter and is very adept at guitar, playing both acoustic and electric. It is difficult to classify his music as pertaining to one genre, as it is broad and expansive.
Richard John Thompson (born 3 April 1949 in Notting Hill Gate, West London) is a British musician, best known for his guitar playing and songwriting.
As a guitarist Thompson is notable for the breadth of his influences — which range from Buddy Holly and James Burton via Les Paul and Django Reinhardt to less likely influences such as pipe player Billy Pigg — and for his penchant for improvising rather than relying on worked out solos for each song.
Over a long career (he first recorded in 1967 as a member of Fairport Convention), Thompson has received much acclaim from his peers and has consistently been well-regarded by critics. While he has never become a household name — even his best-known albums have enjoyed only limited commercial success — he has earned a reputation as a skilled and compelling live performer and a consistently vital recording artist. In August 2003, Rolling Stone magazine listed Thompson as #19 on its list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. He continues to write and record new material and plays many live shows each year.
Richard Thompson is a great British guitarist that plays a lot of fingerstyle. He also plays a lot of songs with altered tunings. He is a very highly regarded and talented singer songwriter. His fans are enamored with him and consider him a guitar god. His music crosses a variety of genres, but he is usually described as a folk musician. This can be attributed to his root during the mid sixties with English Folk Revival groups like Fairport Convention.
Visit the Richard Thompson Web Site for more information. His signature song is Vincent Black Lightning 1952 so look around and give it a listen to get a snapshot of his abilities as a singer, writer and guitarist. If you are more of a rocker, look for some of his music with his band when he’s playing electric guitar.
I first heard of Richard Thompson during his early years with Fairport Convention. After they disbanded I’ve followed his solo career and I’ve always been happy with each new album that he’s put out over the years…and he still continues to put out quality content. I’ve appreciated and known for years that he was a great guitar player and that he is equally skilled with both electric and acoustic guitars. I’m just happy that Rolling Stone has also recognized this and list him as one of the most influential guitarists.
well lets see,the guy is just an amazin artist great writing unique vocal aproach,but the guitar playin is what makes it amazin he plays either a real droning type of acoustic thing or a very intracate fingerstyle thing just stellar,its possible to play alot of his acoustic stuff,because you can sorta tone the playin down a little and it still sounds good,maybe his real strength is he may be the best living strat player out there just over the top screeching strat leads sorta celtic bagpipe sounding licten to the break on a live take of (tear stained letter)wow!i dont know why hes not more well known ,he is sorta also a hired gun he plays on alot of peoples records…..check him out!