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Instrumental,
By Burl Burlingame
lyrical prowess meet in
Thompson’s melodies
Star-BulletinHe's no Sting; he don't answer to Ricky. For a guy named by Rolling Stone as one of the most influential artists of the last three decades, and whose recent "Mock Tudor" album made nearly every major top 10 critics' list last year, Richard Thompson is practically sneaking in and out of town with a small intimate concert.
A legendary guitar slinger who used to jam with Jimi Hendrix and a singer/songwriter who invented folk-rock with his seminal group Fairport Convention, Thompson performs at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Honolulu Academy of Arts.
Joining Thompson is bassist Danny Thompson, who cut his teeth with the Alexis Koerner Blues Band and Pentangle.
ON STAGE
Who: Richard Thompson and Danny Thompson
"No relation!" laughs Richard. "We're just winding down after touring the United States, Australia and Japan. Hawaii's a great place to do that. Love it here. Unfortunately, for every concert you play in Hawaii, you have to play 25 in Detroit."
"Mock Tudor" is a love-hate homage to Thompson's working-class suburban roots, bristling with snaky guitar lines and grumbling angst, and clever, insightful lyrics. For example, in the bluesy "Hard On Me," instead of whining You bummed me out baby, Thompson's take is "Unzip my heart/Unbraid my veins/Unstitch my wantoness/And loosen up my reins."
"Lyrics are half the song," said Thompson. "In non-English-speaking countries -- Northern Italy comes to mind -- we just have to rely on instrumental prowess to get by, hey?
"Japan, though -- the Japanese are such music fans. They do their homework before they come to a concert. Promoters in Japan put a translation of the lyrics on every seat before a show begins. Quite extraordinary!"
After a third of a century, he's still on the cutting edge of the music game. Did he think he'd still be at it after all these years?
"Well, it wasn't exactly a job option at school!" he laughed. "Banking, teaching the classics, going into the army -- those were careers. But music wasn't really a choice for me -- it chose me. When you're young, you don't really think about the future anyway.
"I admit I do rather like the lifestyle, as long as you don't thrash it too hard. Some tour to the point where they can't stand, or drink or do drugs. All that is rather hard on you. What makes it worthwhile is the connection with audiences. It's a tremendous reward.
"After all this time, I'm glad to have a broad fan base. Generations of people! And in pop music, a new generation comes along every three years or so to sweep everything away. It's quite a good thing to just be able to stick around!"
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