Thursday, February 18, 2010

Richard and Linda Thompson LIVE 1973: "Once Brave Henry"

If you're a Richard and Linda Thompson fan and you've never heard this boot, make sure you're sitting down before you listen. This is one of the most stupendous ROIOs of all time, IMO. Recorded live at two British folk clubs in 1972 and 1973 (or rather, one club and one university, apparently), it features material from their first duo album, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight, a few tunes from RT's solo debut Henry the Human Fly, a Fairport classic, and some magical versions of country, R&B, and trad. folk songs. It's an audience recording, kind of trebly but considering age and rarity, literally music to my ears. And not readily available anywhere else online, methinks...

Tracks 1-17: Memphis Folk Club, Guildford, London, 1973
Tracks 18-23: Durham University, Durham, 16th November 1972
Tracklist in comments.

PS If you want to support the artists, and get another great live set from a few years later, check this out.
Posted by at
Labels: , ,

25 comments:

  1. The PopCulturistFebruary 18, 2010 at 1:26 PM

    Nobody's Wedding
    Shady Lies
    The Dream Of Napoleon
    Dragging The River
    Has He Got A Friend For Me?
    Poppy-Leaf Hornpipe
    Shaky Nancy
    I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight
    The Little Beggar Girl
    Now Be Thankful
    Angel Of Death
    You Gotta Hi De Ho
    The End Of The Rainbow
    The Wild Side Of Life
    The Great Valerio
    The Dark End Of The Street
    She May Call You Up Tonight
    The Poor Ditching Boy
    When I'm Prime Minister
    Brand New Way To Hurt A Woman
    Painted Ladies
    Twisted
    Break My Mind

    ReplyDelete
  2. bglobe313February 18, 2010 at 5:28 PM

    I was going to comment, is this the one where they do the spectacular Left Banke song "She May Call You Up Tonight" and then I see the listing. YES!

    Ace K.

    ReplyDelete
  3. VeloManFebruary 18, 2010 at 6:51 PM

    Great stuff here. Thanks for sharing. I've a feeling I'll be stopping by this site often.

    ReplyDelete
  4. LeeyaxFebruary 19, 2010 at 1:18 AM

    nice blog!
    want to link blogs, ans on my cbox plz

    ReplyDelete
  5. displayFebruary 19, 2010 at 7:53 AM

    Very nice, many thanks. Good luck on the new blog.

    ReplyDelete
  6. reservatoryFebruary 19, 2010 at 4:42 PM

    WOW! I'm with bglobe313, filled with rabid love for a cover of one of my very favorite Left Banke tunes. THANKS!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Colin SmithFebruary 22, 2010 at 4:26 AM

    Nothing profound to add, I'm afraid, except for my thanks for the splendid job you're doing here. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  8. DrHGuyJuly 13, 2010 at 4:10 AM

    I am delighted to have happened onto this gem and am appreciative of the effort taken to provide such music. I'm sufficiently impressed, in fact, to feature this as today's post on my Heck Of A Guy blog: Best Bootlegs: Richard & Linda Thompson – Once Brave Henry

    Many thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousAugust 4, 2010 at 4:45 PM

    yo bro - it won't play on WMP - any hints?

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousAugust 30, 2010 at 6:22 AM

    Hi, I don't know if I'm missing something but after I download the file there is no file type suffix like .zip or .rar. The file won't open in Winzip and I don't know what other program to open it with. Any ideas?

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousNovember 6, 2010 at 2:14 AM

    I WISH YOU'D EITHER FIX THIS OR SOMEONE ELSE PUTS IT ON THEIR BLOG. I'D LIKE TO HAVE IT BUT EVERYTIME I TRY TO BURN IT THE BURNER INFORMS BE IT'S AN INVALID FILE. PLEASE FIX IT AS IT'S NOWHERE ELSE. PHIL WINANS

    ReplyDelete
  12. RichardJanuary 28, 2011 at 5:15 AM

    Well first Patti Smith and now this which I know is going to be absolutely wonderful It used to be claimed that Henry the Human Fly was the worst selling record in Island Record's history, but it is one of my favourites. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousFebruary 8, 2011 at 5:37 AM

    I have taken advantaged of your incredible website before (and, hopefully, I've always left a comment). However, I don't know how I've missed this gem for so long. This is worth having even if it is an audience recording with some inherent faults. Thank you very much.

    ReplyDelete
  14. AnonymousFebruary 8, 2011 at 10:19 AM

    I was almost put off by the word "trebly" in your text but, considering the age of this recording, I thought it was wonderful. Thank you again.

    ReplyDelete
  15. AnonymousJune 20, 2011 at 3:33 AM

    God this is good. Thank you so much.

    ReplyDelete
  16. unitstructureJuly 5, 2011 at 5:07 PM

    Thank you very much for sharing.Sound is not so bad! I had forgotten how good they sound together.

    ReplyDelete
  17. AnonymousSeptember 5, 2011 at 11:16 AM

    My, but this is heavenly. I love what the duet treatment brings to the "Henry..." songs. Can't thank you enough.

    ReplyDelete
  18. ckibelfOctober 23, 2011 at 1:04 PM

    Thanks. I don't think that you can have too much Richard Thompson

    ReplyDelete
  19. AnonymousDecember 9, 2011 at 2:46 AM

    Hi Everyone,
    Richard and Linda Thompson – I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight album…. is now available on Vinyl at.
    http://www.simplyvinyl.com/i-want-to-see-the-bright-lights-tonight.html

    ReplyDelete
  20. MartynJanuary 14, 2012 at 7:27 AM

    Oh this takes me back! Thank you SO much!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Le Vert GalantNovember 3, 2012 at 4:24 PM

    Any chance of a re-up???

    ReplyDelete
  22. EricDecember 22, 2012 at 5:14 AM

    Hi, as tony asked, any chance of getting this again? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Shirt OffMay 26, 2014 at 6:29 PM

    would it be possible to reup this? looking everywhere for it. thanks

    ReplyDelete
  24. AnonymousJuly 9, 2016 at 7:22 AM

    Re-up please!

    ReplyDelete

If you get a link, let us know what you think!

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)