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.

25 comments:

  1. 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

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  2. 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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  8. 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.

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

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  10. 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?

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  11. 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

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  12. 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.

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  13. 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.

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  14. 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.

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  15. God this is good. Thank you so much.

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

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

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

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  19. 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

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  20. Oh this takes me back! Thank you SO much!

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

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

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