“If you think about the number of songs on the planet written every day, it’s scary,” Richard Thompson says. “If you think about the number of songs written in Nashville alone every day, it’s even scarier.”
Even in the world’s overpopulated recording booth, Thompson stands out. So it’s only fitting that Thompson, who’s been writing brilliant songs for nearly 50 years, spoke about the ins and outs of composing great work as part of this year’s Songwriting Session at Austin’s massive music fest South by Southwest.
“It’s hard to be original but if you can find those little, subtle twists and turns that make a song unique, that’s the thing to aim for,” he says. “Originality is the most important thing you can have in an overcrowded music business.”
Thompson’s career began when he was a teen in the trailblazing English folk-rock outfit Fairport Convention, but his talent as a songwriter and innovative guitarist became truly realized after he set out on his own in the early ’70s. Since then, American Songwriter hailed Thompson “one of the world’s most gifted songwriters,” Rolling Stone named him one of the 20 greatest guitarists of all time, he scored a Lifetime Achievement Award from the BBC, the Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting from the Americana Music Association and, in 2011, an appointment as an officer of the Order of the British Empire.
But Thompson views the praise as a diversion from what matters most: making music. “Awards are a nice thing but they’re not something I live or die by,” he says. “It’s like getting a pat on the back, but beyond that, they’re just a distraction from what I should be doing.”
This year has been productive for Thompson so far: He released Electric, his 22nd record – though that doesn’t include all his various side projects, collaborations and film soundtracks – and co-headlined a tour with Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell.
Electric – featuring Thompson’s Electric Trio comprised of bassist Taras Prodaniuk and drummer Michael Jerome (fiddle player Stuart Duncan also accompanies on a few tracks) – is Celtic music with British and American roots. He attributes the unique nuances, shape and tone of the album to its producer, the famed Buddy Miller, and the fact it was recorded on analog at Miller’s Nashville home.
“Every time you record with a different producer, or even in a different studio, there’s a new sound and a different attitude,” Thompson says. “The sound we were looking for was down-home, funky and garagey.”
Though all the tracks were written and arranged before Thompson went into the studio, the album sounds very organic and not overly rehearsed. There’s also a bit of humor interjected into it: The opening track “Stony Ground” is the story of a sex-crazed elderly gentleman told matter-of-factly, as if it came from the mind of Benny Hill.
“Sense of humor is culturally built in to [the British],” Thompson says. “Humor is almost like a weapon in a song. If you use irony and if the humor’s subtle enough it can be an absolutely devastating thing to have in your arsenal of musical possibilities.”
All kidding aside, “Stony Ground’s” hand-clap rhythm propels a jumble of blues and The Pogues-esque sea shanty – and Thompson classically throws in a menacing guitar solo that shreds harder than an uncut diamond.
With “The Snow Goose,” featuring a special appearance by Alison Krauss on vocals, Thompson personifies a confined bird with touching harmonies and complex acoustic fingerpicking.
To remain creative as a songwriter Thompson cultivates individuality, which isn’t as easy as it seems.
“I don’t listen to a lot of mainstream music and I try to absorb influences outside of my genre,” he says. “It’s also important to never stop being a student of music. I’m always trying to learn things about harmony and musical structure that I don’t know.”
Another key: anticipation.
“You have to be able to see musical opportunities on the horizon, or just around the corner, which keeps me still touring and recording,” Thompson says. “The possibilities are intriguing.”
His Electric Trio has been performing together now for a while and they seem to enjoy a telepathic musical relationship on stage.
“On a good night, you get into a zone with the other musicians and that’s what you hope happens,” Thompson says. “The music flows and you’re not really thinking about it. Sometimes you can switch off and go outside yourself and observe things flowing. We’re improvising all the time – there are set parts and arrangements, but once we’re on stage, pretty much anything can happen.”
With such an extensive song repertoire, spanning back to 1972, Thompson has a vast pool of tunes to choose from each night.
“I’d like to think we don’t play old material to death,” he says. “It’s fun to play the new stuff but the old stuff we do is also exciting and challenging.”
After the Richard Thompson Electric Trio finish the current leg of their tour, which includes Wednesday’s show at the Golden State Theatre, Thompson will be joining Bob Dylan’s Americanarama tour with Wilco and My Morning Jacket this summer.
The Richard Thompson Electric Trio and Matt the Electrician perform at 8pm, Wednesday, May 15, at the Golden State Theatre, 417 Alvarado St., Monterey. $29.50; $49.50. 297-2472.
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