Richard Thompson's reputation is built on that of a folk guitarist who, since his days as a founder member of Fairport Convention, has forged a solo career that now spans six decades. But Thompson likes to mix it up a bit and his latest UK tour features him at the heart of a solid three piece band with his new album Electric at the core of the show.
Accompanied by bass player Taras Prodaniuk and a powerful drummer in the shape of Michael Jerome, Thompson presented a set at the Liverpool Philharmonic that was at the rockier end of the folk rock spectrum, verging on heavy rock at times.
Opening with a trio of songs from the new album, most of which is played during the course of the following two hours, Thompson led the band through a thunderous set played mostly on a fetching pink Fender Stratocaster.
Dressed in his customary black clothes and black beret, a two hour performance saw Thompson displaying the virtuoso guitar skills that have led some to place him up there with Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. And when the band encore with a cover of Cream's White Room, the comparisons are easy to make. Thompson was cribbing from a lyric sheet for the song, but whilst he smilingly struggled to remember the words, his fingers never missed a note. Clapton, take note.
As well as expert musicianship, part of the attraction of Thompson's live act is his witty repartee and he cheerily reminds his audience that no evening's entertainment is complete without both a murder ballad and a sea shanty, the latter finishing in 9/8 time. When an audience member calls out for a song that the band hasn't rehearsed, he jokes that 'I’m the only one up here that knows that. Not that it's stopped us so far.’ And when fan favourite Beeswing is requested from the front stalls he responds ‘I’ve got the wrong guitar for that - unless you want the punk version,’ and then proceeds to play a couple of bars in just that style. Beeswing later features in the encore, beautifully played on the acoustic. Since it wasn’t on the original set list, Thompson presumably decided to accede to the shout from Row D.
Alongside staples such as Wall of Death and Did She Jump Or Was She Pushed, new songs Saving The Good Stuff For You and Salford Sunday stand up well. Thompson remains one of Britain's foremost singer songwriters and whilst this current tour does not reflect the full range of his songwriting talent and the extent of his impressive back catalogue it does showcase his immense skill as a guitarist. Rock on, Richard.
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