Richard & Linda Thompson - I Want To See The Bright Lights '1974; 2020

Tracks list

In 1974, Richard Thompson and the former Linda Peters released their first album
together, and I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight was nothing short of a
masterpiece, the starkly beautiful refinement of the promise of Thompsons solo
debut, Henry the Human Fly. In Linda Thompson, Richard found a superb
collaborator and a world-class vocalist; Linda possessed a voice as clear and
rich as Sandy Dennys, but with a strength that could easily support Richards
often weighty material, and she proved capable of tackling anything presented to
her, from the delicately mournful Has He Got a Friend for Me to the gleeful
cynicism of The Little Beggar Girl. And while Richard had already made clear
that he was a songwriter to be reckoned with, on I Want to See the Bright Lights
Tonight he went from strength to strength. While the albums mood is decidedly
darker than anything hed recorded before, the sorrow of Withered and Died, The
End of the Rainbow, and The Great Valerio spoke not of self-pity but of the
contemplation of lifes cruelties by a man who, at 25, had already been witness
to more than his share. And though Thompson didnt give himself a guitar showcase
quite like Roll Over Vaughn Williams on Henry the Human Fly, the brilliant solos
that punctuated many of the songs were manna from heaven for any guitar
enthusiast. While I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight may be the darkest
music of Richard & Linda Thompsons career, in this chronicle of pain and longing
they were able to forge music of striking and unmistakable beauty; if the lyrics
often ponder the high stakes of our fate in this life, the music offered a
glimpse of the joys that make the struggle worthwhile.

Tracklist:
 01. Richard & Linda Thompson - When I Get To The Border (03:26)
 02. Richard & Linda Thompson - The Calvary Cross (03:52)
 03. Richard & Linda Thompson - Withered And Died (03:25)
 04. Richard & Linda Thompson - I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight (03:08)
 05. Richard & Linda Thompson - Down Where The Drunkards Roll (04:06)
 06. Richard & Linda Thompson - We Sing Hallelujah (02:51)
 07. Richard & Linda Thompson - Has He Got A Friend For Me (03:33)
 08. Richard & Linda Thompson - The Little Beggar Girl (03:25)
 09. Richard & Linda Thompson - The End Of The Rainbow (03:56)
 10. Richard & Linda Thompson - The Great Valerio (05:23)
 11. Richard & Linda Thompson - Mother & Son (02:21)
 12. Richard & Linda Thompson - Down Where The Drunkards Roll (Demo) (04:04)
 13. Richard & Linda Thompson - The End Of The Rainbow (Linda Thompson Vocal
Version) (03:57)
 14. Richard & Linda Thompson - A Heart Needs A Home (Demo) (03:58)
 15. Richard & Linda Thompson - The Great Valerio (Live At The Rainbow, UK /
1975) (05:16)

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