1000 Years of Popular Music

Untitled

1000 Years of Popular Music is a live album by Richard Thompson.

Thompson conceived his 1000 Years Of Popular Music show after a snub by Playboy Magazine: "The idea for this project came from Playboy Magazine - I was asked to submit a list, in late 1999, of the ten greatest songs of the Millennium. Hah! I thought, hypocrites - they don't mean millennium, they mean twenty years - I'll call their bluff and do a real thousand-year selection. My list was similar to the choices here on this CD, starting in about 1068, and winding slowly up to 2001. That they failed to print my list among others submitted by rock's luminaries, is but a slight wound - it gave me the idea for this show... The idea is that Popular Music comes in many forms, through many ages, and as older forms get superseded, sometimes the baby is thrown out with the bathwater - great ideas, tunes, rhythms, styles, get left in the dust of history, so let's have a look at what's back there, and see if still does the trick."

The album features none of Thompson's own compositions, and is arranged (as were the "1000 Years..." shows) in chronological order. Thompson kicks off with one of the oldest known songs in the English language, and builds up to an eventual climax of the Britney Spears hit "Oops! I Did It Again".

All songs are arranged for a single guitar, with just vocalist Judith Owen and percussionist Michael Jerome to provide occasional musical assistance. Thompson's facility and versatility on the guitar are on display and vital to the execution of this unusual concept.

This release of 1000 Years Of Popular Music is not available in retail stores. It can be bought at Thompson shows or ordered via his web site http://www.richardthompson-music.com.

A DVD of a later show was released in 2006. This has a slightly different track listing and featured Debra Dobkin replacing Michael Jerome on percussion and vocals.

Track listing

1. "Sumer Is Icumen In" (trad., arr. by Thompson)
2. "King Henry V's Conquest Of France" (trad., arr. by Thompson)
3. "When I Am Laid In Earth" (Purcell, arr. by Thompson)
4. "So Ben Mi Ca Bon Tempo" (Vecchi, arr. by Thompson)
5. "Shenandoah" (trad., arr. by Thompson)
6. "Blackleg Miner" (trad., arr. by Thompson)
7. "Waiting at the Church" (trad., arr. by Thompson)
8. "Trafalgar Square" (trad., arr. by Thompson)
9. "There Is Beauty" (Gilbert and Sullivan/trad., arr. by Thompson)
10. "Why Have My Loved Ones Gone?" (Stephen Foster/trad., arr. by Thompson)
11. "Old Rocking Chair's Got Me" (Hoagy Carmichael)
12. "Orange-Coloured Sky" (Milton DeLugg/William Stein)
13. "Cry Me a River" (Arthur Hamilton)
14. "Drinking Wine Spo-dee-o-dee" (Stick McGhee/J. Mayo Williams)
15. "The Fool" (Lee Hazlewood)
16. "Legal Matter" (Pete Townshend)
17. "Tempted" (Glenn Tilbrook/Chris Difford)
18. "Kiss"(Prince)
19. "Oops! I Did It Again" (Karl Sandberg/Rami Yacoub; Zomba Enterprises Inc./ASCAP)
20. "Sam Hall" (unknown, arr. by Thompson)
21. "Money, Money, Money" (Benny Andersson/Björn Ulvaeus)
22. "It Won't Be Long" (John Lennon/Paul McCartney)
23. "Marry, Ageyn Hic Hev Donne Yt" (trad., arr. by Thompson)-actually, if one looks closely at this, it's a medieval version of Oops, I Did It Again

Personnel

• Richard Thompson – guitar and vocals
• Michael Jerome – percussion
• Judith Owen – vocals
• Debra Dobkin – percussion and vocals (DVD version)

References

• http://www.richardthompson-music.com
• The Great Valerio by Dave Smith (available at http://www.richardthompsonforcompletists.com/)