Celtschmerz

Infobox Album
Name = Celtschmerz
Type = Live album
Artist = Richard Thompson


Background = darkturquoise
Released = 1998
Recorded = January 1998 in Britain
Genre = Rock
Length = 65:00
Label = Flypaper
Producer = Tom Dube
Reviews =
Last album = "two letter words"
(1996)"
This album = "Celtschmerz"
(1998)
Next album = "Mock Tudor"
(1999)|__NOTOC__"Celtschmerz" is a live album by Richard Thompson.

Continuing his policy, begun with the "Live At Crawley" album, of releasing high quality alternatives to bootlegs, Thompson released this live album in 1998. The album was recorded during his tour of Britain earlier the same year.

Starting in the early 1980s Thompson began to perform live solo and with an acoustic guitar. By the late 90s he was performing more frequently in this format than with a band. "Celtschmerz" captures him in this "unplugged" setting. Comparing "Celtschmerz" to 1984's "Small Town Romance" shows how Thompson has evolved his solo acoustic guitar technique over the years.

Thompson's son Teddy was the support act on this tour and joined his father each night to perform some duets. Several of these are included on "Celtschmerz" - most notably "A Heart Needs A Home", which is associated with Teddy's mother Linda Thompson, and "Persuasion" which was co-written with Tim Finn.

"Celtschmerz" is currently out of print. It was released under a deal with Capitol Records, Thompson's label at the time, which permitted him to supplement his income with albums not recorded in the studio provided that they were not made available in retail outlets and were pressed in limited quantities. There are plans for a re-issue [http://richardthompson-music.com/catch_of_the_day.asp?id=847 "Richard Thompson Q&A November, 2007"] . Accessed 2008-08-26] but no date has been announced.

Track listing

All songs written by Richard Thompson except where noted

#"Turning Of The Tide"
#"How Will I Ever Be Simple Again"
#"Why Must I Plead"
#"The Poor Ditching Boy"
#"When The Spell Is Broken"
#"Last Shift"
#"Pharaoh"
#"Keep Your Distance"
#"Walking On A Wire"
#"A Heart Needs A Home"
#"She May Call You Up Tonight" (Steve Martin-Caro, Michael Brown)
#"Persuasion" (Richard Thompson, Tim Finn)
#"Razor Dance"
#"Beat the Retreat"
#"Wall Of Death"
#"Tear Stained Letter"

Personnel

*Richard Thompson - guitar, vocals
*Teddy Thompson - guitar, vocals on tracks 10, 11, 12, 13, 15 and 16
*Danny Thompson - double bass on track 16
*Dave Mattacks - snare drum and hi-hat on track 13

References

*"Richard Thompson - The Biography" by Patrick Humphries. Schirmer Books. 0-02-864752-1
*http://www.richardthompson-music.com