Darkness And Light

Richard Thompson ( notice I didn't say "ex Fairport Convention guitarist Richard Thompson" ) has a hugely impressive body of work built up over forty years from those early Fairport days. This album Hand Of Kindness is now ( I am astonished and a little taken aback to find ) twenty five years old and so is well into his career. It is one of those few old rock albums that I decided to replace from vinyl to cd since it had personal nostalgic value over and above the quality of the music, hence my dismay to realise that it is now 25 years old. I think I am correct in saying that it was the first album since his final split from his wife and erstwhile performing partner Linda and a couple of the tracks ( Tear Stained Letter and A Poisoned Heart and a Twisted Memory ) might well relate to that famously volatile breakup. Musically a lot of the album is a kind of English version of a cajun band, maybe due to the extensive contributions from John Kirkpatrick on accordion and concertina. Fairport cronies Dave Mattacks, Simon Nicol and Dave Pegg provide solid rhythm section support, there is a beautiful Aly Bain violin solo on the most overtly folky track Devonside and Ry Cooder band alumni John Hiatt and Bobby King make cameo appearances. Apart from the relationship songs, which also include How I Wanted To, there are a trio of dark edged songs at the albums heart, Where The Wind Don't Whine, The Wrong Heartbeat and the title track. Devonside, with its' angel of death undertones, is also not a barrel of laughs despite the beauty of the playing but the album isn't without typical Thompson humour, displayed in Both Ends Burning and Two Left Feet. All this and I haven't even mentioned his guitar playing which is as fiery and unique as ever.