RICHARD THOMPSON ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM STILL
PRODUCED BY JEFF TWEEDY
OUT JUNE 23, 2015 ON FANTASY RECORDS
NEW TRACK “BEATNIK WALKING” OUT TODAY
VIA AQUARIUM DRUNKARD
LISTEN HERE
“Richard Thompson is the kind of guitar player other guitar players revere. It’s not just his technique, nor the fact that he’s equally at home with an electric or an acoustic guitar.
He’s also a songwriter of uncommon skill.”—NPR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – April 28th, 2015 - Renowned guitarist and songwriter Richard Thompson will release Still, an album of new music produced by Jeff Tweedy, on June 23, 2015 via Fantasy Records (Concord Music Group). This morning, Aquarium Drunkard premiered the brand new track “Beatnik Walking,” calling it [insert Aquarium Drunkard quote].
Still will be available in several configurations including a twelve-track CD, a twelve-track double 180-gram vinyl album and a deluxe CD package that includes a five-song EP from a previously un-released session.
Still was recorded in a two-story rehearsal loft in Chicago over the course of just nine days with Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy at the helm, backed by several longtime players from both Thompson’s and Tweedy’s bands. "Richard's been one of my favorite guitar players for a very long time,” stated Tweedy. “When I think about it, he's also one of my favorite songwriters and favorite singers. He's the Ultimate Triple Threat. Getting to work closely with him on this record was a truly rewarding experience, not to mention a great thrill. And he keeps alive my streak of working exclusively with artists who make me look good as a producer."
Thompson enlisted Tweedy’s production skills in an effort to shake up his own creative approach to making records. “It turned out be really good idea,” says Thompson. “Jeff is musically very sympathetic. Although some of his contributions are probably rather subtle to the listener’s ear, they were really interesting and his suggestions were always very pertinent.”
“I really tried to not have any preconceived ideas,” Thompson says of working with Tweedy, “but of course you do. I tried to shove those to the back of my mind. You don’t really know until you turn up — what the studio is like, what the gear is like. It ended up being a nice unfolding of surprises.”
The key to Still’s emotional resonance is a set of gripping new Thompson compositions rich with his signature mix of trenchant insight, gallows humor, and keen empathy for characters at the brink of being overcome by their emotions, their pasts, or themselves.
A recipient of BBC’s Lifetime Achievement Award and Mojo’s Les Paul Award, Richard Thompson was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen of England’s 2011 New Year Honours List. The Americana Music Association also recently honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting. Robert Plant, REM, Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt and many others have recorded Thompson’s songs.
Taken as a whole, Still is a powerful dispatch from an acknowledged master who remains unafraid to put himself into demanding new environments – its title reflecting that resilience and seemingly endless resourcefulness. “Or,” Thompson adds slyly, “it could be read as ‘Is he still performing? I thought he died years ago.”
Pre-order Still here:
Amazon Deluxe CD: http://smarturl.it/RTstilldlxcd
Amazon Vinyl: http://smarturl.it/RTstillvinyl
iTunes: http://smarturl.it/RTstilldlx
Still - TRACK LISTING:
She Never Could Resist A Winding Road
Beatnik Walking
Patty Don’t You Put Me Down
Broken Doll
All Buttoned Up
Josephine
Long John Silver
Pony In The Stable
Where’s Your Heart
No Peace No End
Dungeons For Eyes
Guitar Heroes
RICHARD THOMPSON - TOUR DATES:
*Solo Acoustic
APR 28 – Met Café – Pawtucket, RI *
APR 30 – The Colonial Theatre – Bethlehem, NH*
MAY 01 – Freight House – White River Juntion, VT*
MAY 02 – Stone Mountain Arts Center – Brownfield, ME*
JUN 09 – The Pabst Theater – Milwaukee, WI
JUN 10 – Vic Theatre – Chicago, IL
JUN 12 – Three Rivers Arts Festival – Pittsburgh, PA
JUN 13 – City Winery – Nashville, TN
JUN 14 – The Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA
JUN 16 – The Birchmere – Alexandria, VA
JUN 17 - The Birchmere – Alexandria, VA
JUN 18 – The Keswick, Glenside PA
JUN 20 – The Wilbur Theatre – Boston, MA
JUN 21 – Flynn Center – Burlington, VT
JUN 24 – Prescott Park Arts Festival – Portsmouth, NH
JUN 26 – Town Hall Theatre – New York, NY
JUN 27 – Solid Sound Music & Arts Festival – North Adams, MA
JUL 10 – Bearsville Theater – Bearsville, NY
JUL 12 – RBS Royal Bank Bluesfest – Ottawa, ON
JULY 17 – Vancouver, BC – Vancouver Folk Festival
JULY 19 – Grass Valley, CA – WorldFest
JULY 25 – Calgary, AB – Calgary Folk Festival
AUG 02 – Dublin Irish Fest – Dublin, OH*
AUG 08 – Edmonton, AB Folk Festival
AUG 15 – Folks Festival at Planet Bluegrass – Lyons, CO*
Website: http://www.richardthompson-music.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RichardThompsonMusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RthompsonMusic
Instagram: https://instagram.com/rjthompsonmusic