053: Richard and Linda Thompson - I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight (1974)

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“It’s fun to sing sad songs. And It’s fun to listen to sad songs. Enjoyable. Satisfying.”

—Richard Thompson

Follow us back to Olde, Olde England for a look at Richard and Linda Thompson’s classic 1974 album I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight. Actually, 1974 wasn’t that Olde - by that point, the English had been enjoying color TV for eight long years. But Richard Thompson’s songs evoke an England that existed centuries before The Avengers and The Prisoner brightened the airwaves. His is an England of drunkards and scoundrels, of circus performers, of little beggar girls, and of pub singalongs after a hard day of working the fields. With crisp guitar playing and sublime harmonies, Richard and his then-wife Linda wring a timeless resonance out of these archetypes from long ago. Join host Ben, along with Will, Amanda, and Dan, for a discussion about one of our favorite folk-rock albums of the 1970s.

Miscellany

• Rich usually does the preliminary editing for our episodes, but he was unavailable while we were making this one, so Mike had to do the editing along with his usual production work. We did not make it easy for him. Thanks, Mike.

• Will was unexpectedly called away partway through the recording, so for the last few songs he recorded his comments separately to add to the episode. So that you wouldn’t notice, we had him throw in lines like, “It sure is the night we originally recorded this!”, “T.G.I. Sunday, amiright?”, and “There’s Amanda, flipping me the bird again” to make it seem organic.

• A “skiver” is English slang for “a person who avoids work or school by staying away or leaving early”. This is a reference from the song “The Little Beggar Girl”, not a subtweet to Will.

• There absolutely is something at the end of the rainbow. Those pesky kids are always trying to steal it from Lucky the Leprechaun. 

• Will does have an alpenhorn. It was a gift from Helmut Kohl.

• There is more to do in Wales than attend dwarf-tossing competitions and Extreme Spelling Bees™. For more information, see https://www.visitwales.com/en-us.  

Other links 

• Discord & Rhyme’s I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight playlist (Spotify)

• Discord & Rhyme’s Patreon

Discord & Rhyme Roll Call 

• Ben Marlin (host)

• Chris Willie Williams (moderator)

• Amanda Rodgers

• Dan 

I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight tracklist 

1. When I Get to the Border

2. The Calvary Cross

3. Withered and Died

4. I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight

5. Down Where the Drunkards Roll

6. We Sing Hallelujah

7. Has He Got a Friend for Me

8. The Little Beggar Girl

9. The End of the Rainbow

10. The Great Valerio 

Other clips used

• “End of the Rainbow” - Barbara Manning

• “Dimming of the Day” - Richard and Linda Thompson

• “The Calvary Cross (live)” - Richard and Linda Thompson

• “I Misunderstood” - Dinosaur, Jr.

• “Boy (Go)” - Golden Palominos

• “A Heart Needs a Home” - Richard and Linda Thompson

• “Meet on the Ledge” - Fairport Convention

• “Has He Got A Friend For Me” - Maria McKee

• “The Chimbley Sweep” - The Decemberists

• “Rusalka, Rusalka/Wild Rushes” - The Decemberists

• “Everybody Move It” - Teddy Thompson

• “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” - Richard Thompson

• “Did She Jump or Was She Pushed?” - Richard and Linda Thompson

• “A**-***r” - S**** M****

Band/album personnel

• Richard Thompson – guitar, vocals, Hammered dulcimer, mandolin, tin whistle, piano, electric piano, harmonium

• Linda Thompson – vocals

• Timmy Donald – drums

• Pat Donaldson – bass guitar

• John Kirkpatrick – accordion, concertina

• Simon Nicol – dulcimer

• Brian Gulland – krummhorn

• Richard Harvey – krummhorn

• Royston Wood – harmony bass vocals

• Trevor Lucas - harmony vocals

Credits 

“Discord & Rhyme (theme),” composed by the Other Leading Brand, contains elements of: 

• Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf

• Amon Düül II - Dehypnotized Toothpaste

• The Dukes of Stratosphear - What in the World?? ...

• Faith No More - Midlife Crisis

• Herbie Hancock - Hornets

• Kraftwerk - Autobahn

• Talking Heads - Seen and Not Seen

• Richard and Linda Thompson - The Great Valerio (this episode only)

You can buy or stream I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight and other albums by Richard and/or Linda Thompson at your local record store, or the usual suspects such as Spotify, iTunes, YouTube, and Amazon. Follow Discord & Rhyme on Twitter @DiscordPod for news, updates, and other random stuff. Editing is by Rich, and special thanks to our own Mike DeFabio, the Other Leading Brand, for production and original music. See you next album, and be ever wonderful.