I'll say that he's more than extremely good. He's a brilliant songwriter, a phenomenal guitarist, and one of the most riveting live performers that I have ever had the privilege to hear in person, many, many times. It never gets old. The man is a genius, and has lasted longer in this business than anyone else than I can think of, from Fairport to today. And he just gets BETTER. Anyone who has the opportunity to see him perform in person should NOT miss it. THAT's "what else I can say!"
Richard Thompson and Vincent Black Lightning!!! Both nonpareil! It simply cannot be better than this. Saw him perform it with Danny Thompson in Bloomington, IN back in about '89. Never heard anything better.
I was at this show, and every show he played in Seattle between 1986 and 2001. RT is the single most charismatic solo performer i've ever seen; riveting songwriter, peerless guitar player, with a vocal style full of character and depth. I saw him play this at Bumbershoot in Seattle one year in the soccer stadium in front of 15,000 people. The crowd roared when he played the opening chord sequence--he looked up startled and I think pleased--and then sang along with every word.
Unreal. That is the most amazing performance I've ever seen. ...and I've seen greats like Scott Balsai. This is amazing. He did it like it was no big deal for him, and it probably isn't... but as a guitar player myself, it impresses the hell out of me.
I watched Del's cover and it is pretty cool, i think he did the song justice... But Richard Thompson is the guy who wrote it. He definitely deserves to be better known by the general public than to be accused of covering one of his own masterpieces!
Funny how little reaction there was from the crowd when it was clear what he was about to play. I have seen RT live quite a few times, and will again in a couple of months, and this is always the one that gets a huge cheer when it begins. I guess this was before it was well known.
