Richard Thompson "Sweet Warrior"

Another year, another Richard Thompson album. I won’t bore you with the gushing that will undoubtedly occur should I remain on this subject for too long so I’ll just direct you here. Sweet Warrior, which marks something like RT’s 29th album of original recordings, reaffirms the fact that Richard Thompson remains one of the most fascinating individuals that the UK music scene has produced in the past 40 years since Thompson, then 17, joined Fairport Convention as their lead guitarist. And in my mind, he’s only gotten better with age.

Here are two from the new record. "Mr. Stupid", a more up-tempo affair that really stood out as a set-opener when Richard performed it live in June 2005 with a full band, showcases RT’s wit and humor while "Poppy-Red", another set-opener just this past February during Richard’s solo acoustic tour, is a bit more dour in its telling of a love long-gone.

Richard Thompson “Mr. Stupid” (MP3)

Richard Thompson “Poppy-Red” (MP3)