American's may not know this, but Fairport Convention's original lead singer, Ian Matthews, had a #1 UK hit cover of "Woodstock" after he left FC and was fronting his own band, Southern Comfort. FC also covered Chelsea Morning on their first album
I love this version and I would like to learn how to play it. Does anyone know the guitar tuning and basic chord shapes and can you pass that along to me?
Clapton said RT is his favourite guitar player. He can play anything and gets tired of the "folkie" moniker. Youtube clip of "Mother Knows Best" (in Toronto)....makes your hair stand on end!
been a fairport convention and RT fan since 1967, and i still get shivers up my spine when i hear him play, absolutely awesome and i think joni would agree
That's amazing.Thanks vlock1 for filling in the details.All I can say is thankyou Weiland for making an aweful lot of people very happy indeed, including Joni Mitchell.Someone made a huge mistake in not including Richard at the start. Apart from Joni, of course,who else has managed to do such justice to this song as Richard Thompson demonstrates in this great video.Thanks vlock1 for sharing it, much appreciated to say the least.
@19HurdyGurdyMan46 Yeah, this was supposed to be Stone Temple Pilots, believe it or not, but Weiland got busted back to rehab before they showed. According to RT's website, he had an hour's prep time.
There are so few who can do justice to a great Joni Mitchell song like this, can't even think of anyone off hand at the moment.But this is Mr Thompson no less who manages to touch Joni's heart with the beauty of this rendition.
I can't stand Joni covers but THIS - this is amazing. RT, you are a musical magician who can mesmerize the most soulless person, I'm sure of it. And what a treat for dear magnificent Joni. 10 stars.
This is a beautifully haunting version of this epic song. Would love to hear Crosby/Nash back up Richard on the chorus vocals on this version. But I guess that's being a bit greedy.
@Baci302 Mr. Thompson's vocal pipes seem unaffected by age - his recent performances equal or exceed those from past decades. Crosby, bless his heart has not aged quite as well, whereas his voice during his prime, sixties through the eighties was unquestionably one of the finest. Thompson has a lifestyle that eschews bad habits, and he's been rewarded by retaining his abilities.
Did Joni's version have the line, "We are billion year old carbon," or was this just in the CSNY version? Or did Thompson just leave it out, maybe due to playing from memory or whatever? Chilling performance in either event. There at the end he looks just like he did in the Fairport Convention outdoor video of "Now Be Thankful" -- ever so slightly shy and smug at the same time.
If you ever do one thing with yer life, see this man live. Complex human being but delivers 150 mins of sheer sock/soul shredding magic even his fellows levae with tears in their eyes.
Scottish of course, only doing missionary work in England.
A fine interpretation. Anybody know the tuning? I thought at first DADGAD, but it's likely less complex (like dropped-D or double-dropped D. I can say that anyone of his (my) generation is entitled to cover these seminal tunes, and take 'em wherever they want.
@EllJayAitch I don't know what tuning this is..... I will try to figure it out. At first, I agreed with you, but some of those sounds seem to rich for Dropped D (perhaps the capo is throwing me off). RT does a haunting version and I love it when someone takes a song and makes it their own or updates/interprets it.
@EllJayAitch I don't know if you've thought about this in the last year, but I think it is in DADGAD as well, capoed at the 2nd fret so that the sound is EBEABE. I play a lot in Open D and DADDAD, and it doesn't seem to be the former from what I can see of his chord fingerings; I also tried Open D minor. It is a very distinctive sound, to be sure. Like you, I thought it might be simpler, so I tried the DADDAD tuning, capoed 2 frets up; now I think DADGAD capoed 2 frets up. Help?
I love this song...It's one of the greatest compositions by JM. I always thought CS&N improved upon its power. This interpretation is transcendant and mystic. I can't describe what RT acheived with this version.
Haven't listened to every track of this show yet, but so far, this one's by far the most impressive (to these ears; ymmv of course). Totally true to the song, but totally different take on it. Sounds like he's emphasizing the timeless "folksong" nature of it.
Joni looked dubious at first, then was away with the rest of us at the end. What song of Richard's would she do as a tribute to him? Thanks for a great vid.
Richard is amazing. And so is Joni. I like the first shot of her; she is paying attention to him as a musician, and then the second shot, just letting her own song , forty years plus on, run through her. Maybe presumptuous of me, I dunno.
It's because all the most creative people were dropping acid in the sixties, or had to at least make artistic productions whose themes seemed psychedelic. Acid touched the most profound, deepest and hidden collective emotions in western society, much more than any 'religion' could ever aspire to do, and the result was the amazing musical explosion of the 1960s. It's as simple as that.
I never dropped acid in my life....mind you....I never wrote a song like "I'm Only Sleeping" or "Itchycoo Park". I was too scared to try LSD, etc (though hash and grass which my kids now call weed were consumed), and now too old to want to anymore!
Well, if it would get them to stop making music or whatever it is they make I would be all for them dropping acid, but the idea that acid was the cause of the great music of the 60's is silly. At the very least, it is not "simple as that".
sorry,you got so dinged for you opinion. The guitar is amazing,; the vocals are an artistic choice I love, but thieir pure musical value may be less than..... I can't finish the sentence because this is one of the best covers I've ever heard.
Can't this site give more than 5 Stars?! He's just so damn good. I'm intoxicated on his duet with his son singing persuasion. Never to be heard on US radio.
@tomlugnut And you know why the US air waves are censored to them? Because they reverted to Islam. Lame stream media must control your thoughts lest you may think for yourself and to them, that's dangerous. Hail Richard Thompson~!! Peace and Blessings and all truth sayers who live by the creed that we are all connected.
He pulled this off on live television after the Stone Temple Pilots no-showed. The promoters desperately needed to fill that time slot, and Richard was the only one who could walk out there and do another Joni song off the top of his head. It's unbelievable.
seriously? that's a bloody awesome feat! but he's an impressive musician, for sure.... RT sing JM - do we reckon that'd be an album to put on advance order??
well CSNY is very nice, I love it, and it's surely the classic version, but I wouldn't say it's the best... I don't like to compare such great performances anyway...
This version is closer to Joni Mitchell's, but again it's unique. It's got more traditional folk style... and this guy is a very exceptional legendary folk-rock musician!!
My son and his girlfriend were exploring the woodland in the Pigeon Valley near Uchisar, in Turkey when they came upon an old man sitting with his dogs by an open fire (sounds like a fairy tale - doesn't it!) listening to an old transistor radio.
He called them over for a cuppa and my son exclaimed - "You are listening to Richard Thompson! My dad will be really chuffed when I tell him!"
joni36, thank you for posting this! I remember watching the JM tribute on TV but this song never made it into the broadcast version, only "Black Crow", which had a snarly, edgy feel that seemed less faithful to the original than "Woodstock". Clearly Joni was moved on this...
This was great what the heck are you saying. The melody appears to be a tough piece and I think he was fantastic, sure did enjoy it very much. Thanks RT for your wonderful gift. It was a pleasure once again to listen to your beautiful voice and fantabulous guitar mastery. Peace and Love.
excellent point. So much of the discourse here is - A sucks because B is the greatest. Why do we need to choose like that? Both recordings are powerful - prefer whiever one you wish.
Sick! I hate to say it, but with a short time to plan this song, Thompson actually made a version I love more than Joni's. I mean this interpretation is overwhelming. Thompson's version is perfection.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
but we all need a base song to get better ,he took joni genius first ,not thompson ,without this Joni song it would not have any meaning and pure history ,,,you must be a brit lover
You must not know Thompson's songwriting ability. He certainly turns out incredible cover tunes, but his originals are simply magic. I like Joni Mitchell, but Richard's song "Meet on the Ledge" is every bit as powerful.
ok bomagosh,what i'm saying is that with an already written song that is great ,it can be easier to make it your own version ,its not as hard then the ground work was made ,the richard and so many can claim their fortune off of others ,,,but Thompson is a great guitar and singer to ,,just want to let you know that dues should always go to the original
I don't understand what you're saying here. Claim their fortune off of others? I've been listening to Richard Thompson since 1983 and I had no idea he'd even covered this tune before now. He sometimes plays covers (did more back in Fairport days) but they're pretty rare in his live performances. He's mostly known as an astonishing songwriter. Personally I'd listen to Vincent Black Lightning or Persuasion -- RT originals -- before anything by Mitchell, but then I like great instrumentals.
But the genius here is in delivery. RT is an improvisational musician. He got told he was doing this on the night. Joni's genius was in writing this wonderful tune. RT's genius was in knocking out this breath taking performance. For musicians like him, each performance is a work of art, it is in the nature of improvisation. The guitar is exquisite in this rendition.
This is not the kind of lyric that one might expect RT to sing, typically he puts his own slant on it and gives it a darker edge that given Altamont later that year, is spot on.
a truly inspired performance by a tuned in, plugged in artist. to suggest that he was nervous or anxious is laughable. richard thompson has been in the spotlite for 40 years (fairport convention). joni was aware of every nuance, the significance of every chord change, note selection, and vocal intonation. to suggest otherwise would be a complete fabrication.
I don't know...I've seen RT 12+ times, own every video, cruised everything on YouTube, and I think he seems a little tight. Doesn't come through in the performance though.
Not nervous, like fearful. But highly highly focussed, perhaps even tense. This is probably due to the fact that he was only just told he had to go out and play it. He must of been concentrating like a mo fo. Just hanging on to his improv whilst remembering a song he hasn't practised.
His expression at the end is not his usual. There seems a tiny bit more adrenaline than usual.
He was obviously concentrating a bit more than usual - understandably. I have seen him around 20 times and he certainly seems a little bit uptight during it and chuffed with himself at the end!
He was asked at the very last minute to fill in for Stone Temple Pilots, who were supposed to do this but backed out. He didn't know the chords but knew the words and melody. What you are seeing is completely improvised.
The cover is great on its own, but to know he improvised this a few hours after being told he'd be playing it? Is there anything Richard Thompson *can't* do?
The best version of this song I've heard.
PeteD1884 3 days ago
I, too, have had the good fortune of seeing, hearing, experiencing this man play live. What a gift!
19babyjack55 1 month ago
that ruled
ShinyoBeast 1 month ago
Doesn't get much better. Reading "Electric Eden" at the moment and it is exactly about the genre that Richard is a pillar in.
minwav 3 months ago
Wonderful Arrangement!
loveroffolkmusic 4 months ago
Beautiful performance
t0md4111y 5 months ago
Acoustic zen.
ODC771 5 months ago
Freakin Excellent!!! Had Joni trancing there.
plgplgplg 7 months ago
When it said JM i thought it meant John Martyn
GrungeHippie95 7 months ago
If you listen to alternative music radio, you will hear RT and Teddy separate and together...
NMM911 7 months ago
6 people have no taste
waxeye55 9 months ago
tg fkn much greatness for one man
alaskadw 9 months ago
Sheer brilliance personified!!!! Nobody plays like Richard Thompson. He is one of the most gifted musicians, I have heard.
You won't hear his songs on the radio. They are far too intelligent.
tunefultony 9 months ago
American's may not know this, but Fairport Convention's original lead singer, Ian Matthews, had a #1 UK hit cover of "Woodstock" after he left FC and was fronting his own band, Southern Comfort. FC also covered Chelsea Morning on their first album
Tullathon 10 months ago
He's a bit tasty on the old guitar is our Richard, eh?
555pontifex 10 months ago
Fairport Convention did not play at Woodstock.
MrBasilGanglia 10 months ago
Fairport did not play, The Incredible String Band did!
alisterhrae27 10 months ago
I'm with you on the Faiports link but not playing at Woodstock...the wikipedia page doesn't list the Faiports playing there
Toffeeman01 11 months ago
@mcdstuff RT at Woodstock? Really? Unless you mean the one just outside Oxford
Toffeeman01 11 months ago
I love this version and I would like to learn how to play it. Does anyone know the guitar tuning and basic chord shapes and can you pass that along to me?
wm17959 11 months ago
Not sung very well, James Taylor does the best version on the Stern show....
onefoot7 11 months ago
Clapton said RT is his favourite guitar player. He can play anything and gets tired of the "folkie" moniker. Youtube clip of "Mother Knows Best" (in Toronto)....makes your hair stand on end!
rocktenniscat 11 months ago
been a fairport convention and RT fan since 1967, and i still get shivers up my spine when i hear him play, absolutely awesome and i think joni would agree
amemhotep 1 year ago
That's amazing.Thanks vlock1 for filling in the details.All I can say is thankyou Weiland for making an aweful lot of people very happy indeed, including Joni Mitchell.Someone made a huge mistake in not including Richard at the start. Apart from Joni, of course,who else has managed to do such justice to this song as Richard Thompson demonstrates in this great video.Thanks vlock1 for sharing it, much appreciated to say the least.
19HurdyGurdyMan46 1 year ago
Wow, I just read that Richard was just filling in at the last minuite for someone who didn't show up.Is this true?
19HurdyGurdyMan46 1 year ago
@19HurdyGurdyMan46 Yeah, this was supposed to be Stone Temple Pilots, believe it or not, but Weiland got busted back to rehab before they showed. According to RT's website, he had an hour's prep time.
vlock1 1 year ago
There are so few who can do justice to a great Joni Mitchell song like this, can't even think of anyone off hand at the moment.But this is Mr Thompson no less who manages to touch Joni's heart with the beauty of this rendition.
19HurdyGurdyMan46 1 year ago
Every time I've seen RT live, I am just blown away by his brilliance.
jhankri 1 year ago
What sadist told the cameraman to pull back every time he plays a BREAK? Aaaaaargghhhh.......
So cool to watch La Mitchell grooving at the end.
tintosangre 1 year ago
Ravishing.
mairemor 1 year ago
So good. The end.
bcasey63 1 year ago
If you like this cover you should check out another amazing musician, John Martyn, check out his cover of Ben Harpers excuse me Mr.
waxeye55 1 year ago
Spontaneous virtuosity, totally free of pretense.
jackal59 1 year ago
I can't stand Joni covers but THIS - this is amazing. RT, you are a musical magician who can mesmerize the most soulless person, I'm sure of it. And what a treat for dear magnificent Joni. 10 stars.
jesmarluk 1 year ago 2
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banarish 1 year ago
the best!!!!!
siebzigfinger 1 year ago
i think it should say 4 philistines instead of 4 dislikes
SlickSmooth22 1 year ago
This is a beautifully haunting version of this epic song. Would love to hear Crosby/Nash back up Richard on the chorus vocals on this version. But I guess that's being a bit greedy.
Baci302 1 year ago
@Baci302 Mr. Thompson's vocal pipes seem unaffected by age - his recent performances equal or exceed those from past decades. Crosby, bless his heart has not aged quite as well, whereas his voice during his prime, sixties through the eighties was unquestionably one of the finest. Thompson has a lifestyle that eschews bad habits, and he's been rewarded by retaining his abilities.
irelephant 1 year ago
This is a beautifully haunting version of this epic song.
Baci302 1 year ago
One of the Best playing now !!!
gmont50 1 year ago
Did Joni's version have the line, "We are billion year old carbon," or was this just in the CSNY version? Or did Thompson just leave it out, maybe due to playing from memory or whatever? Chilling performance in either event. There at the end he looks just like he did in the Fairport Convention outdoor video of "Now Be Thankful" -- ever so slightly shy and smug at the same time.
wardka 1 year ago
A pretty good performance for a guy who was filling in at the last minute for a no-show.
DukeStreetBill 1 year ago
If you ever do one thing with yer life, see this man live. Complex human being but delivers 150 mins of sheer sock/soul shredding magic even his fellows levae with tears in their eyes.
Scottish of course, only doing missionary work in England.
Kenentigern7 1 year ago 16
@Kenentigern7 3 times live is about 1000 times too few.
bluescommander 1 year ago
WOW!
LarrySommer 1 year ago
Is it possible for us to get back to the Garden?
bluescommander 1 year ago
it's all been said before v so i'll just say, Amen. TEN stars please, YouTube. :)
missinglowell 1 year ago
Follow that, huh? :)
GeoStratocaster 1 year ago
Wow. I mean WOW. I don't even like this song. But I like this. He plays guitar like it is... a band of hunters.
joconnor6 1 year ago 5
I have just become a huge Richard Thompson fan. This performance is proof of his genius. Forgive me for not realising it sooner.
brendanseanbarry 1 year ago
Breath taking.
barleycj 1 year ago
This weeks lesson in quality music - listen
mylegesse 1 year ago
stunning is definitely one good adjective. how about mesmerizing, beautiful,simply beautiful. I love it very much!!!!
azharkamal 1 year ago 3
what a nice voice
ASpanishguy 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Joni moved by Richard! Two heroes in one!
antpitta1 1 year ago
Joni moved by Richard! Two heroes in one!
antpitta1 1 year ago
Joni moved by Richard! Two heroes in one!
antpitta1 1 year ago
who is the bloke playing the banjo?
wiffybiffy 1 year ago
A fine interpretation. Anybody know the tuning? I thought at first DADGAD, but it's likely less complex (like dropped-D or double-dropped D. I can say that anyone of his (my) generation is entitled to cover these seminal tunes, and take 'em wherever they want.
EllJayAitch 1 year ago
@EllJayAitch I don't know what tuning this is..... I will try to figure it out. At first, I agreed with you, but some of those sounds seem to rich for Dropped D (perhaps the capo is throwing me off). RT does a haunting version and I love it when someone takes a song and makes it their own or updates/interprets it.
shaconage 1 year ago
@EllJayAitch I don't know if you've thought about this in the last year, but I think it is in DADGAD as well, capoed at the 2nd fret so that the sound is EBEABE. I play a lot in Open D and DADDAD, and it doesn't seem to be the former from what I can see of his chord fingerings; I also tried Open D minor. It is a very distinctive sound, to be sure. Like you, I thought it might be simpler, so I tried the DADDAD tuning, capoed 2 frets up; now I think DADGAD capoed 2 frets up. Help?
longtimegone55 1 week ago
I am POSITIVE that's Joni Mitchell at 1:16. Check it out!~ She seems rapt with attention. What a song- what a version!
robcat56 1 year ago 2
@robcat56
of course it is...she seems quite enthralled...
cherylbeee 1 year ago
@robcat56
of course it is...she seems enthralled...
cherylbeee 1 year ago
I love this song...It's one of the greatest compositions by JM. I always thought CS&N improved upon its power. This interpretation is transcendant and mystic. I can't describe what RT acheived with this version.
alejhombre 1 year ago 4
Wow.
Just...
wow.
Haven't listened to every track of this show yet, but so far, this one's by far the most impressive (to these ears; ymmv of course). Totally true to the song, but totally different take on it. Sounds like he's emphasizing the timeless "folksong" nature of it.
smartalek1 1 year ago
Joni singing Beeswing.........
TheNigelr 1 year ago
Richard Thompson is the greatest musician ever.
theenglishite 1 year ago 4
agreed.
violundomiel 1 year ago
Touching tribute from one great songwriter and singer to another.
I'd love to hear Joni sing '1952 Vincent Black Lightning', though, I guess she'd still need RT to do the guitar playing.
Thanks for posting this!
catweasel28 2 years ago
@catweasel28 you guess wrong
mfmazurek 1 year ago
@mfmazurek No I don't. I'm always right.
catweasel28 1 year ago
Joni looked dubious at first, then was away with the rest of us at the end. What song of Richard's would she do as a tribute to him? Thanks for a great vid.
dingoswamphead 2 years ago 2
really great song great writer!
joeygsmom 2 years ago
Well done..
AstralPlane1951 2 years ago
No, just musical post-war modernism.......
TheNigelr 2 years ago
ateacher of teachers......absolutely beautiful.......
driverain2 2 years ago
hey all added "foxes" by richard thompson check it out!
gummoboy333 2 years ago
Stunning interpretation; to be expected, really.......
TheNigelr 2 years ago 14
Richard is amazing. And so is Joni. I like the first shot of her; she is paying attention to him as a musician, and then the second shot, just letting her own song , forty years plus on, run through her. Maybe presumptuous of me, I dunno.
bathsheba56 2 years ago 3
Yeah it's cliché, but I got goosebumps. Brilliant, the both of them.
AdsuMudi 2 years ago 4
Simply amazing. You can tell how moved Joni was by this rendition.
boliverful1 2 years ago 3
One master playing for another.
How did we end up with The Pussycat Dolls and Britney Spears?????
rocktenniscat 2 years ago 45
In a nutshell, we're stuck with Britney and the Pussycat Dolls because too many people want music they dont have to think about.
For them, there is all that least common denominator music you find on commercial radio.
Shackamaxon 2 years ago
It's because all the most creative people were dropping acid in the sixties, or had to at least make artistic productions whose themes seemed psychedelic. Acid touched the most profound, deepest and hidden collective emotions in western society, much more than any 'religion' could ever aspire to do, and the result was the amazing musical explosion of the 1960s. It's as simple as that.
mahajohn 2 years ago
Thanks for your reply:
I never dropped acid in my life....mind you....I never wrote a song like "I'm Only Sleeping" or "Itchycoo Park". I was too scared to try LSD, etc (though hash and grass which my kids now call weed were consumed), and now too old to want to anymore!
rocktenniscat 2 years ago 2
Oh, so if Britney and the Pussycat Dolls would just go drop some acid they would be able to make more meaningful artful music? Not likely.
octarhaberee 2 years ago 3
No, but they'd probably realize the pointlessness of what they do, and then stop doing it. Perhaps Britney would start making Sufi-oriented music?
mahajohn 2 years ago
Well, if it would get them to stop making music or whatever it is they make I would be all for them dropping acid, but the idea that acid was the cause of the great music of the 60's is silly. At the very least, it is not "simple as that".
octarhaberee 2 years ago
i think there's room for serious music and fluff. but yeah i'd like to see other things get more credit obviously..
KOSMICKEN09 2 years ago
yes
mccake123 2 years ago
@octarhaberee - Hopefully, they would just fall off the stage and go away....
rocktenniscat 1 year ago
@rocktenniscat Because people will buy any shit that the likes of Simon Cowell tells them to.
gaspode18 1 year ago
@rocktenniscat
Oops! RT likes Britney
bdwon 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@rocktenniscat we? I did not!
whsonic 1 year ago
@rocktenniscat Business, boredom, ignorance, stupidity, void of class and taste. Flouride???
TR5T 1 year ago
@rocktenniscat Flouride in our water supply
caseyspaos 6 months ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
great guitar work on this song, don't like the singing too much.
WilderPIlger 2 years ago
sorry,you got so dinged for you opinion. The guitar is amazing,; the vocals are an artistic choice I love, but thieir pure musical value may be less than..... I can't finish the sentence because this is one of the best covers I've ever heard.
alejhombre 1 year ago 3
THANK YOU JEFF!!! WOW, to hear this with such an awesome low voice. JBeautiful... I didn't know him.... now I do, grace a toi.
BaaBaaRaa 2 years ago 3
Can't this site give more than 5 Stars?! He's just so damn good. I'm intoxicated on his duet with his son singing persuasion. Never to be heard on US radio.
tomlugnut 2 years ago 15
@tomlugnut And you know why the US air waves are censored to them? Because they reverted to Islam. Lame stream media must control your thoughts lest you may think for yourself and to them, that's dangerous. Hail Richard Thompson~!! Peace and Blessings and all truth sayers who live by the creed that we are all connected.
MsMoxieLady 1 year ago 2
@tomlugnut U.S. radio sucks. We should be ashamed.
Baci302 1 year ago
He pulled this off on live television after the Stone Temple Pilots no-showed. The promoters desperately needed to fill that time slot, and Richard was the only one who could walk out there and do another Joni song off the top of his head. It's unbelievable.
BrxSmith 2 years ago 7
@BrxSmith
seriously? that's a bloody awesome feat! but he's an impressive musician, for sure.... RT sing JM - do we reckon that'd be an album to put on advance order??
psychobollox 1 year ago
Richard Thompson is the best, forget the rest, G.
Grentyr 2 years ago 6
whats the song actually called???
myholynepal 2 years ago
Woodstock
andressen 2 years ago
Woodstock !
abisheridee 2 years ago
Actually, the best perfomance of this song is CSNY!
vmitodd 2 years ago
well CSNY is very nice, I love it, and it's surely the classic version, but I wouldn't say it's the best... I don't like to compare such great performances anyway...
This version is closer to Joni Mitchell's, but again it's unique. It's got more traditional folk style... and this guy is a very exceptional legendary folk-rock musician!!
DimitrisSkl 2 years ago 5
Joni Mitchell has closed her eyes enjoying this excellent performance of this great musician!!!
Richard Thompson..... What can I say....!!
DimitrisSkl 2 years ago 2
Except that Richard has a chin
thebrooklynculprit 2 years ago
he does look like eric clapton i must say......
myholynepal 2 years ago
He looks like Richard Thompson.
And plays better than Eric Clapton.
WatTyler13 2 years ago 4
My son and his girlfriend were exploring the woodland in the Pigeon Valley near Uchisar, in Turkey when they came upon an old man sitting with his dogs by an open fire (sounds like a fairy tale - doesn't it!) listening to an old transistor radio.
He called them over for a cuppa and my son exclaimed - "You are listening to Richard Thompson! My dad will be really chuffed when I tell him!"
....and he was!
Anyone else heard him in unlikely places?
Backupnorth 2 years ago
HAVE YOU ALWAYS HAD A GIFT FOR BABBLIN
dqddqd 2 years ago
yup!
Backupnorth 2 years ago
IMHO, this is simply the best performance of "Woodstock" ever done besides that of Joni herself.
irelephant 2 years ago 4
Beyond words.
irelephant 2 years ago
f*cking wow, no wonder Joni's so emotionally reactive. I'm blown away.
Altres 2 years ago
Altres stole all our words. Pardon my language, but f*ck me, this is AWESOME!!! Another add to the favorites, THANKS joni36!!!!
76HST 2 years ago
Comment removed
BillClintonn 2 years ago
The man is a genius - rarely misses the mark.
D
Backupnorth 2 years ago 7
Check out the extras of the film GRIZZLY MAN, there's an awesome behind the scenes look at RT creating the soundtrack, worth it just for that.
rugshort 2 years ago 8
joni36, thank you for posting this! I remember watching the JM tribute on TV but this song never made it into the broadcast version, only "Black Crow", which had a snarly, edgy feel that seemed less faithful to the original than "Woodstock". Clearly Joni was moved on this...
daf827 2 years ago
cleansing of the soul..................
driverain2 2 years ago
Joni Mitchell is one of the best songwriters of all time and Rick does a amazing job of her song ,she looks proud in this video
vaughnsalem 2 years ago
I love him
Tessietots 2 years ago
he could sing the phone book and it would be great.
blackbeard1991 2 years ago 4
Well, he's done Britney
eccentricman87 2 years ago
@eccentricman87
that was just a rumour, but he has sung her songs! ;)
psychobollox 1 year ago
Yep, that's her.
cragsterama 2 years ago
was that Joni in the balcony?
mollieie 2 years ago
This was great what the heck are you saying. The melody appears to be a tough piece and I think he was fantastic, sure did enjoy it very much. Thanks RT for your wonderful gift. It was a pleasure once again to listen to your beautiful voice and fantabulous guitar mastery. Peace and Love.
nancyl2 2 years ago
RT is simply too good an electric guitar player for there to be so much acoustic activity.. HAR HAR HAR.
Hunsanity 2 years ago
this is okay. but doesnt compare to joni! good tho
mimicourt 2 years ago
doesn't compare? - everything compares.
Hence the word - comparison.
I happen to think it compares pretty damn well - and thats not to denigrate either version. The man has an awesome talent.
Alchemist633 2 years ago 3
excellent point. So much of the discourse here is - A sucks because B is the greatest. Why do we need to choose like that? Both recordings are powerful - prefer whiever one you wish.
hrothgleas 2 years ago 4
Amazing interpretation - thanks for posting!
anthonypepitoneVideo 2 years ago
Sick! I hate to say it, but with a short time to plan this song, Thompson actually made a version I love more than Joni's. I mean this interpretation is overwhelming. Thompson's version is perfection.
BillClintonn 2 years ago 3
This comment has received too many negative votes show
but we all need a base song to get better ,he took joni genius first ,not thompson ,without this Joni song it would not have any meaning and pure history ,,,you must be a brit lover
vaughnsalem 2 years ago
You must not know Thompson's songwriting ability. He certainly turns out incredible cover tunes, but his originals are simply magic. I like Joni Mitchell, but Richard's song "Meet on the Ledge" is every bit as powerful.
bomagosh 2 years ago
ok bomagosh,what i'm saying is that with an already written song that is great ,it can be easier to make it your own version ,its not as hard then the ground work was made ,the richard and so many can claim their fortune off of others ,,,but Thompson is a great guitar and singer to ,,just want to let you know that dues should always go to the original
vaughnsalem 2 years ago
I don't understand what you're saying here. Claim their fortune off of others? I've been listening to Richard Thompson since 1983 and I had no idea he'd even covered this tune before now. He sometimes plays covers (did more back in Fairport days) but they're pretty rare in his live performances. He's mostly known as an astonishing songwriter. Personally I'd listen to Vincent Black Lightning or Persuasion -- RT originals -- before anything by Mitchell, but then I like great instrumentals.
bomagosh 2 years ago
But the genius here is in delivery. RT is an improvisational musician. He got told he was doing this on the night. Joni's genius was in writing this wonderful tune. RT's genius was in knocking out this breath taking performance. For musicians like him, each performance is a work of art, it is in the nature of improvisation. The guitar is exquisite in this rendition.
OneBigRetard 2 years ago 6
This has been flagged as spam show
Mr Thompson is a true Muslim.
When You know your God, You can achieve miracles.
Go Richy Go, keep up your Angelic Rock.
Love ya......
PoppyJr78 2 years ago
legend...
kyliroth 3 years ago
deeply moving
arnoldlayne1991 3 years ago
This is not the kind of lyric that one might expect RT to sing, typically he puts his own slant on it and gives it a darker edge that given Altamont later that year, is spot on.
clean3 3 years ago
a truly inspired performance by a tuned in, plugged in artist. to suggest that he was nervous or anxious is laughable. richard thompson has been in the spotlite for 40 years (fairport convention). joni was aware of every nuance, the significance of every chord change, note selection, and vocal intonation. to suggest otherwise would be a complete fabrication.
artboy55 3 years ago 2
I don't know...I've seen RT 12+ times, own every video, cruised everything on YouTube, and I think he seems a little tight. Doesn't come through in the performance though.
RUPickman 3 years ago
Agree
OneBigRetard 3 years ago
apparently he was pretty much making this up as he went along. still amazing though
mistersnaredrum 3 years ago
Not nervous, like fearful. But highly highly focussed, perhaps even tense. This is probably due to the fact that he was only just told he had to go out and play it. He must of been concentrating like a mo fo. Just hanging on to his improv whilst remembering a song he hasn't practised.
His expression at the end is not his usual. There seems a tiny bit more adrenaline than usual.
OneBigRetard 2 years ago
He was obviously concentrating a bit more than usual - understandably. I have seen him around 20 times and he certainly seems a little bit uptight during it and chuffed with himself at the end!
Alchemist633 2 years ago
Exactly
OneBigRetard 2 years ago
He was asked at the very last minute to fill in for Stone Temple Pilots, who were supposed to do this but backed out. He didn't know the chords but knew the words and melody. What you are seeing is completely improvised.
keyehaw 2 years ago 7
Comment removed
HullBloke1313 2 years ago
love the insider comments like this, thanks.
I remember thinking that it seemed just a lot open E with some tasty flourishes,
but goddamn righteous!
Thanks Stone Temple Pilots for missing (no disrespect intended), so RT could tear this down.
ben909ben 2 years ago
@keyehaw
holy shit! not just impressive... spooky!
psychobollox 1 year ago
@keyehaw
Blooming heck! If that's true, that makes an amazing performance just incredible!
hodgelet 1 year ago
@OneBigRetard
absolutely.... i think also what we're seeing could be his response to JM's rather excited response to his rendering of her song....
psychobollox 1 year ago
Joni wrote this ,pure great
vaughnsalem 3 years ago
Wow. That was intense.
ASTRAALLEN 3 years ago
Fuck me. brilliant.
Finjuro 3 years ago
Great ! Thx for posting ....
eightycargo100 3 years ago
chillingly awesome!!!
momoec 3 years ago 3
The cover is great on its own, but to know he improvised this a few hours after being told he'd be playing it? Is there anything Richard Thompson *can't* do?
PowerThirteen 3 years ago 5
Nope. (smile)
Keyhal 3 years ago
Bet he was shitting himself with JM glowering at him like that in the audience- he looks rather nervous
beanson99 3 years ago
Ah...not likely.
epitar 3 years ago
Joni was loving it. Watch all of it.
Mentalfloss64 3 years ago
Never seen him so proud
OneBigRetard 3 years ago
Joni recoginsed genius there.
OneBigRetard 3 years ago 8
I love that look on his face at the end! RT is usually so self-effacing, but he knew that he had nailed that one.
Pragjag 3 years ago 4
RT can move me to tears. here he did it again.
whiteboygottawoowoos 3 years ago 2
Awesome. Thank you
Raymond1970 3 years ago 2