Added: 5 years ago
From: shrNHB
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  • This is the only cover for this great song that I've listened to all the way through. Like it a lot.

    You either have to *be* Richard Thompson, or have multiple guitars. Strumming it aint the same.

  • @StonedSidney Amen! Richard Thompson, Robbie Robertson, and George Harrison are the most underrated guitar players of the last 100 years. You must be a player yourself...

  • I love these boys so much.

  • they played this last night at billy bob's. well played and an awesome cover.

  • 20 people dont have a soul like a vincent 52. im not one of them...

  • Excellent cover. This is one of the most beautiful songs to have ever been penned. And these boys did very well. I love the fiddle interpretation of Thompson's picking. My favorite version will always be the one that is here on youtube of Thompson alone, in his living room, picking it out. But this is a great live show version.

  • The version by Dick Gaughan is also good. I am going to see Richard thompson next friday in Eugene, Oregon!! WOO HOO!!

  • Down to Boxhill they did ride. Shame the place is swarming with police these days, but still a Mecca for motorcyclists in the UK!

  • This song was friggin rediculous live, such a jam.

  • go david!

  • @poloball23

    All hail the Mexicutioner! I saw them a week ago in ATL, and he intro'd the song with an echo-infused solo; great work.

  • Great job....Bravo, love it!!

  • 20 people are running out of road.

  • This is my favorite version of my favorite song in the history of time. Thompson's still a beast but this version just rings with me better.

  • @SubliminalKarate I just had an epiphany last Sunday as to why I prefer this version over all others. The way that the rhythm accelerates perfectly mimics the way I roll my bike through the gears- right down to giving it the gas at every repeat of the way he growls "to riiiiiide"! Richard is still a genius to have created such a masterpiece.

  • I gotta agree with GregDray. I'm also a decades-long Thompson fan, and this is a VERY good cover of the song.

  • A very good, sympathetic cover of this great song, performed by very competent musicians.

  • is this song on any of their cds?

  • @208jca The album name is in the description of the video.

  • Wow! I have been a Richard Thompson fan for decades and seen him live numerous times and I thoroughly enjoyed this very well done version of this,and also especially liked the picture in the background of the Vincent C Black Lightning.

  • Wow! I have been Richard Thompson fan for decades and seen him live numerous times and I thoroughly enjoyed this very well done version of this,and also especially liked the picture in the background of the Vincent C Black Lightning.

  • I don't live too far from "Box Hill". This song goes hand in hand with "Too old to rock and roll, too young to die" by Jethro Tull. I always recall good times at the Rykers Burger bar at the bottom car park.

  • I see angels on Ariels...

  • @fxrider71 Square 4... now there was yet another kick ass motorcycle.

  • Betcha James Aide was a 1%er....... Bad ass motorcycle.... bad ass way to pass.

  • ...look...I just love really great music...

    but ya' better make that blonds...

    my Sugar Love, my Honey Dumplin' Darlin'!

  • update to skinantiquehyp69 20 ppl r deaf

  • They don't make songwriters like this anymore. This is a great rendition

  • most excellent!!!! Good Job!!!

  • man, i thought i would hate this, too, but i quite liked it, even if the vox are little twangy for my tastes.

  • Excellent cover! Extremely well rehearsed and tight. Thanks for posting.

  • best version of this song ive heard, beats richard thompson any day

  • Great cover!!!!!!!

  • I love all versions, but this is my favorite because of the clean, earnest presentation by R.K.- if I could have one song playing while I'm on my own motorcycle, this would be it. BTW, my red-headed wife found me 26 years ago while I was kicking over one of my old Harleys in front of a seedy biker bar, so this has kinda become "our song"!

  • Not sure if i've said this before, but the band setup here is pretty much identical to "Full House" era Fairport Convention, when Richard was last a member of the band, and i've got a feeling that (accents aside) this is what it would have sounded like if that band had played it.

  • 18 people are deaf

  • thought I was going to hate this but it was great, my hats off to you.

  • Brilliant!! This is the only version that takes RT's great original and adds rather than weakens the song.I still like RT's version because he created it but this improves it.

  • Christy Jefferson - 1952 vincent black lightning... swear each and every single one of you will love it.. give it a shot. straight from Pennsylvania, usa

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  • Wow!!!  Awesome version of my favorite Richard Thompson song... Amazing band!!!

  • how to build a song.....cooooooooool

  • Great version of this superb Thompson song.

  • wot an excellant cover of the original. best ive heard.

  • I had no idea there were so many versions of this incredible song, another brilliant take on this, love the strat version of the main lick. Richard must be so proud of this song, I bought rumour and sigh when it came out and it's still in my top 5.

  • Muzzie and Joann did a damn fine job raising these boys...nice to know they are doing so well. Sorry we keep missing the Reunions. *S*

  • It's a great version. Del McCoury's is a great version. Jeff Lang's is a great version. It's hard to do a poor version of such a perfect song BUT all three of the above use the song as a vehicle for some impressive playing. This is not a song to show off your picking techniques to. RT's picking illustrates the lyrics and no more. Everyone else's picking replaces the lyric and makes the overall meaning of the song irrelevant I hear RT and I wonder why nobody has made a film of the song.. .

  • @RatherLargeAllan I respectfully disagree. I have seen RT live and I have watched his videos. He does much more flashy guitar work than RK. RK captured the feel of RT's version perfectly. They just had to use a lead guitar, a bass guitar and a fiddle to do what he did solo. Thumbs up for an excellent performance.

  • @RatherLargeAllan I agree. I love them all. Can't do a bad version of this.

  • The guy on the Strat should be elected "King of the World". What a riff!!!! That's the kind of work it takes to stand out above all the rest!

  • @jamesmichaeljenkins Um......... Richard Thompson wrote that riff.

  • @gaspode18 I know that, I was just commenting on his great picking!

  • @jamesmichaeljenkins You should check out RT's fingerpicking then.... Thats a good variation on the lick, but the original is pretty damn inpressive.

    By the way, this is the greatest song in the world....

  • I love riding, was born in 1952, name is Vincent. My song!

  • @lalberts you're an idiot

  • @lalberts Butchering?? Pffhh! I'm a big fan of the Del McCroury version of this song, but RK rocks it up a bit with no shame at all! Excellent!

  • and 3 of my favorite things: motorcycles, redheads, and tastefully done versions of great songs! good job, y'all!

  • down to the box hill? box hill is a suburb, it's--- down to box hill---

  • @plonker00765 boxhill is a famous biker haunt in england

  • @muskey1450

    cheers,i was told it was a particular area,so,is it a pub,bar,club,or what?

  • @plonker00765 last time I looked, Box Hill was a HILL.

  • sweet sweet!!! ;)

  • Going to see RK at the oldest dance hall in Texas in March or April...can't remember the exact day lol but its on mah calendar

  • one of my favorive songs of all time...........rock on rk

  • getting ready to see R.K. feb 5th (friday) in pittsburg, ks @ twisters.. should be a good time, we just saw jason boland there 2 weeks ago, man that was awesome!!

  • Totally digging all the versions of this song on youtube. Dels version is great too. Love it.

  • This is a really tasteful version. Very nice indeed.

  • got to love that deep note that willy can hit! Love this song!

  • Nice version! I prefer it to Del McDourey's version, but ntothing is a heartrending as the Richard Thompson version.

  • the difference in the two versions McCoury's and R. Kelly's is no secret. Ol' Del has been makin music about 45 years longer. I'm fond of Del's version myself!

  • Great version of the tune - wonderful!  I still like the Del McCourey version better but nothing wrong with this one IT ROCKS!

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  • cant wait to see reckless kelly and micky and the motorcars together!

  • RK did an awesome job on this... Del McCourey does a great job of it... I think it is a well written, well played song that is wonderful every time i hear it... no matter who plays it.

  • The guitar player forgot a couple a' notes.

  • Wonderful version of a great song.

    What a World we live in:  A new, hillbilly, Appalachian version of a song set in England or norther Ireland, with a tavern called The Fox Hill. Blows my mind.

  • I was very pleasantly surprised by this - a very good interpretation indeed!

  • Box Hill (Knoxville in Del McCourey's version)

  • great version of a great song...Richard Thompson is a great songwriter and great guitar player....even though I love the updated country version...these guys don't hold a candle to RT.

  • Never diss the songwriter. Great singers are much more plentiful than great songwriters and, without them, the great singers have nothing to sing. Richard Thompson is a great songwriter. This version of his song is great.

  • Yeah, Kelly paid homage to RT ... and owned this version.

  • Fantastic version! I love it.

  • This is a great version - I have seen RT live many times and he is a brilliant musician/songwriter - check out his black cab session!

  • I have a feeling that Richard Thompson and Reckless Kelly would be friends, and would enjoy each other's talent.

  • Great cover of a great original. RK is trying to pay tribute to RT's original that they admire. Everyone lighten up.

  • Well, This song has such meaning to my wife and I. While I was in New Braunfels, Texas having surgery, the Dr.s son played this song for us DURING the surgery... This is a great song no matter WHO is doing it..

  • jed.. agree with you

  • Damn fine version of a great, great song!

  • Great version - shame people want to start world war iii and get all insulting over preferences in music - Richard Thompson would be distressed. He has a great deal to be thanked for for his other work as well, and Reckless does it real fine.

  • P.S. The limey's are not really mad at Reckless for doing a better version. They're still mad a generally loose band of rebels beat their asses in the Rev War and have surpassed their cute little island at pretty much everything since.

  • This is absolutely the best version of this song. It's very respectful of Richard Thompson's version. But please don't diss the Brits. They have have a very vibrant musical scene happening there.

  • By the way, I know a little something about Stanley, ID, since I lived about 30 minutes from there. Stanley has about 300 permanent residents. If you don't know who Casanova Jack was, then you never lived in Stanley.

  • Except for one thing - they kicked our asses bad in the War of 1812 - they bured down the White House, we asked for a truce.

  • What a bunch of asshats.

    1. No one claimed Reckless were better musicians than Thompson.

    2. They never claimed to do a note for note rendition. If no one ever IMPROVISED we'd still be banging 2 rocks together to a beat and never advance.

    3. You Thompson fans can have his horrible voice and I'll jam to Reckless.

  • This a really good version of this RT classic. Thanks. 5 stars.

  • As an RT fan, this is an *excellent* version.

  • I don't understand the negative comments from Rt fans. I'm one myself (I've seen him live over twenty times solo and with band). I love it almost every time I hear another artist cover one of his songs. The fact is a lot of people who are Rt fans now would never have heard of him if it weren't for these covers.

  • Negative comments? Interesting. Granted nothing can top the original, but this is an excellent cover, IMO. Performances like this give RT's music great exposure, and RT fans who disparage covers like this are being snobs! Consider Del McCoury's version. (Box Hill becomes Knoxville!) I believe it won a Grammy in bluegrass. A great timeless song like "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" transcends musical styles and cultures.

  • You are right . I have not heard a bad version. I like RK's version better. RT is one of the greatest guitar players ever; I just don't like his style - that personal taste. Still I don't know anyone who has written a beeter sond than this. We owe RT for this song to enjoy, no matter who's version we like best.

  • and hollywood, willy braun's no toby keith - take a listen to "american blood" and "godforsaken town" before assuming all southern singer/songwriters are the same. you're the one who looks ignorant here.

  • You tell him. By the way, the Braun brothers are from Stanley Idaho - long way from the south. I think this is the best version of the song. But the song is so strong, almost every version is good.

  • They are definitely from Idaho. But the relocated to New Braunfels Texas close to 10 years ago as did most of the Red Dirt musicians from Oklahoma (Cross Canadian, Stoney LaRue, Jason Boland, etc...) BTW, this is a great song and RK does a great version of it. A true tribute to R Thompson

  • think this is a tremendous version; prefer it to thompson's as well. no offense intended - just like this sound better, and willy's voice is perfectly suited to this track. brilliant cover. just brilliant.

  • who said their version was supposed to be the same? why can't it be that thompson inspired them to make a new version that spoke to them a little better? who said their intent was to compete with the original? how do you know they aren't making a bridge to thompson's slightly less accessible sound? and if you are wrong about all of this, i guess that would make this a pretty damn good version huh?

  • If you want to hear people play it note for note exactly as it was originally recorded then you need to go to the Phillipines. They are very good at that.

  • Good version, but he doesn't know what these British places are. "The Boxhill" as this guy calls it is actually a biking destination in England (not the boxhill, just Box Hill)

  • That's funny. There coming right by me too very soon. Fayetteville, Arkansas.

  • i live in conway and love being so close to little rock to see all sorts of shows

  • Amazing cover! By far the best of anybody. Kick ass tune! Go RK

  • thats a little over the top

  • I personally like this version better than Richard Thompson's or Del McCoury's.

    It has nothing to do with technical ability or musical talent. I just like this arrangement the best. Drums, fiddle, strat, vocals, it works the best for me. All opinion though.

  • so when richard thompson does it solo, sounding as if there were three guitars playing instead of one, you are not impressed. the guitar is not your instrument, or so i gather

  • There's a difference between being impressed and loving the sound. Richard Thompson is an amazing fingerpicker. I truly appreciate that.

    But some of us ENJOY hearing the combination of fiddle, flatpicked strat and strummed acoustic more. Just personal taste, that's all.

  • That was an awesome version of that song! I love it!  RK you have a new fan!

  • I totally agree with you. They did an excellent job on it. As a matter of fact, I have listened to it a couple of times. In addition, I have saved it as one of my favorites.

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  • I saw RK for the first time in Columbia, Mo on Friday night and holy shit. I've been a fan for about a year now, but I finally got to see them live and I was just amazed at how good these guys really are. Garth is the best concert I have ever been too, but these guys come in close second and that says a lot.

  • still like thompsons version the best but this is great!!! so much better than that del mcoy version or who ever they are

  • Yeah, I agree.

  • Well, Del and band would be the rolling stones of bluegrass. Did you actually listen to the whole song? Those guys can play the ass off pretty much anyone. Not that this is a bad version though.

  • RK is quite possibly my favorite band, EVER. I stumbled upon them after really getting into Ragweed and the Randy Rogers Band and haven't stopped listening since. Fact is, today's mainstream country blows and you have to turn off the stupid radio and start digging into the red dirt, alt-country scene to find the BEST music. RK is some of the best music out there. Plus they appeal to a very wide audience.

  • Wow Nickelback really? What a dumb ass. Willy Braun and RK have something to say, on the otherhand Nickelback are a buncha douchebag alt. rock retards that sound the same as everyone else in it's genre. Listen to the lyrics shithead. And yes I know this song is a cover, but a damn good one!

  • Dean.....Syracuse ?

  • Reckless Kelly sounds nothing like Nickleback. Wow thats funny! I saw these guys live in TX at Oktoberfest. They didn't do this song though.

  • texdaddy, you said it best!

  • i really don't understand how anybody could say a bad thing about this performance... reckless kelly kicks some serious ass. seeing them live is the most amazing thing! i've seen them 6 times now and can't wait for #7 on new years eve!

  • Well....I made it to 1:48

  • this song takes me back to senior year in high school on a friday night in the texas hill country at floore's country store with a pretty girl lol

    good times.

  • seen these guys at the Tractor in Seattle. The best live act I have ever seen.

  • Love this cover, too bad with the death of X-Country, Great Alt.Country Bands like this and his brother Mickey (and the motorcars) will lose their ability to be heard

  • RK is the shit!

  • good job, that is one of my favorite songs of all time. never heard of reckless kelly, i do now

  • A crackin' version of a Richard Thompson great. Well done RK. An' thanks for postin' this.

  • i think the loss of the finger picking took a lot away from the song, but all in all not a bad cover

  • I've never heard of Reckless Kelly, but as a Richard Thompson fan from way back, I checked out this cover of one of RT's best songs. It's a damned nice cover, I must say. Thanks for posting it.

  • this song is soooo great live. It was good to hear it in Idaho

  • Love this live version... thanks shrNHB for all the RK postings!

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  • heard this song a million times ,, but to be honest ,, this for me is the best version yet. Makes every hair on my body stand up,, not a lot of covers do that.

  • LOVE this song! did anyone see them play at the S. Padre music festival last year?! Thinking about going.. :)

  • Great song and even a better version! Thanks RK!

  • A great version of a fantastic song! Richard Thompson is one of the all time great British songwriters. It's good to hear a full band version of such a brilliant song.

  • Reckless Kelly you guys are amazing!!!

    I absolutly ♥ this song!

    Love You Guys!

  • I got out of my wheelchair to dance to this tune.

  • This is just a great song, great story that it tells and the lyrics are just great, I've heard a dozen diffrenet bands play it a dozen diffrenet ways and it always sounds good hats of to Richard Thompson for writing such a great song.

  • Del's version is just his style. And this is Reckless Kelly's version. But no matter how you slice it. It still takes a whole band to cover RT playing by himself. Great song. I've loved it for years

  • yeah you're real popular - retard.......

  • Just out of curiosity how can you possibly call RK "the Nickelback of country"?

    Nickelback gets shit for being corporate sell outs. This band isn't even on a major label and I've never heard them on the radio once. Your comparison makes no sense at all.

  • Nickelback gets shit because they make shit.

    Boring, all songs sound the same, neutral so it appeals to a broad audience, shit.

    The fact that Nickelback are sellout douches just intensifies peoples' hatred, it doesnt cause it.

    To even consider Reckless Kelly true country is a fuckin abomination in itself.

  • Who the the fuck said they are "true country"? They are an alt-country band, however comparing them to Nickelback is possibly the dumbest thing I have ever seen posted on youtube.... and thats saying something.

  • nickelback sucks. never put RK and u know who in the same sentence.

  • Thanks to richard thompson for writing this(and many more great songs!)...Thanks to reckless kelly for having the taste to play this song AND namecheck Mr thompson so more people will hear of him...great cover..great band!!

  • I've seen RT live a couple of dozen times and he's one of my all time favorites. His version of this song is amazing. That said, I've seen these guys once (opening for Robert Earl Keen) and they did a much louder, grittier version of this to open their set and I was screaming like a schoolgirl seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan so hat's off for that. You can't compare the two versions. Both great in their way.

  • If I had written this (fat chance), I would thoroughly approve of this version. Love the dynamics.

  • Like it just as well as the orginal!

  • Erm, actually, it's a third person narrative.

    Dickhead.

  • teh original actually isn't in 1st person, it's 3rd person with extenssive quotations

    great cover!

  • Prefer RT but this is great, very differnt

  • Just to add a little more to the conversation, check out the Aussie - Jeff Lang's cover. Probably the fastest hands on a guitar I've ever seen. Appeals to some, but not everyone. But he sure handles a guitar.

    I still prefer R.T.

  • Not bad, I was pleasantly surprised after that atrocious Del Mcroury one.

    But it must be said that Richard Thompson is far superior in terms of music alone. I noticed a comment describing Willy as more vocally talented than Richard Thompson...

    I'm sorry but wait, what?

  • Hey You Tube dudes - sorry I've been away so long for the Holidays. Happy 2008!

    My sincere apologies, I definitely was out of line to RiverRoad! FYI - I have RK's version on my favorites. Also, I'm not a Brit. I love Waylon & Bocephus, got Ray Scott, Steve Earle & Trent Tomlinson on my favorites too.

    But RT was the author and I love his version.

    Peace brothers.