Across a Crowded Room
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums:
Top
Across a Crowded Room
- Artist: Richard Thompson
- Rating:
- Release Date: 1985 02
- Total Time: 41:31
- Genre: Rock
Review
Richard Thompson's 1985 album Across A Crowded Room (his first album for a major label since Sunnyvista in 1979) stylistically picked up where his previous set, Hand Of Kindness, had left off, and while it didn't break much in the way of new ground, it also found Thompson doing plenty of what he does best -- writing great songs and playing a lot of electric guitar. Across A Crowded Room takes a slightly more subtle approach than Hand Of Kindness; the arrangements have been pared back a bit (there are fewer horn charts, and John Kirkpatrick's accordion is sadly absent), and Joe Boyd's production is roomier and more atmospheric, making the most of the album's broader soundscape. But for the most part Richard Thompson's formula remained the same here, and if that makes it sound like he's just treading water, that might be the case for an artist less consistently remarkable. "When The Spell Is Broken" and "Ghosts In The Wind" find Thompson revisiting his favorite theme, love gone awry (the latter boasting a beautifully delicate, ethereal arrangement), while "Fire In The Engine Room" and "Little Blue Number" are unusually hard-rocking numbers with Thompson laying into the songs fast and frantic. And "Love In A Faithless Country" is a striking sketch of love under difficult circumstances that recalls nothing so much as George Orwell's 1984. There aren't many musicians who could make an album as strong as Across A Crowded Room and have it sound like business as usual, but given the consistent strength of Richard Thompson's body of work, this set sounds fairly typical ... and typically splendid. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi| Across Your Dreams: Frederica von Stade Sings Brubeck (1996 Album by Frederica von Stade) | |
| Across a Crowded Room (2004 Album by Michelle Samuels) |
Related Videos:
Top
Across a Crowded Room
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
Across a Crowded Room
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2010) |
| Across a Crowded Room | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Studio album by Richard Thompson | ||||
| Released | April 1985 | |||
| Recorded | September and October 1984 RAK Studios, London |
|||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 38:10 | |||
| Label | Polydor | |||
| Producer | Joe Boyd | |||
| Richard Thompson chronology | ||||
|
||||
Across a Crowded Room is an album by Richard Thompson released in 1985.
In 1984 Thompson's management negotiated a contract with Polydor which gave him some financial security for the first time in over a decade. Across A Crowded Room was the first album recorded under this new contract. Thompson retained Joe Boyd as producer, but this was to be the last album that Thompson would record with Boyd behind the controls and the last studio album he would record in England.
Across a Crowded Room was the first Richard Thompson album to be simultaneously released on vinyl and CD.
The album is notable for some sophisticated arrangements and the variety of allusions and topics in the song lyrics - Margaret Thatcher's England, the moors murders, the Koran, and the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific from which the album's title is derived. Several tracks, including "She Twists the Knife Again", are also possibly inspired by his messy breakup with his ex-wife Linda. However, the listener may also follow Thompson's own advice on what to make of his lyrics: "I think people should take lyrics as they find them, go into them as much as they feel necessary, or ignore them and just listen to the bass line."
Track listing
All songs written by Richard Thompson
- "When The Spell Is Broken"
- "You Don't Say"
- "I Ain't Going To Drag My Feet No More"
- "Love In A Faithless Country"
- "Fire In The Engine Room"
- "Walking Through A Wasted Land"
- "Little Blue Number"
- "She Twists The Knife Again"
- "Ghosts In The Wind"
The above listing reflects the songs and sequence on the original LP release. The original CD issue included an extra track, "Shine On Love" and had a different running order. Subsequent CD re-issues have reflected the sequence and song selection shown above.
Personnel
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Rolling Stone |   [1] |
 This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information. |
|
- Richard Thompson – guitar, vocals
- Bruce Lynch – bass guitar
- Dave Mattacks – drums
- Dave Bitelli – alto saxophone
- Pete Thomas – tenor saxophone
- Simon Nicol – guitar
- Christine Collister, Phil Barnes, Clive Gregson and The Soultanas – backing vocals
- Alan Dunn – accordion
- Philip Pickett – shawm, crumhorn, recorder and symphony.
References
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums
Copyright © 2012 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.
Read more
Mentioned in
Richard Thompson: Across a Crowded Room
(1985 Music Film)
Across a Crowded Room [BGO]
(1992 Album by Richard Thompson)
Across a Crowded Room
(2004 Album by Michelle Samuels)
Doom and Gloom from the Tomb, Vol. 1
(1985 Album by Richard Thompson)
Michelle Samuels
(Jazz Artist, 2000s)
» More