Mock Tudor

Having recently rediscovered Richard Thompson after his Fairport days, I now have the wonderful job of collecting the albums I have missed. I bought Mock Tudor some months ago and think it may well end up being my favourite Richard Thompson album. The first three tracks Cooksferry Queen, Sibella and Bathsheba Smiles provide a lively opening with Thompson's well crafted music masking some dark lyrics but for me the stand out tracks are Crawl Back Under My Stone, where Thompson demonstrates his talent for matching acidic lyrics with a "jolly tune" and the powerful That's All Amen, which speaks loudly to anyone with a lost love. Uninhabited Man, Sights and Sounds Of London Town and Hope You Like The New Me provide more thought provoking words but with Thompson's interesting and clever words and his impressive mastery of different musical styles there really isn't a bad track on the whole album.

Richard Thompson never does a bad album, certainly recommend this one.

There are some superlative tracks on this album from the quirky and hugely talented Mr Thompson. An essential for the collection.

Enjoyed the tracks from this album taken off "The Best Of Capitol Years" so had to have the whole album. The Best Of Capitol Years opened up Pandora's Box making it necessary to buy other albums featured, Mirror Blue and You Me Us.

In my opinion the best studio album by a brilliant artiste..and thats saying something when you look at the body of work the guy has produced. Go on give it a go,you won't be disappointed

good album, don't think he as made a bad one. thank you amazon.

Thanks

If you like RT rhen buy this album. It was one that I had not had in my collection, I am glad that I have now got a copy, as it fills the gap in my RT collection. A very good album.

Aquí esta un músico honesto, que sabe tocar su guitarra con estilo propio, que tiene la maestría suficiente para a lo largo de 12 canciones dejarte con ganas de volver a escucharlo una y otra ve., Un hombre con mas de 30 álbums a la espalda y que me da la impresión que le queda cuerda musical para rato. Es una inversión por el precio que me ha costado, tremenda mente rentable.

Como siempre RT no defrauda.No es el mejor de sus discos pero es muy recomendable. Por su precio no tiene excusa no comprarlo.

Excellent CD en tout point, Richard Thompson joue merveilleusement bien. Un album d'exception avec deux titres au dessus du lot ; Hard on me et That's all, Amen, Close the door.Vendeur rapide, parfait, merci.

リチャード トンプソンは どの アルバムも 素晴らしいです。 この アルバムに ベストで 聞いた 曲が 入ってて良かったです！

Wie das eben so oft ist: Textlich und instrumental ist das Album auf der Höhe, aber als Songwriter hat RT schon weitaus besseres abgeliefert.

RT mentioned in a recent interview that this set of songs comprised his favorite album (or CD, or record, or MP3 collection or whatever format you like). It has been mine too- especially since we saw him and his band- which included his son, Teddy, play nearly the whole thing in concert not long after it was released.RT has released SO many great recordings over the years. There is justifiable disagreement among his fans about the best single album- which, thankfully, is a choice we don't really have to make. There are some terrific live records that are only available via his web site that deserve consideration. And the magnificent video/audio collection, "Across a Crowded Room" which is hard to find but well worth the quest.But if you are new to RT and want a single CD that satisfies from beginning to end, with great performances and even better song writing, then I respectfully suggest "Mock Tudor" as THE place to start (and so does RT).

I got this as a present for my brother. He opened it, put the CD in the CD player -- and it was the soundtrack to The Wonder Years, in the Mock Tudor CD case. I burned him a copy of the CD and he kept the CD case so that he could have the liner notes. (The return process assumes that you have a smartphone or a printer, which is probably fine for most people, but was a problem for me.)The actual Richard Thompson CD is fantastic, btw.

I am inclined to think that most people's first impression of Richard Thompson is much like what mine was. Without ever actually hearing a song by him, what I read about him lead me to believe he was a highly literate songwriter and a magnificent guitarist, but also a dour, life-negatingly cynical human being. (What else is one to glean from song titles like "She Twists The Knife Again", "Wall of Death", and "I Can't Wake Up To Save My Life"?) So while I understood that Thompson was a very talented musician, I was skeptical as to whether he was actually enjoyable to listen to. I will spare you the less than riveting details of how I came to learn that my skepticism in him was misplaced, even though I was right about everything else. Suffice it to say that he has become one of my favorite singer-songwriters, and that I never miss him on tour.When it comes to criticism of Richard Thompson's music, several similar observations apply to most of his records. This is not because they all sound alike, but because he explores many of the same themes throughout his catalog. Needless to say, they are not happy-go-lucky songs for the faint of heart. He is one of the last people in the world who could restore one's faith in the possibility of true love and the goodness of humanity. (Strange, because in concert he quite the jolly fellow, with a wonderful English sense of humor.)He keeps this grand tradition alive on 1999's Mock Tudor, possibly his finest record of the 1990s. The disc is divided into 3 chapters, and is meant to comprise a Thompson's take on the various characters and goings-on of suburbia. This is hardly an original idea in popular music, and how well he pulls it off as opposed to simply having made another Richard Thompson record is questionable. But still, a full plate of his brand of cynicism is always a nice treat, and if focusing it on this particular topic is what allowed him to make one of his best records, then so be it. His dark wit, biting sarcasm, and tales of stillborn and moribund love are all there for your enjoyment. If you have recently been through an ugly break-up, Mock Tudor will save you the trouble of having to make a mix CD for the ex yourself.The disc starts out with the rollicking, uptempo "Cooksferry Queen", the only optimistic song on the record. This is a fairly conventional song about a semi-respectable, semi-infamous man who is smitten with a hippie woman: "I would trade my fine mohair/For tie-dyes and faded jeans". In a rare instance in which Thompson actually believes that love is something real and worth fighting for, he says that Cooksferry is "a town with no future, but that's where my future lies", and even goes so far as to say that "she could make a believer out of me". The pulsating "Sibella" is also about as hopeful as RT gets, with the song's main character actually finding himself being honest as a result of his feelings for a woman. But the next two tracks - "Bathsheba Smiles" and "Two-Faced Love" - explore more familiar Thompson territory (you know, like gold-digging women).These first four songs on Mock Tudor are pretty good, but not necessarily great. They are not tame or bland, but a bit more conventional. If they do not impress you very much, be patient. Once the thunderous "Hard On Me" kicks in, there is hardly a weak moment on the record. " Musically a re-write of "Shoot Out the Lights", this sledgehammer of a song doesn't let up, and is proof that Thompson hasn't let 30 years in the biz mellow him at all. Thompson is not a show off as a guitarist, that is, he doesn't let a song exist simply for the sake of his fiery fretwork. His restraint on the instrument can be both refreshing and lamentable. His work on this song is enough to restore the passion of the old faithful and make believers out of newcomers.The clenched-fist, gut-punching "Crawl Back" keeps things moving. This live favorite - complete with call-and-response choruses - is a quintessential Thompson vignette, complete with the assumption of doomed love, and, well, self-deprecation is too kind a way to phrase it. This breathlessly sung rocker sums up the angry, bitter, caustic RT sublimely. "Uninhabited Man" cleverly uses a line from a classic children's tale to spin a yard about infidelity. Finally, "Hope You Like the New Me" brings a perfect sense of uncertain closure. While dark and hauntingly spare, this song can't help but bring a smirk to my face, even though it will cement the impression of newcomers that Thompson is just too damn cynical. But for those who have listened closely enough to the songs up to this point, or who already know the rest of his catalog, this song is an impeccable encapsulation of the impotent rage and ineffectual posturing that infect so many of Thompson's characters.Sandwiched among these downers are two more tuneful - but no less pessimistic - songs. "Walking The Long Miles Home" is a great singalong that will hit way too close home for anyone who has had an unsuccessful night at a party or bar: "In the dark I rehearse all the right things to say/I'll be home, I'll be sober by break of day." "Sights and Sounds of London Town", on the other hand, is a musical travelogue of the desperate folks for whom life in London is more like the one described on Richard and Linda's "I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight" than it is for those living in the houses that give this CD its title. Still, it's a great song to sing along to, if one can stomach lyrics like "Depends on his kickback from the middle man/And whatever he can beat out of Sally Ann." By the time the disc is done, one has completely forgotten that the first third of it is a bit uneven.It is difficult to say exactly what kind of music fan Richard Thompson appeals to. He certainly isn't cool among hipsters and indie rock fans, even though Evan Dando, Bob Mould, REM, David Byrne, X, and Dinosaur, Jr. all contributed covers of his songs to a tribute album. While his guitar mastery is universally acknowledged, his isn't someone young guys buy their first guitar because of. Finally, he gets hardly any press or radio exposure. Therefore, it can be concluded that Thompson appeals to the type of fan who is willing to seek him out. Granted, he does have his less appealing qualities, like sometimes pronouncing the letter H as if he were about to hock a loogie. Also he sometimes rhymes just to rhyme, and thus mutes any of its impact.But to quote "Cooksferry Queen" again, "where you find the darkest avenue/There you'll find the brightest jewel." Mock Tudor is one of many bright jewels in the dark avenue that is Richard Thompson's career.

This album shows the unequalled range of this artist. It's hard for even the wildest metal band to touch the sheer rocking, desperate intensity of "Hard on me." It breaks your heart and makes you shout at the same time. The music goes through an astounding spectrum of mood, sentimental, angry, hilarious, ending with the weirdly touching "Hope you like the new me." What a wonderfully strange point of view. It's Hitchcock to Hendrix!!

Ok, I admit I would probably purchase "Richard Thompson Does the Yellow Pages", but at least this suggests a working knowledge of his catalogue. Mock Tudor is perhaps the most accessible and potentially commercial album he has released in years...which is to say that there is much to recommend it. Catchy melodies, lovely harmonies, great guitar licks, and the usually mordant lyrics, show Richard at the top of his art. The new producers display his talents well, and there are several instant classics to enjoy. If this album does not command an audience with those under 30, I guess I'll just have to continue my personal crusade to publicize one of the most under-appreciated artists in Rock history.

`Rumor and Sigh' and `Mock Tudor' are two albums, issued about eight (8) years apart which, like Joni Mitchell albums of the same period, share a strong common style and subject matter. I'm inspired to review these Thompson albums I am hearing for the first time by my having done reviews of several early Fairport Convention and Sandy Denny albums, plus the fact that Thompson is still very much in the musical news, having recently appeared at Buckingham Palace with the royals in the company of other English 1960's bred pop music luminaries such as Eric Clapton, Jimmy Paige, and Jeff Beck. To distinguish himself from the guitar heavies, he described himself to Queen Elizabeth as a `singer / songwriter', which fits his talent to a tee. The queen was amazed that he did both.My curiosity was fuelled by the question of why Fairport Convention, with such great talents as Thompson and Denny working together, should split up into three relatively less successful entities. On Thompson's part, I am certain he had no interest in spending the next 35 years touring England and the States playing various versions of `Matty Groves' over and over again.Instead, Thompson seems to have turned into the troubadour of the suburban neurotic, those invisible middle class characters seen in films such as `American Beauty' and `War of the Roses'. After all, the blues covers poor blacks, country and western covers poor white rednecks, Dylan and Mitchell and their kin cover intellectuals, Lou Reed, the Velvet Underground, and their copiers cover substance abusers and extreme misfits. So, who sings for the people who fantasize about child molesting, arson, alcoholism and vandalism, but do nothing about it?Of these two albums, the earlier, `Rumor and Sigh' addresses this audience much more directly than the latter, which uses somewhat more subtle material, including, I believe, a sly reference to a character in the stage play, `Cats'.Both albums give us pleasantly diverse instrumental settings for the songs. To old hippies like myself, I can hear lots of 1960's echos and no trace of modern Rap or Hip Hop influences. Like Mitchell and great short story writers throughout history, Thompson is able to take a small slice of life and illuminate it for those of us who do not have fantasies of arson or vandalism.For those familiar with Fairport Convention and not familiar with Thompson's later work, this is a lot different than `Unhalfbricking'. It is more different in style than, for example, Robin Williamson's later work is different from his `Incredible String Band' performances.If you must choose one or the other album, `Mock Tutor' seems just a bit more polished, but I think `Rumor and Sigh' is just a bit more gritty, which may have stronger appeal to the Lou Reed fans among us.

Good RT album but a bit overrated.

Love anything by this guy

great

Everything he does is great. This one great+