Richard Thompson – Ship To Shore
Richard Thompson – Ship To Shore
Format: CD – Vinyl LP – Digital
Label: New West Records – V2 BeNeLux
Release: 2024
Release date: May 31, 2024
The 12-song set was produced by Richard Thompson and recorded in Woodstock, NY. ‘Ship to Shore’ follows his 2018 studio album ’13 Rivers’ and his 2021 memoir ‘Beeswing: Losing My Way and Finding My Voice 1967-1975’ which was published by Algonquin Books. Met with overwhelming critical acclaim, Pitchfork said 13 Rivers “may be his best album this century,” while Uncut Magazine awarded it a 9/10 rating, calling it “his best album in decades.”
The influential singer-songwriter and virtuosic guitarist has been on a singular musical journey for over a half century, from his days in the ‘60s as a pioneer of British folk rock with Fairport Convention, to his seminal ‘70s duo work with Linda Thompson, to the exploratory, deeply emotional music of the solo career that has been his primary concern ever since.
The time taken between 13 Rivers and Ship to Shore is something like an eternity for the prolific artist, but once Thompson began writing, new songs came in a burst of inspiration. To craft the album, he retreated to Woodstock, New York, where he was joined by his longtime band — guitarist Bobby Eichorn, bassist Taras Prodaniuk, and drummer Michael Jerome — along with harmony vocalist Zara Phillips, fiddle player David Mansfield, and engineer Chris Bittner. The team worked quickly — roughly a week to track, vocals included.
Ship to Shore pulls from various styles, genres and eras, but remains unmistakably Richard Thompson. “I liked the idea of having a strong base to work from and reaching out from there,” he says. “And I think of my base as being British traditional music, but there’s also Scottish music, there’s Irish music. There’s jazz and country and classical. As far as I’m concerned, once you establish your base, you can reach out anywhere. It’ll still be you ringing through, wherever you decide to go musically.”
Website: https://www.richardthompson-music.com/
Tracks:
01. Freeze
02. The Fear Never Leaves You
03. Singapore Sadie
04. Trust
05. The Day That I Give In
06. The Old Pack Mule
07. Turnstile Casanova
08. Lost In The Crowd
09. Maybe
10. Life’s A Bloody Show
11. What’s Left To Lose
12. We Roll