Acoustic Classics II

Acoustic Classics II is the seventeenth solo studio album by British singer/songwriter Richard Thompson. It was released by Beeswing Records on 10 August 2017.

Acoustic Classics II
Studio album by
Released10 August 2017
RecordedRumiville Studio, Texas
GenreFolk rock
Length54:24
LabelBeeswing
ProducerRichard Thompson and Simon Tassano
Richard Thompson chronology
Still
(2015)
Acoustic Classics II
(2017)
Acoustic Rarities
(2017)

Background

Acoustic Classics II is the second acoustic compilation album by Richard Thompson. The songs range from his time in Fairport Convention, as half of a duo with Linda Thompson and as a solo artist.

The album was released on Vinyl, CD and digital download.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Financial Times[3]
Folk Radio UKPositive[4]
The Guardian[5]
The Independent[6]
Record Collector[7]
The Press[8]
The Times[9]
Uncut[10]

On the Metacritic website, which aggregates reviews from critics and assigns a normalised rating out of 100, Acoustic Classics II received a score of 78, based on 1 mixed and 4 positive reviews.[1]

Among the critics that gave the album positive reviews, Uncut called the album "an unalloyed treat" adding that "there's something fundamentally satisfying about Thompson unplugged".[10] Andy Gill writing in The Independent states that "there’s no dip in quality here as Richard Thompson revisits material"[6] and Folk Radio UK call the album "one to treasure".[4] David Honigman of The Financial Times writes that "this second volume Richard Thompson has recorded of acoustic cover versions of his own songs works better than the first"[3] and Jude Rogers in The Guardian praises Thompson's "authoritative, confident voice" and "pearl-bright guitar-playing".[5]

Track listing

All tracks written by Richard Thompson except “Crazy Man Michael” by Thompson and Dave Swarbrick

# Title Original version on Length
1. "She Twists the Knife Again" Across a Crowded Room (1985) 2:48
2. "The Ghost of You Walks" You? Me? Us? (1996) 4:41
3. "Genesis Hall" Unhalfbricking (1969) 3:30
4. "Jet Plane in a Rocking Chair" Pour Down Like Silver (1975) 2:29
5. "A Heart Needs a Home" Hokey Pokey (1975) 3:26
6. "Pharaoh" Amnesia (1988) 4:25
7. "Gethsemane" The Old Kit Bag (2003) 5:13
8. "Devonside" Hand of Kindness (1983) 3:05
9. "Meet on the Ledge" What We Did on Our Holidays (1969) 3:05
10. "Keep Your Distance" Rumor and Sigh (1991) 3:35
11. "Bathsheba Smiles" Mock Tudor (1999) 3:33
12. "Crazy Man Michael" Liege & Lief (1969) 4:23
13. "Guns Are the Tongues" Sweet Warrior (2007) 6:05
14. "Why Must I Plead?" Rumor and Sigh (1991) 4:06

Personnel

Richard Thompson - guitars and vocals

Chart performance

Chart (2017) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[11] 24

References

  1. "Acoustic Classics II - Richard Thompson". Metacritic. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  2. Deming, Mark. "Richard Thompson Acoustic Classics II". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  3. Honigmann, David (11 August 2017). "Richard Thompson: Acoustic Classics Vol. II — 'better than the first'". Financial Times. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  4. Kimpton, Glenn (1 August 2017). "RICHARD THOMPSON: ACOUSTIC CLASSICS II". Folk Radio UK. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  5. Rogers, Jude (10 August 2017). "Richard Thompson: Acoustic Classics II review – fiery, beautiful gems of song". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  6. Gill, Andy (10 August 2017). "Richard Thompson, Acoustic Classics II". The Independent. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  7. Staunton, Terry (September 2017). "RICHARD THOMPSON - ACOUSTIC CLASSICS VOL TWO". Record Collector. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  8. Taylor, Spencer (9 September 2017). "CD review: Richard Thompson, Acoustic Classics II". The Press. Retrieved 19 Mar 2018.
  9. Hodgkinson, Will (11 August 2017). "Pop review: Richard Thompson: Acoustic Classics Vol II". The Times. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  10. Thomson, Graeme. "New Albums". Uncut (September 2017): 38.
  11. "Richard Thompson | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.