Richard Thompson: Ship To Shore

For a prolific artist like Richard Thompson, a six-year break between two records is a small eternity. So it's all the better that the former Fairport Convention guitarist is now back with his new album "Ship To Shore". His 19th solo work follows the acclaimed "13 Rivers", which was described by the English Uncut Magazine as "his best album in decades". The now 75-year-old guitarist and singer retreated to Woodstock, New York, to work on "Ship To Shore". He is accompanied on the twelve new songs by his long-standing band and sound engineer Chris Bittner. The team worked quickly - about a week for the recordings, including vocals. When writing the songs, Richard Thompson felt instinctively drawn to his own musical roots. The new tracks draw on different styles, genres and eras, but sound unmistakably like the folk-rock pioneer from London. There's the rumbling, Motown-esque rhythm that drives "Trust" and the straightforward riff-rock of "Turnstile Casanova". The droning "The Old Pack Mule," an "old man's song" that borrows musically from 16th century European music, and "Life's a Bloody Show," an ode to "snake oil salesmen and crooks" that floats on a glamorous, cabaret-style melody. "I liked the idea of having a strong base and working from there," says Richard Thompson. "And I think my base is traditional British music, but there's also Scottish music, Irish music. There's jazz, country and classical. As far as I'm concerned, once you have a base, you can go anywhere. It will still sound like you wherever you want to go musically." Richard Thompson demonstrates what this freedom sounds like to perfection on "Ship To Shore".