Down Where the Drunkards Roll
I enjoy comparing different versions of songs I like, especially ones that highlight changes with the passage of time, and the variations among interpreters. Here’s a “compare and contrast” of three versions of Richard Thompson’s “Down Where the Drunkards Roll” (lyrics here).
The first version is the oldest. Here’s the original original, with Richard Thompson doing guitar and back-up singing and spotlighting his then-wife Linda, back in the mid-70s (they endured a bitter divorce a few years later). This is not my favorite version of the three, which is odd because I usually like the originals best. Not this time (I’ve saved the best, IMHO, for last):
Here’s a fairly recent double-Wainwright version (Loudon III and son Rufus). I like it about as well as the first one; the song has a more bitter and less plaintive quality when sung by men. Loudon is a friend of Thompson’s, and he was also married to a famous singer, in Wainwright’s case Kate McGarrigle of the Canadian group the McGarrigle sisters. They had a very bitter divorce, too, in the mid-70s. Rufus is one of two offspring of that union, and he is now a more famous singer than his dad ever was, although I prefer the old guy’s stuff:
And here’s my absolute favorite, with really no competition. The master, composer of the song, and still undisputed champion—Richard Thompson, in a 2011 performance (note that Loudon Wainwright is backing Thompson up here). From the moment he opens his mouth, Thompson rivets me with his intensity, sorrow, and bite:
Well, I gotta hear this. I’m familiar with the original and it’s one of my favorite R&L T songs. Have to wait till after work, though.
Have you heard Martha Wainwright, btw? Rufus’s sister. I like what I’ve heard of her better than what I’ve heard of him–not really to my taste.
“There goes a troubled woman
She dreams a troubled dream
She lives out on the highway
She keeps her money clean”
She does. Oh yes, she does.
I don’t really care for this one, as it has always seemed to me a first attempt at writing “God Loves A Drunk”, which I think is the truest, greatest song about alcoholism. Regardless, RT has always seen this particular form of addiction whole, from its desperate sociability to its mordant miseries.
PGP:
I think almost everything Thompson does is brilliant. He’s a combination of four wonderful talents raised to an incredibly high level of skill: playing the guitar, singing, writing music, and writing lyrics. He always gives 200% in concerts, and he’s been doing it for decades.
RT was in our area at the beginning of June and once again, we’ve seen him 5 times, he gave his all to the music. I’ve followed his career since his early days with Fairport Convention. He is a master of his trade.
Here’s a fun RT performance from 1000 Years of Popular Music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4WGsMplGxU
The last one is really good…but…I always feel a bit embarrassed saying this, because I think RT is one of the greatest writers and guitarists around, but I’ve really never been wild about his voice. So I think I’d still prefer the one with Linda. Great guitar on this one.
I think that’s Martha Wainwright, btw. Not 100% sure and I don’t have time to dig around for pictures and compare. She wrote a song called something like “Bloody M*****F****** A**H***” that’s allegedly about her father, but apparently they’ve reconciled.
I liked the Loudon and Rufus one, too. I’m more impressed with Rufus here than on the few other things I’ve heard. Interesting how much he sounds like his dad, but he’s definitely got a better and more versatile voice.
The album we listen to frequently after all these years in Unhalfbricking. http://tinyurl.com/p8n5tmx
Si vous devez aller, allez maintenant.
Somewhat OT —
Rufus, from the wiki:
“Wainwright identifies as “a complete libertarian”, and has stated, “I don’t think any government should encroach on what goes on in the bedroom at all.”
Feh. another faux libertarian, I bet. A classic “liberaltarian” is more likely.
Marriage is a contract. It places obligations not only on the couple involved, but on society around them in term of rights and recognition of the contract.
Enforcement and interpretation of contracts is INDISPUTABLY the baliwick of government.
So, while the government does not belong in the bedroom, it DOES belong in the contract of marriage. Any claim other is a maiden lesbian aunt’s fancy.
That’s an aside from his comment, but more than likely, from everything else suggested by his Wiki entry, he’s a liberal twit who does not even vaguely grasp what “libertarian”actually means.
:-/
/soapbox off
😀
I too have followed Richard Thompson since the Fairport days, he is an amazing talent. His voice is a bit of a handicap, he has a narrow vocal/emotional range, but I absolutely loved Linda Thompson’s singing, she also had some great solo work.
Loudon Wainwright, hmmm. His first two albums were interesting in an attractive/repulsive duality sort of way, and used to get a listen on my part. But the repulsive part seemed to push its way forward, and he over time has proved to be an obnoxious and negative force who nonetheless occasionally performs some music of lovely sentiment… which he quickly becomes grating and diminishes its beauty. Talented, but a jerk, apparently.
Search Youtube for Richard Thompson’s performance of “Woodstock” at some kind of tribute to Joni Mitchell, it’s extraordinary, as Joni herself seems to appreciate.
Mac and DanD:
I’m mystified by those who don’t like RT’s voice, but I know a lot of people don’t. To me, it is as magnificently wonderful as his guitar playing, and that’s saying a great great deal. I loved his voice the minute I ever heard it, on the radio, when I hadn’t a clue who he was (they were playing “From Galway to Graceland,” by the way). I find it beautiful, with an emotionality that’s all the more intense by being held in restraint, and I love the accent as well.
Love, love, love it.
I can’t explain it, and I’ve tried. It’s not that I generally dislike that kind of somewhat rough, not pretty and not-especially-good-technically kind of voice. In fact my taste runs that way. I still like Dylan’s vocals, for goodness sake. I *should* like RT’s, but…what can I say?…something about it just doesn’t work for me. I wonder if it has anything to do with the accent, which I guess is more or less Scots. I’m similarly not-taken with the singing of another Scot whose music I like otherwise, Al Stewart, though he has a very different kind of voice.
A couple of people have mentioned Fairport Convention. Best folk-rock group of all time, in my opinion.
My favorite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlKNMBfYIe8
Keep your Distance
Here’s the original original, with Richard Thompson doing guitar and back-up singing and spotlighting his then-wife Linda,
Actually, Trevor Lucas does the backing vocals for this one. Also, Richard takes a rare turn at playing keyboards.