This was posted today on the Richard Thompson email discussion list:
Martin
(Founder member of the RT list - going since 1993!)
This was posted today on the Richard Thompson email discussion list:
Martin
(Founder member of the RT list - going since 1993!)
Fine job on one of my favorite tunes. My that's a fine sounding mandolin. I base that on only the first 15 seconds of the video.
Bill
IM(NS)HO
Yeah, after I heard CT doing that this weekend on Saturday night, I listened again Sunday. And then listened a few times to Richard Thompson's, and then a couple through Del McCoury's version. All mighty fine.
Dale Ludewig
http://www.ludewigmandolins.com
All are great versions of a great song. I'd probably pick Del's version as my favorite due to his vocal and the telling of the story.
It's hard to beat Richard's version for me. Great song by a talented musician.
THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!
Jim
My Stream on Soundcloud
19th Century Tunes
Playing lately:
1924 Gibson A4 - 2018 Campanella A-5 - 2007 Brentrup A4C - 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin - Huss & Dalton DS - 1923 Gibson A2 black snakehead - '83 Flatiron A5-2 - 1939 Gibson L-00 - 1936 Epiphone Deluxe - 1928 Gibson L-5 - ca. 1890s Fairbanks Senator Banjo - ca. 1923 Vega Style M tenor banjo - ca. 1920 Weymann Style 25 Mandolin-Banjo - National RM-1
I've only ever heard Del McCoury's version of it,but IMHO,CT does a great job & it's the first thing in a long time that CT's done something that i actually like ! Purely personal taste,
Ivan
Weber F-5 'Fern'.
Lebeda F-5 "Special".
Stelling Bellflower BANJO
Tokai - 'Tele-alike'.
Ellis DeLuxe "A" style.
It's a great song/story and while I much prefer RT's many versions, CT does a fine job as is Del Mc's cover. Thanks for posting Martin.
Len B.
Clearwater, FL
While we are talking about different versions of this, I've always liked this one by Sean Rowe. But yea, tough to top RT's original.
Yes, Sean's version is something else.
Bill
IM(NS)HO
In my opinion the criteria needs to be does the artist "get it". The song itself is so great, that every little thing in the performance needs to be in support of the feeling of the song.
Thile did a great job, no question. But I put him third. IMO Sean Rowe's version gets it the best, or at least tied, with Richard Thompson's.
What Thile did great, IMO, is prove the mandolin, or his playing, isn't always the point, and that the mandolin can be in service of a good song. In the mando-centric performances, I like his the best. One hears the song, and the narrative of the song, and then realizes oh yea, its a mandolin.
Mighty fine, indeed. Thanks for posting the Sean Roe version as well, hadn’t seen that one. I’m sure there are some bad versions of that song out there, but it’s such a great song that I’ve yet to hear one...
Chuck
I'm usually not a fan of artists monkeying unnecessarily with lyrics, but I do love how in Del McCoury's version the original "Box Hill" becomes "Knoxville."
PJ Doland
1923 Gibson Snakehead A
This thread would not be complete without everyone having a chance to listen to Richard Thompson's original treatment, complete with fingerpicked guitar accompaniment. Especially if you're used to the Del McCoury version. Thompson uses an open tuning and capos up to sing it in Bb. Chris Thile sings it in C.
If you analyze what each instrument is doing throughout the Del version, it really is a master class in Bluegrass arranging. There is so much going on, but it is all so tasteful. The drive is perfect for a motorcycle song, it builds to that great hallucinatory crescendo, and then you have Del's conversational singing style (best since Nat King Cole) on top.
Last edited by JonZ; Apr-12-2018 at 7:25pm.
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The banjo is a 998cc V-twin engine in the Del version, particularly when everything else cuts out around 3 minutes in. It's perfect, so long as you're OK with the Britishness being stripped away from the song entirely.
Last edited by PJ Doland; Apr-13-2018 at 12:20pm. Reason: clarity.
PJ Doland
1923 Gibson Snakehead A
My relatives came over from Wales four generations ago and to be honest, I still have trouble understanding some of the older ones. I'm guessing without the Del version becoming so popular, I doubt if many here would have even been familiar with the Richard Thompson version, looking it up long after the fact.....
c'mon, be honest.................................
From Jeff above - "..I doubt if many here would have even been familiar with the Richard Thompson version..." Me for one Jeff !.
I have to admit to being puzzled by a song regarding a classic British motor cycle sung by an American Bluegrass band,
Ivan
Weber F-5 'Fern'.
Lebeda F-5 "Special".
Stelling Bellflower BANJO
Tokai - 'Tele-alike'.
Ellis DeLuxe "A" style.
Some of us have been aware of Richard Thompson since the 1960's Fairport Convention releases, performances with his wife Linda and later performances with his electric bands. I've seen him live several times in my hometown of Providence, RI. The Del McCoury Band came much later into my awareness. This thread is my first exposure to Sean Rowe and he is a great interpreter of the raw emotion of this song and much closer to Richard Thompson's performance than to the Del McCoury Band's, but they are all great.
Ivan, I have to admit to being puzzled by your lack of familiarity with a fellow Brit of such extraordinary writing, playing and performing stature as Richard Thompson. He's the real deal, even from this Yank's perspective across the pond.
Len B.
Clearwater, FL
Last edited by lenf12; Apr-14-2018 at 9:21am.
I think outside the global mega stars, "fame" is quite compartmentalised. Because of the close association of the mandolin with bluegrass, Del McCoury is a big deal here on the Cafe. Richard Thompson has been a big deal in UK folk circles since the late 1960s, and became a big deal in US alt.rock/indy music in the 1980s with "Shoot Out The Lights". In the UK, RT is clearly the bigger name. In the US, it's harder to say who of the two is the bigger draw in absolute numbers (gig attendance, albums sales, money made, media appearances, or however you want to measure it), but I would think that RT and Del have relatively little overlap in core audience. RT has been a darling of the rock music press for a long time, so many mainstream rock listeners at least know his name, while Del gets recognised by mainstream country listeners even if they don't go out of their way to find bluegrass.
For me personally, I have been a fan of Fairport and RT since the 1980s, but the first time I heard Del McCoury's name was when he covered VBL. I only got to know bluegrass a bit better after taking up the mandolin, some years later.
Martin
Another great version:
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