| I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Richard and Linda Thompson | ||||
| Released | April 1974 | |||
| Recorded | May 1973 at Sound Techniques, London | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 37:17 | |||
| Label |
Island UK |
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| Producer | Richard Thompson, John Wood | |||
| Richard and Linda Thompson chronology | ||||
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After the marked lack of success achieved by his first album, Henry The Human Fly, British singer/songwriter/guitarist Richard Thompson struck up a personal and professional relationship with Linda Peters, a session singer. I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight was the first album by the duo of Richard and Linda Thompson.
Where his first album was treated harshly by the critics, the second was hailed as a masterpiece. Recorded on a shoestring budget in a matter of days (and sat unreleased for nearly 8 months while record label Island tried to decide what to do with it), it is now regarded as a classic of English folk-rock and one of Thompson's finest achievements.
The album is ranked number 479 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
The title track has been covered by (among others) Lucy Kaplansky, Weddings Parties Anything, Arlo Guthrie, Matt Pond PA, Ocean Colour Scene, Julie Covington and Sleater-Kinney, whilst Kate Rusby and Elvis Costello have both covered "Withered and Died". Costello also covered "The End Of The Rainbow" as did Barbara Manning. Maria McKee covered "Has He Got a Friend for Me" on her first solo album.
Contents |
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [1] |
| Robert Christgau | A− [2] |
| Q | [3] |
| Rolling Stone | [4] |
| Rolling Stone Album Guide | [5] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | (10/10) [6] |
Initially ignored by reviewers, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight later came to be highly regarded. Robert Christgau rated it highly when it was re-released as one half of Live! (More or Less) noting that "[they] don't sentimentalize about time gone--they simply encompass it in an endless present."[2] When it was re-released in 1984 along with other albums in the Thompsons' catalogue, Kurt Loder in Rolling Stone described it as a "timeless masterpiece" with "not a single track that's less than luminous".[4]
More recent reviews are equally complimentary. Allmusic notes that the album is "nothing short of a masterpiece" and calls it "music of striking and unmistakable beauty".[1] Q (May 2007, p.135): "After his 1971 departure from Fairport Convention, Richard Thompson found his ideal foil in recent bride Linda. A hugely inventive guitarist, he gives full vent to his talent on this dark, brooding album. Indeed, he never quite recaptured the murky demons inside the likes of 'Withered and Died' ever again."
In 2003 the album was ranked number 479 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[7]
All songs written by Richard Thompson, except for "Together Again" by (Buck Owens).
(*) - additional tracks, on the 2004 Island Records re-issue, previously unreleased.