Customer Reviews

Pour Down Like Silver

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Unfortunately, I never bought Richard & Linda Thompson's first three albums (I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight, Hokey Pokey and this album, Pour Down Like Silver) when Rykodisc released them in the early 90s. I don't know why, really. I guess because I was stuggling financially and emotionally, and I had bought the LPs when Hannibal released them in '83. I cursed myself when they went out of print, and vowed that, should they ever be released again, I would not miss the chance a second time.

Imagine my pleasant suprise when it actually happened, although at a hefty import price. I swallowed hard at the price tag, and told my wife THIS was what I wanted for my birthday. She rolled her eyes and complied, and I excitedly put it on. It sounded flat and horrible. I decided I must be tired, stopped the player and put it on again the next morning. Same thing; flat and horrible. Well, I know that listening is not a strictly physical occurrance, so I decided to pull out the old LP and make my detemination as objective as possible. Well, the old LP, which was remastered good but not great (the cuts on the Richard Thompson box Watching The Dark proved that, they sounded SO much better than my LP), just blew this "newly remastered" import CD right out of the water.

Look, I don't know what happen. This is not the first time I've bought an Island remaster. I bought several of the Traffic remasters that came out several years ago, and they were marvelously done...great fidelity. But I can assure you that something went very wrong here. I know this album, in it's original mix and release, sounded a bit boxy and flat, but this is much, much worse.

I know that there are a lot of Thompson fans out there, and I'm rather surprised no one has yet reviewed this. For all of you, please be forwarned. If you have the Ryko reissues, or even the Hannibal LPs, they blow this out of the water. Please don't waste your money. And Island, I don't know what the hell went wrong here, but Richard & Linda Thompson deserve better, and that goes double for their fans.

OK, you've heard "Shoot Out the Lights," the greatest album R&L made when they didn't like each other. Now hear the best one they made while they were still in love.

"Pour Down Like Silver" is an incredibly warm, intimate album, and is strangely underrated. It was recorded at a strange time in the Thompsons' musical career--it reflects the Sufi Muslim spirituality that Richard and (less so) Linda embraced at the time, but it still retains the earthier aspects of their earlier work. The songs of regret over love departed ("For Shame of Doing Wrong" and "Beat the Retreat") are haunting--the pain is all too real. As is the devotion of a song like "Dimming of the Day." There's also humor ("Jet Plane in a Rocking Chair"), disgust ("Hard Luck Stories"), and moral outrage ("Streets of Paradise"), but the album avoids crossing the line into preachy self-righteousness, unlike the following pair of R&T albums.

And the music! So stark, yet shimmering. The instrumentation is far more spare than on the first two Thompson albums, every part on the record means something. Richard's guitar playing is more prominent than on "I Want To See the Bright Lights" or "Hokey Pokey"--this is more of a rock album, yet it's hardly typical. The singing is sublime, as good as any they've ever done.

"Pour Down Like Silver" tends to get lost in the (justified) hype of "Shoot Out the Lights," but it's arguably a better, more lasting album. Virtually every song is a classic and many have stayed in Richard's setlist for years. Treat yourself to one of the truly great albums and get this disc!

This was Richard and Linda's last statement before disappearing from the music world for three years. While the remastering is far from perfect on this edition of the album (it sounds like they a used copy of the master not the original master), the album itself is a classic. Thompson's guitar playing is more restrained here possibly reflecting his new mind set; he and his wife Linda joined a communal Sufi Muslim sect. Either way, the pared down approach of the arrangements works well in favor of the emotional directness of the songs. The mood is dark at times but the melodies and lyrics are compelling. "Streets of Paraidse", the beautiful "Dimming of the Day" and "Night Comes In" all remain just as powerful as when they were first recorded.

This remastered edition suffers from a number flaws but that shouldn't detract you from picking up some edition of the album. The mastering is, indeed, flat and, in fact, sounds like it's done from a second or third generation copy of the original mastertape. The sonic detail is decent enough it just doesn't have the depth I expected. The bonus tracks are tacked on at the end almost as an afterthought. While they are great live performances two of them were previously released on "Guitar, Vocal". The two new tracks are worthwhile additions to any Thompson fans collection and sound pretty good given the age of the recordings and the recording conditions. Thompson had wished that Island had not included the bonus tracks or put them on a separate CD allowing the original album to stand alone. As it is they are presented without a gap and begin immediately after the stunning conclusion of the album disrupting the flow of the album.

Regardless of these shortcomings Thompson fans will be delighted to pick up the bonus tracks (if they don't already have them in bootleg form). The recording itself sounds good but could sound a lot better. Looking past the remaster itself the strength and power of these powerful songs continue to shine evne if there was a mistake during the mastering process. I urge Island to go back and involve the Thompsons in future reissues of their recordings.

This, to me, is by far the best of Richard and Linda's albums (and that's not saying the others are bad).. Linda's beautiful vocals, Richard's virtuoso guitar (electric and acoustic) and songs of regret (For Shame of Doing Wrong), spite (Hard Luck Stories) and total despair (the majestic Night Pours In). In short the usual Richard Thompson mixture... I would say that in all his continuing career Richard Thompson has only bettered this with Rumour and Sight.

This great album opens with Streets Of Paradise, a fairly typical fast rock ballad sung by Richard. This is followed by the poignant and tender For Shame Of Doing Wrong with Linda on lead vocal. Linda also sings the next sad ballad, The Poor Boy Is Taken Away. Jet Plane In A Rocking Chair is a lovely melodic duet by the two, its underlying sadness not quite obscured by the bouncy tune. It's Richard's turn to sing on Night Comes In, a mournful slow ballad from where the album title derives. Beat The Retreat with its lovely guitar work is a brooding lament with Richard on lead vocal. Linda again takes lead vocal on the most overtly folky song here, the bitter Hard Luck Stories with its prominent fiddle and hummable tune. The gem of the album is the magnificent Dimming Of The Day/Dargai. The first part is an achingly melancholic piece where their two voices blend together beautifully. Dargai flows out of this, and it's a showcase of Richard's most breathtaking guitar playing, creating an unbelievable mood of sadness. Richard and Linda Thompon made beautiful music together and separately - here they give Leonard Cohen a run for his melancholy money. And although the music is very sad, it's never oppressively so and the variety of styles showcases the Thompson's remarkable versatility.

This was the Thompsons last studio recording for Island and their last before taking a long break from recording whilst they lived in a Sufi commune. The immediately striking aspect of this album is the sparse arrangements that perfectly suit the introspective and spiritual tone of many of the lyrics. Reportedly Thompson was going to flesh the album out with more overdubs but changed his mind. He was right to leave well enough alone.

Paradoxically Thompson's adoption of Sufism, his growing inclination to turn his back on the music business and the increasing pressure from his spiritual master unlocked some of his most compelling electric guitar playing. Although his intention seems to have been completely the opposite his considerable gifts on his chosen instrument are on display to good effect here. His playing on this album is tasteful, powerful and resourceful.

The songs rank amongst his finest and have a barely controlled passion just below the surface. Many of them reflect the sense of peace that Thompson felt after embracing his faith. Night Comes In is peppered with Sufic references. Beat The Retreat is a quitely powerful statement of relief at a spiritual homecoming and of the sadness of being seperated from The Beloved. And he saves the best for last with the marvellous Dimming Of The Day - a beautiful and very moving expression of massive personal longing and also one of Linda Thompson's finest moments.

But most of all I like the genuinely spiritual tone that permeates this record. In his comeback recordings ("First Light" and "Sunnyvista") Thompson's religious zeal is overdone and veers towards the spiteful, but on this record he evokes the relief and joy of a man who has found the home that his heart so badly needed.

I bought three copies (for posterity) of this remarkable album on vinyl when it came out. Must admit I haven't heard the CD version. The art itself...You'll go back and listen to this music again & again. Heart-rending harmonies, economical playing, provocative songs. A masterpiece.

It used to puzzle me why some of the funniest artists wrote the best "sad" songs. This album shows why. It takes artists with an understanding of life's gray areas to move convincingly between dark and light. The Thompson's show their true genius for navigating back and forth on this album and the songs here are as haunting as any I've heard.

"Pour Down Like Silver" was the third album released for Island Records all within three years, so you could suspect that Richard Thompson was beginning to run dry of new ideas and good new songs. This obviously isn't the case as some of the very best recordings from the duo comes from this album, and as a whole album is easily as good as their great debut "Bright Lights" and much more consistent than their best-selling second "Hokey Pokey".

Generelly the album is less folk influenced than its predecessors, and many songs have a harder edge. This becomes obvious with the two openers "Streets of Paradise" and "Shame of doing Wrong". The latter with lead vocals by Linda was also recorded by Sandy Denny on her last album "Rendezvous". Both standouts!

"Poor Boys Taken Away" is a more typical Thompson sad country-ballad. Where as the long third track "Night Comes in" is a bluesy thing that gives space for some great guitar-playing from Richard - an impressive live version is among the bonus-tracks. Could be regarded as the title track.

"Jet Plane in a Rocking Chair" is an extremely catchy folk-rock thing with great lead vocals from Linda

"Beat the Retreat" is another long track with fine acoustic guitar playing - also included in a live-version.

"Hard Luck Stories" is almost as catchy as "Jet Plane" and another Linda lead.

"Dimming of the Day" which closed the original album is simply tearbreakingly beautiful. Musically and lycally country ( at its best ). Must become an evergreen!

Another standout performance is the live cover of "Dark End of the Street" originally written by Moman and Penn. This must be the ultimate version!

Highly recommended release!

All of the early Richard and Linda albums are great, but this one is the best. It's just beautiful, all the way through. You must buy this CD! You will never regret it.

Note: My copy is the original Carthage/Hannibal release. It's not perfect audiophile sound, but even through my hardcore audiophile stereo (Nakamichi, MacIntosh, Magneplaners, A/D/S sub), it still is one of my all time favorite disks, with a natural, haunting sound. I can understand how extreme audiophiles might find problems with it (it's a tiny bit muddy, and some editing clicks are slightly audible), but just buy it anyway. You won't be sorry!

This is one of the best CDs of all time.