Richard Thompson - At Gerdes

Artwork

Disc 1

  1. Hokey Pokey
  2. Banish Misfortune
  3. Strange Affair (al-Huwari/Thompson)
  4. You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave) (Williams)
  5. Don't Let A Thief Steal Into Your Heart
  6. How I Wanted To
  7. Rockin' In Rhythm (Ellington/Carney/Mills)
  8. You're Going To Need Somebody
  9. The Flowers Of The Forest (Trad.)
  10. The Random Jig (Hill)/Dirty Linen (Trad.)
  11. Why Don't Women Like Me? (Fornby)
  12. Streets Of Paradise
  13. Never Again
  14. Man In Need
  15. Pavanne
  16. Move It On Over (Williams)
  17. Dimming Of The Day
  18. Down Where The Drunkards Roll
  19. A Heart Needs A Home
  20. Loch Lomond (Trad.)

Disc 2

  1. Jet Plane In A Rocking Chair
  2. Don't Let A Thief Steal Into Your Heart
  3. The Inverness Gathering/Maggie Cameron (Trad.)
  4. You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave) (Williams)
  5. How I Wanted To
  6. Don't Renege On Our Love
  7. Strange Affair (al-Huwari/Thompson) *
  8. Woman Or A Man?
  9. How Many Times (1)
  10. How Many Times (2)
  11. Banish Misfortune (Trad.)
  12. Nobody's Wedding
  13. Just The Motion
  14. Lucky In Life, Unlucky In Love/Dirty Linen (Trad.)
  15. Small Town Romance
  16. Backstreet Slide
  17. The Great Valerio

Disc 3

  1. Beat The Retreat
  2. Move It On Over (Williams)
  1. Hokey Pokey
  2. The Choice Wife (Trad.)
  3. Walking On A Wire
  4. Strange Affair (al-Huwari/Thompson) *
  5. Rockin' In Rhythm (Ellington/Carney/Mills)
  6. A Heart Needs A Home
  7. Why Don't Women Like Me? (Fornby)
  8. The Old Changing Way
  9. Man In Need
  10. Genesis Hall
  11. Love Is Bad For Business
  12. Rainbow Over The Hill
  13. Dargai
  14. You're Going To Need Somebody

Disc 4

  1. The Wrong Heartbeat
  2. Never Again
  3. Pavanne
  4. For Shame Of Doing Wrong
  5. When I Get To The Border
  6. Down Where The Drukards Roll
  7. Honky-Tonk Blues (Williams)
  1. Blackwaterside (Trad.)
  2. Traces Of My Love
  3. (Tuning)
  4. John The Gun (Denny)
  5. Hard Luck Stories
  6. Honky-Tonk Blues (Williams)
  1. The Choice Wife (Trad.)
  2. Time To Ring Some Changes
*
w/ Shusha Guppy
1-20
Recorded live at Gerdes Folk City in New York on September 29, 1982 (late show)
21-39
Recorded live at the same venue on September 30, 1982 (early show)
40-60
Recorded live at the same venue on September 30, 1982 (late show)
61-66
Recorded live at the same venue on September 30, 1982 (soundcheck)
67-68
Recorded live at the same venue on September 29, 1982 (early show).

These Gerdes Folk City shows have appeared in several different forms over the years, including the official release Small Town Romance and the bootleg Alone With His Guitar. The title of that particular boot is perhaps a little misleading, as there's an awful lot of mandolin in these shows...

This is the most complete document of these gigs to emerge so far. Only the early show from the first night is missing. All are soundboard recordings taped to DAT, and the sound quality is as high as you'd expect. The setlist is superb, with the re-emergence of Nobody's Wedding, an unusual selection of covers (performed with varying degrees of seriousness) and several songs from the Linda years which were fairly soon to disappear from Richard's gigs almost entirely.

Update: I've now obtained two tracks from the first and previously uncirculating show, which have been appended to the fourth disc here. If anybody has the entire thing, please let me know.

Note: I've linked to the Alone With His Guitar artwork for the front cover, although the back is specific to this release.