Richard & Linda Thompson - Shady Lies - Non-Album Tracks (1971-1972)

Today (as I write this in September 2018) is the release date for "13 Rivers," a new studio album by Richard Thompson.

In celebration of that, I want to post more of his stuff. I posted one album of his a while back, but I want to start posting things systematically. That means going back to the start of his solo career around 1971, when he left Fairport Convention. (I'm dealing with that band separately.)

In 1971, Richard Thompson was only casual acquaintances with the singer Linda Peters. (They'd met in 1969.) But by 1972, they would link up musically and romantically. They would get married that same year and she would change her name to Linda Thompson. That's the name she's used ever since. (To be consistent, I'm using her "Thompson" name instead of her "Peters" name in all of the mp3 tags.) This album covers the two years of them musically joining forces. 

In 1972 Richard Thompson, put out his first solo album, "Henry the Human Fly." Only after that did he begin putting out albums with Linda. So some of the songs here are outtakes from that album, or other random projects he was a part of at the time.

Seven songs come from the 1972 "Rock On" album, by the Bunch. (The last one here is a bonus track.) This was a diverse group of British folk rock musicians. The album was all cover songs of rock and roll classics. There were four lead singers on the album. The album is a mixed bag overall, but I've selected the best songs that are sung by either Richard or Linda. I guess working on the album together was the opportunity that kindled their romance and led to them getting married later that year. One song, "When Will You Be Loved," is a duet between Linda and the legendary folk singer Sandy Denny.

The next album in this series will feature all Richard & Linda Thompson material from 1972 and into 1973. But even though the songs of this album come from different sources and many don't feature them together, it's all good music and important in showing how Richard Thompson's long, great solo career got started.

01 Albion Sunrise (Richard Thompson)
02 You Got What You Wanted (Richard Thompson)
03 Someone Else’s Fancy (Richard Thompson)
04 Bad News Is All the Wind Can Carry (Richard Thompson)
05 Amazon Queen (Richard Thompson)
06 Restless Boy (Richard & Linda Thompson)
07 Sweet Little Rock and Roller (Bunch)
08 The Loco-Motion (Bunch)
09 Crazy Arms (Bunch)
10 My Girl in the Month of May (Bunch)
11 Jambalaya [On the Bayou] (Bunch)
12 When Will I Be Loved (Bunch)
13 High School Confidential (Bunch)
14 Shady Lies (Richard & Linda Thompson)

https://www.upload.ee/files/15268055/RichnLinT_1971-1972_ShdyLies_atse.zip.html

Re: the cover art, I originally used a black and white photo that I tinted. I found very few good photos of this duo in their early years together, and pretty much all of them lack color. Many months later, I found a different black and white photo I liked more, and colorized it. It's from 1974.