Beeswing: A Story of Self-Discovery Through Music 1967-1975

Hilly Man: Like his lyrics, intelligent and entertaining, while at the same time not overly self-absorbed. Unlike some autobiographies that nostalgize every fart and mundane aspect of a bygone youth, it is a great narrative of his coming of age, including the mention of a lot of his musical influences which are interesting artists to investigate.

United States on Nov 05, 2023

Paul Frandano: As someone who has been completely in the tank for Richard Thompson since a c.1981 Kurt Loder comment in Rolling Stone on the "little-known" Richard Thompson sent me running to the library for a Richard and Linda recording (it just happened to be Shoot Out the Lights) that absolutely blew my mind...I've very mixed feeling about this book, for which I think 3.5 stars is generous.

The good: When I started collecting RT's work, I bought all the Fairport Convention studio albums and played them through. I didn't know their importance or the significance of the band; I was listening for the RT parts and didn't linger over the Fairport years. I returned to those CDs, putting them in heavy rotation, decades later, reading RT's book. When I read a musician's biography, I generally have on in the background the music under discussion, and thus did I listen carefully to all the Fairport material, essentially dialing in on the stages by which RT grew into a virtuoso guitarist and songwriter (not singing all that much except as a harmony baritone, until the departure of Sandy Denny in 1970 after the recording of Liege & Lief). I read about RT's role in founding the folk-rock group,...

United States on Jun 22, 2023

Mark Roland: This is a very good memoir by Folk-Rock legend Richard Thompson. As you might expect, it is thoughtful, and informative. Whether because of a natural English reserve or a compassionate overview informed by his spiritual beliefs, he holds back from settling scores (a good thing) but also from giving the reader more detail about the time and people (not so good.) What is there is clear, concise and evocative. It just feels like he is rushing through so much time and so many fascinating figures and scenes. This reserve is especially true about his ex-wife Linda Thompson, who was also a significant musical partner, and even some of his band mates in Fairport Convention. I understand respecting the privacy issues. He does go into some detail on particular songs of his, like the book title. More of that approach would have made up for the narrative gaps. Still, very enjoyable, informative and likely to inspire a listen to his extensive musical catalogue.

United States on Aug 17, 2022

Douglas Malcolm: I bought this book for my Kindle. I was informed by Amazon that I don't have kindle. In fact, I have a Kindle that I purchased in 2015 and that still works; however, I wasn't able to download it to my Kindle. I don't want to read it on the Amazon site. So my experience has not been great.

Canada on May 03, 2022

Janschfan: Excellent book very interesting. Highly recommended.

Canada on Apr 03, 2022

Hans Hermann Moll: Gut zu lesen. Prima Schreibe, nicht nur bei Songs.

Germany on Jun 23, 2021

Claus von Weiss: Honest, entertaining and real fun to read. RT gives the reader a great and intimate glimpse into the beginning of his amazing career and the early days of English Folkrock. Highly recommended!

Germany on Apr 23, 2021

Philip Wolf: MY RICHARD THOMPSON STORY:
It was the 11th of February 2014 and I attended a Richard Thompson/Iain Matthews show held at The Center For The Arts in Grass Valley, Ca. After Iain's set and before Richard's I made my way to the merchandise table to look at Richard's and Iain's goods that were being sold there. I found a very beautiful lithograph that Richard had designed and drawn there. This piece of art was matted and framed and available at the bargain price of only $1,500.00. My dumb comment was: "Richard's a fine artist but I'd have to sell the family car to purchase this!" From behind me I heard a voice say: "Don't do that, he's not that good of an artist!" I looked behind me to see Richard ducking in the stage door on his way to start up his set." After I fainted, somebody threw water on me and I made my way back to my seat to enjoy and amazing show from this wonderful lithographer." It was an amazing night in Grass Valley.

BEESWING:
Early in 2020 the social media was announcing Richard Thompson would be releasing a book of the early years of his life in the spring of 2021. There is already a biography by Patrick Humphries entitled "Strange Affair" published in...

United States on Apr 14, 2021