Everybody’s Top 5 - Vinyl

I know I’m supposed to like Richard Thompson.

And I do, as a person.

I listen to his work on his own, rarely.
I listen to his work with Fairport once a month.

Out of 6,000 LPs? Really a useless question. The choices change from month to month, depending on mood, though I suppose some remain near the top most of the time. 
Nevertheless here goes, with 11:

- Sandy Denny: The North Star Grassman and The Ravens
- Tim Buckley: Live at The Troubadour
- Laura Nyro: New York Tendaberry
- Pergolesi: Stabat Mater (I have a dozen interpretations of this)
- Frederick Rzewski: Coming Together 
- Jefferson Airplane: After Getting Stoned on Acid (After Bathing at Baxter’s)
- Max Roach with Abbey Lincoln: We Insist! Freedom Now Suite
- John McLoughlin: Devotion
- Henryk Gorecki: Symphony #3
- Aaron Copeland: Appalachian Spring 
- Mark Almond Band: eponymous 

Spiritofradio: put a sock in it, will you? He asked for 5. Unreasonable I know. But we don’t need the Library of Congress. 

Mijostyn:

Really? Get a life, will you?

I saw Thompson perform live a couple summers back, at Levon Helm’s place in Woodstock. His son was there performing also.

He did Who Knows Where The Time Goes.
In my humble opinion, he is a great musician and yet his work after Fairport does little to move me.

Music is not just about skill and technique.

Btw, I have a first press copy of Liege and Lief that was autographed by Sandy Denny in the 1970s when Fairport performed at My Father’s Place in Long Island. My girlfriend at the time obtained it in the ladies room during intermission, unbeknownst to me, for a surprise birthday gift.

I’m not really into fetishizing things like autographs, but it was a wonderful gesture by my girlfriend. It sat in my collection for 40+ years, and for some reason I thought: maybe it would be nice to get RT’s autograph next to hers, so I brought it with me.

It didn’t happen. Levon Helm’s staff treated me like I was a leper, … or worse, like a Trump supporter.

Btw, I have about a half dozen RT albums, solo and with Linda. Obligatory, you know?