While some listeners have expressed mixed degrees of enthusiasm with Richard Thompson's often down-beat work as a songwriter and his sometimes craggy vocals, no one has ever argued his gifts as an instrumentalist, and on Strict Tempo! Thompson lets loose on an instrumental collection of traditional British and Celtic jigs and reels, with a swinging Duke Ellington cover thrown in for variety and one new original offered as the finale.
Thompson multi-tracks himself playing a variety of acoustic and electric guitars, basses, mandolins, and dulcimers with his usual (i.e., dazzling) degree of dexterity, with only percussionist Dave Mattacks for company on most of the tunes.
If the performances don't quite match the head-spinning ferocity of the traditionally based folk-rock he pioneered with Fairport Convention on Liege and Lief and Full House, Thompson was certainly a better player in 1981 than he was when he left Fairport, and the arrangements reveal a degree of taste, imagination, and subtle wit that's second to none.
Strict Tempo! was a pet project of Thompson's, originally released on his own label, and it sometimes sounds like it was created more for his own amusement than anything else, but even in its more esoteric moments, it shows one of the finest guitarists on Earth showing just how well he can play, and that's always a pleasure to hear.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vaillance Polka Militaire/Belfast PolkaTraditional | Richard Thompson | Play | 03:55 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 2 | Banish MisfortuneTraditional | Richard Thompson | Play | 03:00 | 6 MB | 15 MB |
| 3 | Do It for My SakeTraditional | Richard Thompson | Play | 02:31 | 5 MB | 10 MB |
| 4 | Rockin' in RhythmDuke Ellington | Richard Thompson | Play | 02:52 | 6 MB | 15 MB |
| 5 | The Random Jig/The GrinderTraditional | Richard Thompson | Play | 02:48 | 6 MB | 15 MB |
| 6 | Will Ye No Cam Back Again/Cam O'er the Stream Charlie/Ye Banks and BraesTraditional | Richard Thompson | Play | 04:23 | 10 MB | 24 MB |
| 7 | Rufty Tufty/Nonsuch À La Mode de FranceTraditional | Richard Thompson | Play | 02:16 | 5 MB | 11 MB |
| 8 | Andalus/Radio MarrakeshTraditional | Richard Thompson | Play | 04:02 | 9 MB | 22 MB |
| 9 | New Fangled Flogging Reel, Kerry Reel | Richard Thompson | Play | 02:47 | 6 MB | 16 MB |
| 10 | Scott Skinner Medley Glencoe, Scott Skinner's Rockin' Step, Bonny Banchory | Richard Thompson | Play | 04:47 | 10 MB | 23 MB |
| 11 | Dundee Hornpipe, Poppy Leaf Hornpipe | Richard Thompson | Play | 03:17 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 12 | The Knife Edge | Richard Thompson | Play | 05:34 | 12 MB | 30 MB |
| 42 mins | 96 MB | |||||
| 42 mins | 226 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greg Allen | Art Direction |
| 2 | Tim Bernett | Management |
| 3 | Audrey Bilger | Project Assistant |
| 4 | John Borthwick | Engineer |
| 5 | Rueben Cohen | Mastering |
| 6 | Harvey Drivian | Project Assistant |
| 7 | Duke Ellington | Composer |
| 8 | Lyn Fey | Editorial |
| 9 | Bryan George | Licensing, Music Clearance |
| 10 | Cory Hillis | Project Assistant |
| 11 | Gavin Lurssen | Mastering |
| 12 | Dave Mattacks | Drums, Percussion, Piano |
| 13 | Simon Nicol | Engineer |
| 14 | Nikki Nieves | Project Assistant |
| 15 | Cheryl Pawelski | Reissue Producer |
| 16 | Brad Rosenberger | Project Assistant |
| 17 | Richard Thompson | Arranger, Composer, Musician, Primary Artist, Producer, Song Notes |
| 18 | Traditional | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |