Thompson, Richard - The Lowry Theatre (From Warrington Guardian)

Thompson, Richard - The Lowry Theatre

10:18pm Sunday 10th May 2009 in What's On By David Morgan

FEW artists can claim to be as eclectic as Richard Thompson.

Starting with a Biblical song about Mary and ending with Nelly Furtado’s Man Eater, when the folk legend said he would perform ‘a 1,000 years of popular music’, he meant just that.

Spanning genres as readily as he spanned cultures, the musical montage was spellbinding. With such a diverse show though, it is no surprise that the Salford Quays audience found that some songs were easier to swallow than others.

A centuries-old Scottish ditty, for example, about a couple of crows who eat the eyes of a dead knight was a little odd.

But fast forward the musical clock some hundreds of years and we discovered that Thompson curiously has an uncanny skill for country music.

Pushing 60, the former Fairport Convention member looked great in his iconic beret and it was a pleasure to see the man, who was named in the top 20 in Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

He was also accompanied by two female musicians and the trio gelled well as a musical unit. The Lowry audience was awestruck at the talent, diversity and culture on offer.

A brilliant experience.