Search - Richard Thompson :: Hard Cash: 14 Specially Recorded Songs Inspired By

A Little "Richard's" Better Than None!

Peter Walenta | Long Island, New York USA | 01/23/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"To be accurate about it right up front, Richard Thompson only wrote three of the fourteen songs on this theme record (originally released on Green Linnet Records in 1990) which was inspired loosely on the BBC television programme of the same name. "Hard Cash" the television show, as the liner notes indicate, was about the tough working conditions in modern day England. Thompson only sings on two of the three songs he penned, but both "Time to Ring Some Changes" and "Oh I Swear" are slow ballads worth the price of admission if you're a Richard Thompson fan. June Tabor does a beautiful job of singing on Thompson's "Mrs. Rita". Thompson also lends his hand on mandolin on the biting social commentary tunes, "A Living Wage" and "The Guernsey Kitchen Porter" as well. Dave Mattacks provides a solid back beat throughout, and Pete Zorn adds a nice penny whistle flourish on "Oh I Swear".



Other songs although pleasant, drift into Dire Straits and Fleetwood Mac territory but without either Mark Knopfler's signature electric guitar sound or the fluid harmonies of Buckingham and Nicks. Stand out tracks are the ones sung by Richard Thompson and June Tabor and Martin Carthy, all veterans of the British folk rock movement on the late 1960's. That Thompson contributes instrumentally on ten of the fourteen tracks, makes this a must have for the Richard Thompson completist, but a better bet would be to check out first any of Thompson's solo records released around the same time, namely, "Amnesia", "Rumour and Sigh" and the great latter day Thompson opus, "The Old Kit Bag". If you're a Thompson fan like me though, a little Richard's better than none at all. An enjoyable listen."