Acoustic Classics II is the seventeenth solo studio album by British singer-songwriter Richard Thompson. It was released by Beeswing Records on 10 August 2017.

Acoustic Classics II
Studio album by
Released10 August 2017
RecordedRumiville Studio, Austin, Texas
GenreFolk rock
Length54:24
LabelBeeswing
ProducerRichard Thompson and Simon Tassano
Richard Thompson chronology
Still
(2015)
Acoustic Classics II
(2017)
Acoustic Rarities
(2017)

Background

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Acoustic Classics II is the second acoustic compilation album by Richard Thompson. The songs range from his time in Fairport Convention, as half of a duo with Linda Thompson and as a solo artist.

The album was released on vinyl, CD and digital download.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [2]
Financial Times     [3]
Folk Radio UKPositive[4]
The Guardian     [5]
The Independent     [6]
Record Collector     [7]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music     [8]
The Press     [9]
The Times     [10]
Uncut     [11]

On the Metacritic website, which aggregates reviews from critics and assigns a normalised rating out of 100, Acoustic Classics II received a score of 78, based on 1 mixed and 4 positive reviews.[1]

Among the critics that gave the album positive reviews, Uncut called the album "an unalloyed treat" adding that "there's something fundamentally satisfying about Thompson unplugged".[11] Andy Gill writing in The Independent states that "there’s no dip in quality here as Richard Thompson revisits material"[6] and Folk Radio UK call the album "one to treasure".[4] David Honigman of the Financial Times writes that "this second volume Richard Thompson has recorded of acoustic cover versions of his own songs works better than the first"[3] and Jude Rogers in The Guardian praises Thompson's "authoritative, confident voice" and "pearl-bright guitar-playing".[5]

Track listing

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All tracks written by Richard Thompson except "Crazy Man Michael" by Thompson and Dave Swarbrick:

# Title Original version on Length
1.
"She Twists the Knife Again" Across a Crowded Room (1985)
2:48
2.
"The Ghost of You Walks" You? Me? Us? (1996)
4:41
3.
"Genesis Hall" Unhalfbricking (1969)
3:30
4.
"Jet Plane in a Rocking Chair" Pour Down Like Silver (1975)
2:29
5.
"A Heart Needs a Home" Hokey Pokey (1975)
3:26
6.
"Pharaoh" Amnesia (1988)
4:25
7.
"Gethsemane" The Old Kit Bag (2003)
5:13
8.
"Devonside" Hand of Kindness (1983)
3:05
9.
"Meet on the Ledge" What We Did on Our Holidays (1969)
3:05
10.
"Keep Your Distance" Rumor and Sigh (1991)
3:35
11.
"Bathsheba Smiles" Mock Tudor (1999)
3:33
12.
"Crazy Man Michael" Liege & Lief (1969)
4:23
13.
"Guns Are the Tongues" Sweet Warrior (2007)
6:05
14.
"Why Must I Plead?" Rumor and Sigh (1991)
4:06

Personnel

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Richard Thompson – guitars and vocals

Others

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Chart performance

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Chart (2017) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[12] 24

References

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  1. ^ a b "Acoustic Classics II – Richard Thompson". Metacritic. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  2. ^ Deming, Mark. "Richard Thompson Acoustic Classics II". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  3. ^ a b Honigmann, David (11 August 2017). "Richard Thompson: Acoustic Classics Vol. II — 'better than the first'". Financial Times. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  4. ^ a b Kimpton, Glenn (1 August 2017). "RICHARD THOMPSON: ACOUSTIC CLASSICS II". Folk Radio UK. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  5. ^ a b Rogers, Jude (10 August 2017). "Richard Thompson: Acoustic Classics II review – fiery, beautiful gems of song". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  6. ^ a b Gill, Andy (10 August 2017). "Richard Thompson, Acoustic Classics II". The Independent. Archived from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  7. ^ Staunton, Terry (September 2017). "RICHARD THOMPSON – ACOUSTIC CLASSICS VOL TWO". Record Collector. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  8. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  9. ^ Taylor, Spencer (9 September 2017). "CD review: Richard Thompson, Acoustic Classics II". The Press. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  10. ^ Hodgkinson, Will (11 August 2017). "Pop review: Richard Thompson: Acoustic Classics Vol II". The Times. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  11. ^ a b Thomson, Graeme. "New Albums". Uncut (September 2017): 38.
  12. ^ "Richard Thompson | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 20 March 2018.