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Rumor and Sigh

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Rumor and Sigh is a 1991 album by British singer/songwriter Richard Thompson, his thirteenth album since leaving the band Fairport Convention in 1971. Released on the Capitol label, it was a commercial success for Thompson, featuring his biggest American hit single "I Feel So Good", as well as the fan favourite "1952 Vincent Black Lightning”.

Rumor and Sigh
Studio album by
Richard Thompson
ReleasedMay 1991
Recorded1991
StudioSunset Sound, Los Angeles and Konk Studios, London
GenreFolk rock, alternative rock
Length61:19
LabelCapitol
ProducerMitchell Froom
Richard Thompson chronology
Sweet Talker
(1991) 		Rumor and Sigh
(1991) 		Watching The Dark
(1993)

The album earned Thompson a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 1992. It was also voted number 665 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).[1]

Songs

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The American spelling of the word "Rumor" is due to Thompson taking the title from a posthumously published poem by Archibald MacLeish: "Rumor and sigh of unimagined seas/ Dim radiance of stars that never flamed."[2]

Patrick Humphries described the central character of the song "I Feel So Good" as a ne'er do well who has been freed from prison and expresses his "bullying exultation at his freedom. In an interview, Thompson explained, "If you make someone the subject of a song you're almost inevitably making him a hero. But he obviously isn't. Nor is he an anti-hero. He's no worse than the society that created him. It's a very twentieth century moral dilemma."[3]

"Grey Walls" was inspired by Colney Hatch Mental Hospital in Barnet, North London, which Thompson passed on the bus as a teenager. The song describes the disturbing effect of ECT on psychiatric patients. Thompson has also called the song a comment on the effects of Thatcherism—in the context of closing down mental institutions and selling the facilities for profit.[3]

Thompson has said he was inspired to write "Don't Sit On My Jimmy Shands" after hearing a story of Bob Dylan at a party, hogging the record player so he could play only Robert Johnson recordings. Thompson planned his song as a tongue in cheek tribute to Jimmy Shand, Scottish musician who achieved popularity in the 1930s and 40s by arranging traditional Scottish songs for his accordion band. Shand's music loomed large in Thompson's childhood.[4]

Thompson wrote "Mother Knows Best" to mark the resignation of Margaret Thatcher and express his feelings about the departed Conservative Prime Minister: "She says 'Bring me your first-born. And I'll suck their blood/ Bring me your poor/ I can trample in the mud'."[5]

Although a teetotaller,[4] Thompson wrote "God Loves A Drunk" to suggest that alcoholism can be a path to spiritual ecstasy. He has described the song as "a swipe at Mormons and Seventh Day Adventists, those people with the polyester suits, those people who are very clean and neat, which means they must be alright with God."[4]

The track "1952 Vincent Black Lightning," despite not being issued as a single, became a fan favourite and is one of Thompson's most highly acclaimed solo compositions. In 2011 Time magazine listed the song in its "All TIME 100 Songs", a list of "the most extraordinary English-language popular recordings since the beginning of TIME magazine in 1923."[6]

Release

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [7]
Chicago Tribune    [8]
Entertainment WeeklyA[9]
Los Angeles Times     [10]
NME8/10[11]
Q     [12]
Rolling Stone     [13]
Select4/5[14]
USA Today    [15]
The Village VoiceB+[16]

The album peaked at number 32 on the UK Albums Chart and was Thompson's first Top 40 album in the UK.[17] The album did not chart in the US, although the lead single "I Feel So Good" peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, his second and highest-charting single on that chart.[18] Its follow-up single, "Read About Love" failed to chart.

Two videos, for "I Feel So Good"[19] (animation inspired by the cover artwork) and album track "I Misunderstood"[20] were produced to promote the album. Thompson also promoted the album's American release by performing "I Feel So Good" on Late Night with David Letterman.[21]

The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 1992, but lost to R.E.M.'s Out of Time.[22]

Track listing

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All songs written by Richard Thompson.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Read About Love"3:34
2."I Feel So Good"3.21
3."I Misunderstood"4.05
4."Grey Walls"4:21
5."You Dream Too Much"4:06
6."Why Must I Plead"4:58
7."1952 Vincent Black Lightning"4:43
Side two
No.TitleLength
8."Backlash Love Affair"4:49
9."Mystery Wind"4:35
10."Don't Sit on My Jimmy Shands"4:26
11."Keep Your Distance"4:11
12."Mother Knows Best"4:59
13."God Loves a Drunk"4:43
14."Psycho Street"4:28

Personnel

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Musicians

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Technical

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Artwork

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  • Cover Art: Laura Levine
  • Photography: Laura Levine
  • Set Design: Kelly Ray
  • Art Direction: Tommy Steele
  • Design: Jeffery Fey

References

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  1. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 217. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
  2. ^ "What is the origin of the title Rumor And Sigh?". rtlist.net. 10 April 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  3. ^ a b Humphries, 1996, Richard Thompson: Strange Affair, p.275
  4. ^ a b c Humphries, 1996, Richard Thompson: Strange Affair, p.277
  5. ^ Humphries, 1996, Richard Thompson: Strange Affair, p.276
  6. ^ "All-TIME 100 Songs: 1952 Vincent Black Lightning" (retrieved on Feb. 26, 2014).
  7. ^ Deming, Mark. "Rumor and Sigh – Richard Thompson". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  8. ^ Kot, Greg (6 June 1991). "Richard Thompson: Rumor and Sigh (Capitol)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  9. ^ Arnold, Gina (24 May 1991). "Rumor & Sigh". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  10. ^ Boehm, Mike (23 June 1991). "Richard Thompson 'Rumor and Sigh' Capitol". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  11. ^ Staunton, Terry (18 May 1991). "Richard Thompson: Rumour & Sigh". NME. p. 39.
  12. ^ Beattie, Rob (June 1991). "Richard Thompson: Rumor and Sigh". Q. No. 57.
  13. ^ Robbins, Ira (11–25 July 1991). "Richard Thompson: Rumor and Sigh (Capitol)". Rolling Stone. No. 608–609. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  14. ^ Collis, Andrew (June 1991). "Richard Thompson: Rumour and Sigh". Select. No. 12. p. 79.
  15. ^ Gundersen, Edna (28 June 1991). "'Rumor' has it Thompson may win overdue airplay". USA Today.
  16. ^ Christgau, Robert (1 October 1991). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  17. ^ UK Albums Chart - Richard Thompson
  18. ^ "Richard Thompson Billboard chart". Billboard. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  19. ^ emimusic (12 March 2009). "Richard Thompson - I Feel So Good". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2016 – via YouTube.
  20. ^ joni36 (8 June 2008). "Richard Thompson - I Misunderstood - Video 1991". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2016 – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ joni36 (17 August 2007). "Richard Thompson - I Feel So Good - Letterman 91". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2016 – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ Pareles, Jon (9 January 1992). "Grammy Short List: Many For a Few". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 April 2010.

Sources

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  • Humphries, Patrick (1996). Richard Thompson: Strange Affair - The Biography. Virgin Books. ISBN 0-86369-993-6.
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