Variations on a Theme (David Thomas album)

Variations on a Theme
Variations on a Theme
Studio album by David Thomas &; The Pedestrians with Richard Thompson
Released	June 1983
Recorded	March 1983
Studio	Suma Recording; (Painesville, OH)
Genre	Art rock
Length	38:04
Label	Rough Trade
Producer	David Thomas
David Thomas chronology
Richard Thompson chronology

Variations on a Theme is the second studio album by experimental singer-songwriter David Thomas, released in May 1983 by Rough Trade Records. Like its predecessor The Sound of the Sand, Variations on a Theme features prominent guitar work from Richard Thompson.^[3] In 1997, the album was remastered by Paul Hamann and David Thomas for its inclusion in the Monster anthology box set. It was the only album in the set to be remixed, and its running order was changed.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]
Robert Christgau	B^[2]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by David Thomas

Side one
No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"A Day at the Botanical Gardens"	David Thomas	3:21
2.	"Pedestrian Walk"	David Thomas, Eddie Thornton	4:34
3.	"Bird Town"	Richard Thompson	2:43
4.	"The Egg & I"	Anton Fier	2:55
5.	"Who Is It?"	Lindsay Cooper, Chris Cutler	3:39

Side two
No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Song of Hoe"	David Thomas	6:03
2.	"Hurry Back"	Jim Jones	4:19
3.	"The Rain"	Chris Cutler, Anton Fier	5:17
4.	"Semaphore"	Lindsay Cooper, Chris Cutler, Jack Monck	5:13

Personnel

Adapted from the Variations on a Theme liner notes.^[4]

The Pedestrians

Anton Fier – drums
Paul Hamann – bass guitar, engineering
Jim Jones – guitar
Jack Monck – guitar
David Thomas – lead vocals
Richard Thompson – guitar

Additional musicians

Lindsay Cooper – bassoon (A5, B3, B4)
Chris Cutler – drums (A5, B3, B4)

Production and additional personnel

Ken Hamann – engineering
Adam Kidron – engineering (A5, B3, B4)
Mary Thomas – cover art, illustrations
Robert Vogel – engineering

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
United Kingdom	1983	Rough Trade	LP	ROUGH 60
United States	1983	Sixth International	LP	Silo2

References

^ Anderson, Rick. "David Thomas: Variations on a Theme > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
^ Christgau, Robert. "David Thomas". Robert Christgau.com. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
^ Grant, Steven; Sheridan, David (2007). "David Thomas". Trouser Press. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
^ Variations on a Theme (sleeve). David Thomas & the Pedestrians. London, United Kingdom: Rough Trade Records. 1983.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

External links

Variations on a Theme at Discogs (list of releases)

[allmusic-1] Anderson, Rick. "David Thomas: Variations on a Theme > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved July 1, 2016.

[Christgau_Review-2] Christgau, Robert. "David Thomas". Robert Christgau.com. Retrieved July 1, 2016.

[trouserpress-3] Grant, Steven; Sheridan, David (2007). "David Thomas". Trouser Press. Retrieved July 1, 2016.

[linearnotes-4] Variations on a Theme (sleeve). David Thomas & the Pedestrians. London, United Kingdom: Rough Trade Records. 1983.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

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