The Old Kit Bag: Difference between revisions

The Old Kit Bag
The Old Kit Bag
Studio album by Richard Thompson
Released	February 2003
Recorded	2002
Studio	Capitol Studio B (Hollywood)
Genre	Folk rock, contemporary folk
Length	58:45
Label	Cooking Vinyl
Producer	John Chelew
Richard Thompson chronology

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	81/100^[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	^[3]
Rolling Stone	^[4]

"Gethsemane"

Gethsemane (sample)

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The Old Kit Bag is the eleventh studio album by British folk rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Richard Thompson, released in 2003 on the Cooking Vinyl label.

Background

The title refers to the World War I marching song "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag". When asked if the album had a theme, Thompson had no immediate answer, then said "I suppose the title is a theme of sorts. It's a reference to the old World War I song, 'Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag,' which is about smiling and whistling a happy tune as the Germans rain shells down on you."^[5]

After years of being a prestigious but small-selling signing with a big label, Thompson signed with the small, independent and independently-minded Cooking Vinyl label in 2002. The first fruits of this new partnership was The Old Kit Bag.

Thompson had financed the recording himself and relied on his new label for marketing and distribution ("I should have started doing that years ago because it means you own your own recordings").

The album is markedly different from its predecessors, with unobtrusive production by John Chelew and a smaller set of backing musicians ("the idea was to keep it small. I did do a few overdubs – second guitar, dulcimer, single-finger keyboard parts, all the easy stuff – but other than that, everything was pretty much a live performance"). Thompson's electric guitar playing is more prominent than it had been for some time on a studio album.

Despite the stripped down arrangements and sound, the album is stylistically diverse with Thompson even making a rare excursion into the blues on "I've Got No Right To Have It All". As is often the case with Thompson, the lyrics reflect darker side of life: "Gethsemane" deals with the disillusionment and pressure that follows an idyllic childhood, and "Outside Of The Inside" (which Thompson introduced on tour as "a song about how the Taliban see the West").^[6]

The live album Ducknapped! was recorded during the 2003 tour to support the album and was released on Thompson's boutique Beeswing label. Nine of The Old Kit Bag's twelve songs are included.^[7]

Reception

Ironically the move to a much smaller record label bought a bigger marketing push and healthier sales. Thompson had engineered a situation where live shows were his major revenue stream, but now The Old Kit Bag did better on release than any other Thompson album since Rumor And Sigh, entering the Billboard Top 200 and entering Billboard's "Indie" chart at number 5.

Reviewing the album for BBC Music in 2003, Chris Jones said of Thompson, "Now he returns with another text ripped from the pages of suffering and heartache, but more importantly, the guitar is aflame once more. ... Inexplicably split into two halves: 'The Haunted Keepsake' and 'The Pilgrim's Fancy', this collection of Unguents, fig leaves and tourniquets for the soul may come with a standard 'olde worlde' folk sleeve but is full of Thompson's skill in taking a contemporary subject matter and placing it within a story-telling tradition."^[8]

Track listing

All songs written by Richard Thompson

Chapter 1: The Haunted Keepsake

"Gethsemane"
"Jealous Words"
"I'll Tag Along"
"A Love You Can't Survive"
"One Door Opens"
"First Breath"

Chapter 2: The Pilgrims Fancy

"She Said It Was Destiny"
"I've Got No Right To Have It All"
"Pearly Jim"
"Word Unspoken, Sight Unseen"
"Outside Of The Inside"
"Happy Days And Auld Lang Syne"

Personnel

Musiker

Richard Thompson – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin, accordion, harmonium and vocals
Judith Owen – backing vocals
Danny Thompson – double bass
Michael Jerome – drums, percussion and backing vocals

Technical

John Chelew – producer
Jimmy Hoyson – recorder, mixer
Mike Glines – assistant engineer
Tornado design – package design
Nancy Nimoy – illustrations
Ron Slenzak+Associates – photography

References

^ "The Old Kit Bag by Richard Thompson". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
^ Allmusic review
^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
^ "Rolling Stone review".
^ "Richard Thompson". thebeesknees.com. Archived from the original on 3 July 2007. Retrieved 22 August 2007.
^ "The Old Kit Bag – Richard Thompson – Songs, Reviews, Credits – AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
^ Gary Whitehouse, David Kidney (2011). "Richard Thompson: 1000 Years of Popular Music/Richard Thompson Band: Ducknapped". greenmanreview.com. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
^ Jones, Chris. "BBC - Music - Review of Richard Thompson - The Old Kit Bag". www.bbc.co.uk.

Other sources

Richard Thompson – The Biography, Patrick Humphries, Schirmer Books ISBN 0-02-864752-1
The Great Valerio, Dave Smith

External links

She Said It Was Destiny on YouTube

[1] "The Old Kit Bag by Richard Thompson". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 October 2016.

[2] Allmusic review

[3] Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.

[4] "Rolling Stone review".

[5] "Richard Thompson". thebeesknees.com. Archived from the original on 3 July 2007. Retrieved 22 August 2007.

[6] "The Old Kit Bag – Richard Thompson – Songs, Reviews, Credits – AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 October 2016.

[7] Gary Whitehouse, David Kidney (2011). "Richard Thompson: 1000 Years of Popular Music/Richard Thompson Band: Ducknapped". greenmanreview.com. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.

[8] Jones, Chris. "BBC - Music - Review of Richard Thompson - The Old Kit Bag". www.bbc.co.uk.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
-{{Infobox Album | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Albums -->
+{{Infobox album
-  Name        = The Old Kit Bag|
-  Type        = [[Album]] |
+| name       = The Old Kit Bag
-  Artist      = [[Richard Thompson (musician)|Richard Thompson]] |
+| type       = [[Album]]
+| artist     = [[Richard Thompson (musician)|Richard Thompson]]
-  Cover       = RT_TOKB.jpg |
+| cover      = RT_TOKB.jpg
-  Released    = February 2003 |
+| alt        =
+| released   = February 2003
-  Recorded    = 2002 in Capitol Studio 'B', [[Hollywood]]|
+| recorded   = 2002
-  Genre       = [[Folk rock]], [[folk music|contemporary folk]] |
-  Length      = 58:45 |
+| venue      =
+| studio     = [[Capitol Studios|Capitol Studio B]] (Hollywood)
-  Label       = Beeswing|
+| genre      = [[Folk rock]], [[folk music|contemporary folk]]
-  Producer    = John Chelew|
+| length     = 58:45
-  Last album  = ''[[Semi-Detached Mock Tudor]]''<br />(2002)'' |
+| label      = [[Cooking Vinyl]]
-  This album  = ''The Old Kit Bag''<br />(2003) |
+| producer   = John Chelew
-  Next album  = ''[[More Guitar]]''<br />(2003)| }}
+| prev_title = [[Semi-Detached Mock Tudor]]
+| prev_year  = 2002
+| next_title = [[More Guitar]]
+| next_year  = 2003
+}}
 {{Album ratings
+| MC = 81/100<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/the-old-kit-bag/richard-thompson|title=The Old Kit Bag by Richard Thompson|website=[[Metacritic]] |publisher=|accessdate=3 October 2016}}</ref>
 |rev1 = [[Allmusic]]
-|rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>[{{Allmusic|class=album|id=r631057|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic review]</ref>
+|rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r631057|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic review]</ref>
-|rev2 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
+| rev2 = ''[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
+| rev2Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|title=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|year=2007|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|edition=4th|isbn=978-0195313734|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music}}</ref>
-|rev2score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>[http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/richardthompson/albums/album/282552/review/5942752/the_old_kit_bag Rolling Stone review]</ref>
-|rev3 = [[Piero Scaruffi]]
+|rev3 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
+|rev3score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/richardthompson/albums/album/282552/review/5942752/the_old_kit_bag|title=Rolling Stone review}}</ref>
-|rev3score = (6/10)<ref name="scaruffireview">{{cite web |first=Piero |last=Scaruffi |url=http://www.scaruffi.com/vol3/thompson.html#old |title=Richard Thompson |publisher=pieroscaruffi.com |year=1999 |accessdate=September 10, 2013}}</ref>
 }}<!-- Automatically generated by DASHBot-->
 __NOTOC__
+{{Listen|filename=Richard Thompson Gethsemane.ogg|title="Gethsemane"|description=Gethsemane  (sample)|format=[[Ogg]]}}
-'''''The Old Kit Bag''''' is the tenth studio album by British singer-songwriter and guitarist [[Richard Thompson (musician)|Richard Thompson]], released in 2003. The title refers to the [[World War I]] [[March (music)|marching song]] "[[Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag]]". When asked if the album had a theme, Thompson had no immediate answer, then said "I suppose the title is a theme of sorts. It's a reference to the old World War I song, 'Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag,' which is about smiling and whistling a happy tune as the Germans rain shells down on you."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thebeesknees.com/bk-rt-kb.html |title=Richard Thompson |accessdate=2007-08-22 |publisher= thebeesknees.com |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070703152826/http://www.thebeesknees.com/bk-rt-kb.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2007-07-03}}</ref>
+'''''The Old Kit Bag''''' is the eleventh studio album by [[British folk rock]] singer-songwriter and guitarist [[Richard Thompson (musician)|Richard Thompson]], released in 2003 on the [[Cooking Vinyl]] label.
+==Background==
+The title refers to the [[World War I]] marching song "[[Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag]]". When asked if the album had a theme, Thompson had no immediate answer, then said "I suppose the title is a theme of sorts. It's a reference to the old World War I song, 'Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag,' which is about smiling and whistling a happy tune as the Germans rain shells down on you."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thebeesknees.com/bk-rt-kb.html |title=Richard Thompson |accessdate=2007-08-22 |publisher= thebeesknees.com |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070703152826/http://www.thebeesknees.com/bk-rt-kb.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2007-07-03}}</ref>
 After years of being a prestigious but small-selling signing with a big label, Thompson signed with the small, independent and independently-minded [[Cooking Vinyl]] label in 2002. The first fruits of this new partnership was ''The Old Kit Bag''.
-Thompson had financed the recording himself, and relied on his new label for marketing and distribution ("I should have started doing that years ago because it means you own your own recordings").
+Thompson had financed the recording himself and relied on his new label for marketing and distribution ("I should have started doing that years ago because it means you own your own recordings").
 The album is markedly different from its predecessors, with unobtrusive production by John Chelew and a smaller set of backing musicians ("the idea was to keep it small. I did do a few overdubs – second guitar, dulcimer, single-finger keyboard parts, all the easy stuff – but other than that, everything was pretty much a live performance"). Thompson's electric guitar playing is more prominent than it had been for some time on a studio album.
-Despite the stripped down arrangements and sound, the album is stylistically diverse with Thompson even making a rare excursion into the blues on "I've Got No Right To Have It All". As is often the case with Thompson, the lyrics reflect darker side of life: "Gethsemane" deals with the disillusionment and pressure that follows an idyllic childhood, and "Outside Of The Inside" (which Thompson introduced on tour as "a song about how the Taliban see the West"), with its striking opening lines "God never listened to [[Charlie Parker]], Charlie Parker lived in vain", is a chilling portrayal of the fundamentalist mindset.
+Despite the stripped down arrangements and sound, the album is stylistically diverse with Thompson even making a rare excursion into the blues on "I've Got No Right To Have It All". As is often the case with Thompson, the lyrics reflect darker side of life: "Gethsemane" deals with the disillusionment and pressure that follows an idyllic childhood, and "Outside Of The Inside" (which Thompson introduced on tour as "a song about how the [[Taliban]] see the West").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-old-kit-bag-mw0000028702|title=The Old Kit Bag – Richard Thompson – Songs, Reviews, Credits – AllMusic|website=[[AllMusic]] |publisher=|accessdate=3 October 2016}}</ref>
+The live album ''[[Ducknapped!]]'' was recorded during the 2003 tour to support the album and was released on Thompson's boutique Beeswing label. Nine of ''The Old Kit Bag''{{'s}} twelve songs are included.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.greenmanreview.com/cd/cd_thompson_1000_ducknapped.html |title=Richard Thompson: 1000 Years of Popular Music/Richard Thompson Band: Ducknapped |first=David Kidney |last=Gary Whitehouse |work=greenmanreview.com |year=2011 |accessdate=1 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724205825/http://www.greenmanreview.com/cd/cd_thompson_1000_ducknapped.html |archivedate=24 July 2011 }}</ref>
+==Reception==
 Ironically the move to a much smaller record label bought a bigger marketing push and healthier sales. Thompson had engineered a situation where live shows were his major revenue stream, but now ''The Old Kit Bag'' did better on release than any other Thompson album since ''Rumor And Sigh'', entering the [[Billboard magazine|Billboard]] Top 200 and entering Billboard's "Indie" chart at number 5.
+Reviewing the album for [[BBC Music]] in 2003, Chris Jones said of Thompson, "Now he returns with another text ripped from the pages of suffering and heartache, but more importantly, the guitar is aflame once more. ... Inexplicably split into two halves: 'The Haunted Keepsake' and 'The Pilgrim's Fancy', this collection of ''Unguents, fig leaves and tourniquets for the soul'' may come with a standard 'olde worlde' folk sleeve but is full of Thompson's skill in taking a contemporary subject matter and placing it within a story-telling tradition."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/bw3n/|title=BBC - Music - Review of Richard Thompson - The Old Kit Bag|first=Chris|last=Jones|website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>
 ==Track listing==
 All songs written by Richard Thompson
+===Chapter 1: The Haunted Keepsake ===
 #"Gethsemane"
 #"Jealous Words"
@@ Line 43: / Line 62: @@
 #"One Door Opens"
 #"First Breath"
-#"She Said It Was Destiny"
+===Chapter 2: The Pilgrims Fancy ===
+#<li value="7">"She Said It Was Destiny"
 #"I've Got No Right To Have It All"
 #"Pearly Jim"
@@ Line 50: / Line 71: @@
 #"Happy Days And Auld Lang Syne"
-==Personnel==
+== Personnel ==
+=== Musicians ===
-*[[Richard Thompson (musician)|Richard Thompson]] - [[electric guitar]], [[Steel-string acoustic guitar|acoustic guitar]], [[mandolin]], [[accordion]], [[Pump organ|harmonium]] and [[Singing|vocals]]
+* [[Richard Thompson (musician)|Richard Thompson]] – [[electric guitar]], [[Steel-string acoustic guitar|acoustic guitar]], [[mandolin]], [[accordion]], [[Pump organ|harmonium]] and [[Singing|vocals]]
-*[[Judith Owen]] - backing vocals
-*[[Danny Thompson]] - [[double bass]]
+* [[Judith Owen]] – backing vocals
-*Michael Jerome - [[Drum kit|drums]], [[Percussion instrument|percussion]] and backing vocals
+* [[Danny Thompson]] – [[double bass]]
+* [[Michael Jerome]] – [[Drum kit|drums]], [[Percussion instrument|percussion]] and backing vocals
+=== Technical ===
+* John Chelew – producer
+* Jimmy Hoyson – recorder, mixer
+* Mike Glines – assistant engineer
+* Tornado design – package design
+* Nancy Nimoy – illustrations
+* Ron Slenzak+Associates – photography
 ==References==
 <references/>
-*''Richard Thompson - The Biography'' by Patrick Humphries. Schirmer Books. 0-02-864752-1
+== Other sources ==
-*''The Great Valerio'' by Dave Smith (see
+*''Richard Thompson – The Biography'', Patrick Humphries, [[Schirmer Books]] {{ISBN|0-02-864752-1}}
-*http://www.richardthompson-music.com
+*''The Great Valerio'', Dave Smith
+== External links==
+* {{youTube|QaeNdtyDHL4|She Said It Was Destiny}}
+{{Richard Thompson}}
+{{Authority control}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Old Kit Bag, The}}
 [[Category:Richard Thompson (musician) albums]]
 [[Category:2003 albums]]
+[[Category:Albums recorded at Capitol Studios]]
-{{Richard Thompson}}