Original image by There Stands the Glass.
I’ve met far more famous people, but a meet-and-greet with Joe Boyd is among my most meaningful music-related celebrity encounters. A significant swathe of the raconteur’s expansive discography impacted the way I experience music. Gaining insights about Boyd from the perspective of one of his most notable artists was among the reasons I picked up Richard Thompson’s Beeswing.
The cult artist spills a lot of beans in his new autobiography. An account of being heckled for having long hair by Buck Owens and the Buckaroos in the Detroit airport and an admission of hiring a prostitute in Hamburg are among the titillating anecdotes. I wasn’t surprised by Thompson’s detailed acknowledgement of his obsession with all forms of music. He raves about artists as disparate as Claude Debussy, Jimi Hendrix and Barney Kessel and offers firsthand portraits of associates including Sandy Denny, Nick Drake and Dave Pegg.
Lavish praise of Boyd verified my admiration of the renaissance man, but Thompson’s thorough exploration of his conversion to Sufism and subsequent pilgrimage to Mecca contains several unanticipated elements. In spite of his uncommon path, Thompson still considers himself a traditional folk artist of Britain. I’m looking forward to experiencing Thompson’s forthcoming concert at the Folly Theater through this newly acquired perspective.