''Small Town Romance'' is the first

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...

by British singer/songwriter

Richard Thompson Richard Thompson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Richard Thompson (animator) (1914–1998), Warner Bros. cartoon animator in the 1950s * Richard Thompson (cartoonist) (1957–2016), cartoonist who also worked as an illustrator * Richard Tho ...

. Before and after the "Tour From Hell" to promote the

Richard and Linda Thompson Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and ...

album ''

Shoot Out the Lights ''Shoot Out the Lights'' is the sixth and final album by British husband-and-wife rock duo Richard and Linda Thompson. It was produced by Joe Boyd and released in 1982 on his Hannibal label. A critically acclaimed work, AllMusic's Mark Deming no ...

'', Richard played solo shows in the US in 1982. Three of these shows were recorded for radio broadcasts. When Thompson left the ailing

Hannibal Records Hannibal Records was a British record label and one of the first to work with the World music genre. Hannibal was started by Joe Boyd in 1980. Boyd had produced records by artists such as Nick Drake, The Incredible String Band and Fairport Co ...

label in 1984, the release of an album collated from the 1982 live recordings was negotiated as part of the amicable separation. Thompson was unhappy with the quality of the recordings and the performances and later persuaded Hannibal to delete ''Small Town Romance'' from their catalog. But the demand continued, and in the face of bootleg versions and high prices being paid for second-hand copies, the album was re-released, with Thompson's consent, in 1997. The album might be described as "warts and all". Thompson's vocals are sometimes shaky, especially on songs formerly sung by

Linda Thompson Linda Diane Thompson (born May 23, 1950) is an American songwriter, former actress and beauty pageant winner. Thompson began her acting career as a " Hee Haw Honey" on the American television variety show ''Hee Haw''. She was also a girlfrien ...

, but for many years this was the only legitimate record available of Richard Thompson playing a solo, acoustic show – a live presentation which he has increasingly featured and which now makes up the majority of his live performances. The album's cover photo features Thompson peering out a hotel window, whilst holding an acoustic guitar made for him by American luthier Danny Ferrington. This guitar appears in the cover photo of Thompson's previous release '' Hand of Kindness''.

Track listing

All songs written by Richard Thompson; except "Honky Tonk Blues'" by

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

#"Time to Ring Some Changes" #"Beat the Retreat" #"Woman or a Man?" #"A Heart Needs a Home" #"For Shame of Doing Wrong" #"Genesis Hall" #"

Honky Tonk Blues "Honky Tonk Blues" was a hit country and western song written and performed by Hank Williams. The original 1952 recording was a major hit, and it later became a hit for Charley Pride. Background "Honky Tonk Blues" is one of the songs that Willi ...

" #"Small Town Romance" #"I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight" #"Down Where the Drunkards Roll" #"Love Is Bad for Business" #"The Great Valerio" #"Don't Let a Thief Steal into Your Heart" #"Never Again" The 1986

Compact Disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...

release of the album, later deleted but subsequently reissued in 1997, included three extra tracks *"How Many Times" *"Roll Over

Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

" *"Meet on the Ledge"

Personnel

–

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

References

{{Authority control 1984 live albums Albums produced by Joe Boyd Albums recorded at the Bottom Line Hannibal Records albums Richard Thompson (musician) live albums