I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight cover

I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight

Released

The first album by Richard and Linda Thompson remains not only one of their two best, but also one of the most enduring artifacts of British folk-rock. The title track manages simultaneously to convey party-hearty eagerness and world-weary exhaustion; “The Little Beggar Girl” uses music-hall tropes to create a snide commentary on the ruling class, and “The Great Valerio” is a metaphor for existential angst. If all of that sounds like a pretty heavy conceptual burden for a folk-rock album, well, it is — and the fact that the Thompsons carry it off so well is a tribute to Richard’s taste and skill as a songwriter and Linda’s as an interpreter.

Rick Anderson

Recommended by

Suggestions
Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers cover

Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers

Gene Clark, The Gosdin Brothers
Rust Never Sleeps cover

Rust Never Sleeps

Crazy Horse, Neil Young
Sandy cover

Sandy

Sandy Denny
Bushes & Briars cover

Bushes & Briars

Susan McKeown
Tapestry cover

Tapestry

Carole King
Canvas cover

Canvas

Natalie MacMaster, Donnell Leahy
Sleepless cover

Sleepless

Kate Rusby
American Beauty cover

American Beauty

Grateful Dead