Shoot Out the Lights
Real life intruded on Richard and Linda Thompson and turnedShoot Out the Lightsinto a harrowing masterpiece. The collection was difficult to create. Tracks from an aborted first attempt to record the album ended up on the Richard Thompson anthologyWatching the Darkand the history of Linda ThompsonDreams Fly Away. It also became their final record together, lending extra poignance to such classically grim Richard Thompson titles as "Did She Jump or Was She Pushed" and "Wall of Death." The combination of Richard's inventive guitar work; his ragged vocals; and Linda's fragile, beautiful singing, all suffocatingly emotional, backed for the most part by longtime Thompson associates from Fairport Convention, makeShoot Out the Lightsessential.--David Wolf