__NOTOC__ ''Across a Crowded Room'' is the fourth solo album by Richard Thompson released in 1985, on both

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

and CD. As of 2019, it remains his final collaboration with long-time producer

Joe Boyd Joe Boyd (born August 5, 1942) is an American record producer and writer. He formerly owned Hannibal Records. Boyd has worked on recordings of Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson, Nick Drake, The Incredible String Ba ...

(who had produced Thompson's previous four albums, including ''

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 Demin ...

''), as well as his last studio album to have been fully recorded in England. The album gives its name to the film ''Richard Thompson: Across a Crowded Room'', a concert film shot at a 1985 performance at

Barrymore's Barrymore's is a nightclub and concert venue located in Ottawa, Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politic ...

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Canada, which focuses on material from the album.

Track listing

All songs written by Richard Thompson. #"When the Spell Is Broken" – 4:31 #"You Don't Say" – 3:35 #"I Ain't Going to Drag My Feet No More" – 4:22 #"Love in a Faithless Country" – 5:55 #"Fire in the Engine Room" – 3:39 #"Walking Through a Wasted Land" – 4:01 #"Little Blue Number" – 3:04 #"She Twists the Knife Again" – 3:12 #"Ghosts in the Wind" – 5:39 The listing reflects the sequence of songs the original LP release. The original CD issue included an extra track, "Shine On Love" and has a different running order. Subsequent CD re-issues have reflected the song selection and sequence shown above. In 1985 the album was re-issued on CD by PolyGram and in 1992 was re-mastered at

Sound Recording Technology In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

, Cambridge and re-issued on CD by BGO.

Personnel

Source:''Across a Crowded Room'', BGO Records BGO CD 139, 1992, CD insert

Musicians

* Richard Thompson –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

Simon Nicol Simon John Breckenridge Nicol (born 13 October 1950) is an English guitarist, singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He was a founding member of British folk rock group Fairport Convention and is the only founding member still in the ...

–

Dave Mattacks David James Mattacks (born 13 March 1948) is an English rock and folk drummer. Best known for his work with Fairport Convention, Mattacks has also worked both as a session musician and as a performing artist. Apart from playing the drums, he ...

– drums * Bruce Lynch –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

* – alto saxophone * Pete Thomas –

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

Christine Collister Christine Collister (born 28 December 1961) is a Manx folk, blues and jazz singer-songwriter. She was born and grew up on the Isle of Man and first came to public attention in 1986 as the singer of the theme song for the BBC's television adapt ...

, Phil Barnes, Clive Gregson and The Soultanas – backing vocals * Alan Dunn – accordion *

Philip Pickett Philip Pickett (born 17 November 1950) is an English musician. Pickett was director of early music ensembles including the New London Consort, and taught at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He played recorders, shawms and similar in ...

–

shawm The shawm () is a conical bore, double-reed woodwind instrument made in Europe from the 12th century to the present day. It achieved its peak of popularity during the medieval and Renaissance periods, after which it was gradually eclipsed by th ...

crumhorn The crumhorn is a double reed instrument of the woodwind family, most commonly used during the Renaissance period. In modern times, particularly since the 1960s, there has been a revival of interest in early music, and crumhorns are being pla ...

, recorder and symphony.

Technical

– production * Jack Nuber – engineering * Greg Jackman and Jerry Boys – remix engineering * Chris Dickie – assistant engineering * Jack Skinner – mastering * Dennis Keely – back cover photography *

Phil Smee Philip Lloyd-Smee is an English music journalist, designer and record collector, most widely known for designing music album covers and his Bam-Caruso music label, best known for the Rubble series of albums. Much of Smee's design work was done f ...

and Donato Cinicolo – front cover photography * Phil Smee at Waldo's – cover design

References

External

* 1985 albums Richard Thompson (musician) albums Albums produced by Joe Boyd Polydor Records albums {{1980s-rock-album-stub