Tear-Stained Letter

Richard Thompson, 1983, from Hand of Kindness. Solo by Richard Thompson.

A fast, near-Cajun rocker with a sharp, crowded Thompson solo that he kept in his sets for decades.

Richard Thompson drives this song at a near-Cajun gallop, and when the solo arrives it sounds as if he has too much to say and not enough bars to say it in. Notes come in crowded bursts, bent and snapped off, with that reedy, almost bagpipe-like edge his playing borrows from British folk melody rather than the blues. It is a good example of how he fuses traditional modal ideas with rock volume, which is a big reason other songwriter-guitarists hold him in such regard. The song stayed in his live shows for decades, often stretched well past the studio length. Listen for the quick hammered ornaments inside the fast runs, closer to a fiddle tune than a rock lick.

Tear-Stained Letter by Richard Thompson is featured in our Folk Rock (#25) list. The solo is played by Richard Thompson and the song was released in 1983.

In our lists

• The 25 Greatest Folk Rock Guitar Solos — #25
• The Best Richard Thompson Guitar Solos — #5

Sources