No hit songs, but a devoted flock of fans

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

•	Richard Thompson with Ledward Ka'apana 7:30 p.m. Saturday Doris Duke at The Academy $30 532-8700

We should've been so lucky. That's because more than 35 years after founding legendary British folk-rock group Fairport Convention, and two decades after arguably his greatest work with former partner in music and life Linda Thompson, very few among us have even heard a Richard Thompson song.

Thompson has never had a hit single. Heck, he's never had a hit album. And the likelihood of hearing a Richard Thompson song on your car radio is about as likely as Eminem pairing with Moby for a duet.

Yet there Thompson is. Still dreaming up some of the most brilliantly written songs of tainted love you'll ever hear. Still the de facto guitar god of just about every nerdy music writer who ever fancied himself a thinking man's music critic. And still the self-effacing object of affection of a cultish fanbase that ingests every Thompson CD release like a gift from the almighty.

Thompson is headed back to Honolulu this weekend for a solo performance at Doris Duke at The Academy, and a week's worth of North Shore R&B coinciding with his 11-year old son Jack's school break.

"This sounds bizarre, but I think that for me, one of the best places to write about the gloom and misery of my soul is in the sunshine on a nice beach somewhere," cracked Thompson, his jovial British accent the soothing aural equivalent of hot tea and milk.

Thompson knows from gloom and misery, having recently severed what he said would likely be his final association with a major record label. In this case, Capitol Records. Thompson has lived with "the expensive business" of trying to buy back master recordings of his work from former labels for years. Indeed, much of his best work remains out of print or tossed haphazardly on to poorly mastered compilations.

"I don't think the major labels can market stuff that isn't pretty and digestible," said Thompson. "They can do Britney. They can get the corporate tie-in with Pepsi and then tie it in with a movie. It's become such a corporate world. The business has changed so much."

Thompson has no sympathy for music industry gripes about rampant Internet downloading.

"I'm glad the major labels are struggling, and that sales are dropping drastically and kids are mp3-ing to death," Thompson said.

There's inflated pricing and weak product, he agreed, "But the real problem with the music industry is when it became corporate. When non-music companies began taking over record companies ... with no understanding that this business, and possibly the film business, are not like other businesses."

No surprise then that Thompson plans to seek out smaller labels for future releases, contracting for only one album at a time, and retaining ownership of all master recordings. The first of these releases — a studio album with his touring band — is set for release in February, with a children's CD to follow.

"We're also releasing ... an album of a show we did in New York called 'A Thousand Years of Popular Music,' which is like an hour-long roller coaster ride from 1,000 A.D. up to, um, you know, Britney," Thompson said. A rather ambitious — some might say, ballsy idea — the disc will include Thompson takes on everything from Shakespeare and Gilbert and Sullivan compositions to early jazz and rock. There'll also be songs previously made famous by Prince and (yup, he wasn't kidding) Britney Spears.

"I'd rather leave the identity of that one to surprise," replied Thompson to a hopeful guess of "Oops! I Did It Again."

A discussion followed about exactly what a Richard Thompson CD designed for kids ears would sound like.

"It's songs for slightly cynical children," said Thompson, who occasionally warbles at his son's school for fun.

Admittedly a song or two short from "building up my repertoire" of kid stuff, Thompson nonetheless piqued his inquisitor's interest with a few tunes that one shouldn't expect to hear on "Sesame Street" anytime soon.

"I've got a new song about Alexander Graham Bell (and) a song about ancient Egypt ... which describes, in a lighthearted way, the embalming process," said Thompson, laughing. "You know ... stuff that is very useful to kids. Very useful. It's education through fun, really."

And what's wrong with that?