Refreshing Alt-Country Song With Django Solo

jonpowl

Driving home the other night with KPIG (local alt-country station) tuned in and was astounded to hear the song Guitar Heroes by Richard Thompson from his 2015 album "Still". Who else but Django would be the first featured solo, and not a bad one. A Les Paul solo follows.

crookedpinky

Brilliant. Love Richard Thompson but had never heard this, just fabulous.

ChrisMartin

I suspect he was only part joking; the song namechecks a list of 'guitar heroes' each one followed by a solo impersonation. I had never heard of him being called Alt-Country though. As a young hippie type around London in the late '60s and early '70s I used to see him a lot when he was with Fairport Convention. Richard also made a few good records with his then wife Linda and has maintained a solo career since, his style has been usually somewhere between British folk music and Knopfler style rock but there are many other influences that show through. Here he backs Norma Waterson on the old Bix Beiderbecke 'Ain't No Sweet Man' with a typically laid back bluesy/jazzy solo.

Buco

I remember reading an article about him, the latest album and this song in Fretboard journal.

Here it is:
https://www.fretboardjournal.com/features/still-and-all-richard-thompson-looks-forward-and-back/