Pour Down Like Silver
July 2, 2025 | 185 words | Music
This gem of a record by Richard and Linda Thompson came out in 1975 and I happened to listen to it again on the train this morning. It is a bit on the slow and deliberate side, so it’s the kind of thing you need to be in the mood for.
But if you are, the music and lyrics are an intoxicating mix of the British troubadour-balladeer tradition the Thompsons were famous for, and the Sufi mysticism they were both into at the time. These songs find a solid groove that Richard knows how to stay with. He has a knack for embellishing the end of a line ever so gently with his guitar or mandolin.
And Linda’s voice is achingly beautiful, the perfect embodiment of these tunes. The last track on the record, “Dimming of the Day,” has been covered by many other singers over the years, but nobody has been able to touch Linda Thompson’s rendition.
Listening to these songs again this morning reminded of all the people I used to know fifty years ago. And of the person I used to be.
Robert J. Cavanaugh, Jr.
bobcavjr@gmail.com