Sunnyvista
Encyclopedia
Sunnyvista, released in October 1979 is the fifth album by Richard and Linda
Thompson.
After the artistic mismatch of the previous year's come back album (see First Light), the Thompsons made greater use on this album of backing musicians that they had worked with previously.
Sunnyvista is a curate's egg of an album in terms of its mood. Stylistically it covers wide ground and includes some of Thompson's most overtly rocking songs - possibly reflecting pressure from the record label to deliver a big selling album.
There are more secular songs on this album than on its immediate predecessor. "You're Going To Need Somebody" and "Why Do You Turn Your Back?" are the most explicitly religious tracks. The former is a joyous affirmation of divine mercy and is notable for John Kirkpatrick's accordion playing. The latter has an unusual and long verse structure which allows for a particularly effective build and release of tension.
"Saturday Rolling Around" is a homage to cajun music, a genre that Richard Thompson has long admired and which he had previously experimented with on Fairport Convention
's Unhalfbricking
album. This too is a joyous and upbeat song.
Elsewhere the mood is more spiteful, especially in the opening "Civilisation" with its sarcastic lyrics and in the heavy-handed satire of the title track which takes a tilt at a community which is superficially happy but also controlled and uniform. Whether this is a reference to late 70s England or to the commune that the Thompsons had recently left is not clear.
Thompson takes a stab at funk on "Justice In The Streets" and at hard rock on "Living On Borrowed Time". "Traces Of My Love" is a tender song of longing and lyrically is in the ancient sufic tradition of expressing love for the divine in secular terms.
The closing track "Georgie On A Spree" (not included on the original vinyl album) is a remake of a song included on the Hokey Pokey
album. It had been chosen as the theme tune for the BBC
television drama Kiss The Girls and Make Them Cry and the new version was issued as a single.
The response to Sunnyvista by the critics and the public was lukewarm, and Chrysalis
decided to not extend their relationship with the Thompsons. The settlement between artist and label left Thompson owning the master tapes for the two albums he had recorded for Chrysalis.
The albums were later licensed to Joe Boyd
's Hannibal label for re-issue on CD.
, London, NW8.
Linda Thompson (singer)
Linda Thompson is a British singer. Born Linda Pettifer in Hackney, Thompson became one of the most recognised names—and voices—in the British folk rock movement of the 1970s and 1980s, in collaboration with her former husband and fellow British folk rock musician, guitarist Richard...
Thompson.
After the artistic mismatch of the previous year's come back album (see First Light), the Thompsons made greater use on this album of backing musicians that they had worked with previously.
Sunnyvista is a curate's egg of an album in terms of its mood. Stylistically it covers wide ground and includes some of Thompson's most overtly rocking songs - possibly reflecting pressure from the record label to deliver a big selling album.
There are more secular songs on this album than on its immediate predecessor. "You're Going To Need Somebody" and "Why Do You Turn Your Back?" are the most explicitly religious tracks. The former is a joyous affirmation of divine mercy and is notable for John Kirkpatrick's accordion playing. The latter has an unusual and long verse structure which allows for a particularly effective build and release of tension.
"Saturday Rolling Around" is a homage to cajun music, a genre that Richard Thompson has long admired and which he had previously experimented with on Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
's Unhalfbricking
Unhalfbricking
The band's male vocalist Iain Matthews left during the recordings for Unhalfbricking to make his own album Matthews' Southern Comfort, after recording just one track, "Percy's Song". Sandy Denny sang lead vocals on all the other songs, including her own compositions, "Autopsy", and "Who Knows Where...
album. This too is a joyous and upbeat song.
Elsewhere the mood is more spiteful, especially in the opening "Civilisation" with its sarcastic lyrics and in the heavy-handed satire of the title track which takes a tilt at a community which is superficially happy but also controlled and uniform. Whether this is a reference to late 70s England or to the commune that the Thompsons had recently left is not clear.
Thompson takes a stab at funk on "Justice In The Streets" and at hard rock on "Living On Borrowed Time". "Traces Of My Love" is a tender song of longing and lyrically is in the ancient sufic tradition of expressing love for the divine in secular terms.
The closing track "Georgie On A Spree" (not included on the original vinyl album) is a remake of a song included on the Hokey Pokey
Hokey Pokey (album)
Hokey Pokey is the second album by the British duo of singer Linda and singer/songwriter/guitarist Richard Thompson. It was recorded in the autumn of 1974 and released in 1975....
album. It had been chosen as the theme tune for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television drama Kiss The Girls and Make Them Cry and the new version was issued as a single.
The response to Sunnyvista by the critics and the public was lukewarm, and Chrysalis
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...
decided to not extend their relationship with the Thompsons. The settlement between artist and label left Thompson owning the master tapes for the two albums he had recorded for Chrysalis.
The albums were later licensed to Joe Boyd
Joe Boyd
Joe Boyd is an American record producer and former owner of the Witchseason production company. Boyd was instrumental in launching the careers of Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, and The Incredible String Band.-Career:...
's Hannibal label for re-issue on CD.
Track listing
All songs written by Richard Thompson.- "Civilisation"
- "Borrowed Time"
- "Saturday Rolling Around"
- "You're Going To Need Somebody"
- "Why Do You Turn Your Back?"
- "Sunnyvista"
- "Lonely Hearts"
- "Sisters"
- "Justice In The Streets"
- "Traces Of My Love"
- "Georgie On A Spree"
Personnel
- Richard Thompson - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, dulcimerAppalachian dulcimerThe Appalachian dulcimer is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings. It is native to the Appalachian region of the United States...
, whistle - Linda ThompsonLinda Thompson (singer)Linda Thompson is a British singer. Born Linda Pettifer in Hackney, Thompson became one of the most recognised names—and voices—in the British folk rock movement of the 1970s and 1980s, in collaboration with her former husband and fellow British folk rock musician, guitarist Richard...
- vocals - Michael Spencer-Arscott - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Dave PeggDave PeggDave Pegg is an English multi-instrumentalist and record producer, arguably most visible as a bass guitarist. He is the longest-serving member of the pre-eminent electric folk band Fairport Convention and has been bassist with a number of important folk and rock groups including The Ian Campbell...
- bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Timmy Donald - drums
- Pat DonaldsonPat DonaldsonPat Donaldson is a bass guitarist.The 2i's Coffee Bar in Old Compton Street, Soho was a legendary hang-out for early rock artists of Britain. It was here that Tommy Steele, Cliff Richard and Terry Dean played. Albert Lee and Pat Donaldson played here while they were members of Bob Xavier and the...
- bass guitar - Pete WingfieldPete WingfieldPete Wingfield is an English record producer, keyboard player, songwriter, singer and music journalist.-Career:...
- keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Rabbit Bundrick - keyboards
- John Kirkpatrick - accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, triangle - Dave MattacksDave MattacksDave Mattacks is a rock and folk drummer. Best known for his work with Fairport Convention, Mattacks has also worked both as a session musician, and as a performance artist...
- drums - Louis Jardim - percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
- Sue HarrisSue HarrisSue Harris is an English musician classically trained as an oboeist, but best known for her folk music performances with the hammered dulcimer....
- oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
, dulcimnerHammered dulcimerThe hammered dulcimer is a stringed musical instrument with the strings stretched over a trapezoidal sounding board. Typically, the hammered dulcimer is set on a stand, at an angle, before the musician, who holds small mallet hammers in each hand to strike the strings... - Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Glen Tilbrook, Julian Littman, Marc Ellington, Olive Simpson, Nicole Tibbels, Lindsay Benton, Gerry RaffertyGerry RaffertyGerald "Gerry" Rafferty was a Scottish singer songwriter best known for his solo hits "Baker Street", "Right Down the Line", "Days Gone Down", "Night Owl", "Get It Right Next Time", and with the band Stealers Wheel, "Stuck in the Middle with You". Rafferty was born into a working-class family in...
, Hafsa Abdul Jabbas and Abdu Rahim - background vocals
Cover
The front and back cover of the album feature a number of photographs of the Alexandra Road estateAlexandra Road estate
The Alexandra Road estate, properly known as the Alexandra and Ainsworth estate, but more commonly, and erroneously, referred to as simply Rowley Way, is a housing estate in the London Borough of Camden, North West London, England. It was designed in 1968 by Neave Brown of Camden Council's...
, London, NW8.