Richard Thompson, one of the most distinguished guitarists and songwriters of our time, returns with Dream Attic, a magnificent collection of 13 new songs, due out August 31 on Shout! Factory. Penned during a short and inspired burst of creative outpouring, Thompson captured the awesome energy of his live show by recording the album in front of an audience. The songs were performed during a West Coast tour in February of this year, and the bulk of the performances that made the album come from three shows at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco.

Dream Attic was produced by Thompson and longtime cohort Simon Tassano, and they vividly captured the inspired interaction of the players. The musicians appearing on the album with Thompson are Pete Zorn (guitars, flute, sax, mandolin), Michael Jerome (drums), Taras Prodaniuk (bass), and Joel Zifkin (violin, mandolin). "The thing about recording live is that you lose accuracy but you gain energy; you lose choices but you gain immediacy," Thompson says about his decision to work in a live setting. But at the same time, the accuracy is marvelously maintained thanks to the elevated musicianship, frequently leading to extended passages of eruptive forcefulness topped by one after another of Thompson's jaw-dropping solo forays.

To preserve the freshness of the experience, the players went through minimal preparation before embarking on the eight-date mini-tour. "We learned how to play the songs as we went," says Thompson. And that was precisely how the bandleader wanted it. "It's good to be comfortable up to a point," he says. "What you want ideally is to be comfortable and challenged." On several levels, Thompson notes, these 2010 shows felt not terribly different from Fairport Convention's very first tour of the States in 1970, which followed the exit of Sandy Denny. "That particular incarnation of Fairport was a very musical, well rehearsed and tight band," Thompson recalls.

For four decades, Richard Thompson has consistently set songwriting and performance standards to which others aspire. He has long been acknowledged as both a sensitive writer and an innovative guitarist. Preorder Dream Attic today!

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Vernon McIntyre 1. If you could swap places with anyone for one day, whom would you choose and why? My wife, so I could know what she's thinking. 2. Tell us one thing that your fans would be surprised to know about you. I'm not rich. 3. If you could name a planet, what would you name it and why? Mindboggling, because the whole universe is. 4. Favorite group or singer? Barbara Streisand. 5. If money was no object, what hobby would you like to try? I would want to play music but not have to worry about the band; I could hire who ever I needed whenever I needed them. 6. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why? To the moon; few have done it in my lifetime and I would like to be one of them. 7.What is the theme song for the movie that is being made about your life? Honey, You Don't Know My Mind Today Vernon McIntyre's Store