The latest releases reviewed
RICHARD THOMPSON 1000 Years of Popular Music Cooking Vinyl ****
The sight of Richard Thompson, guitar in hand, marching into a place called Bimbo's in San Francisco to perform a set covering 1,000 years of popular music - a bizarre concept that originated in a 1999 request from Playboy to submit a list of the 10 greatest songs of the millennium - is a kind of dream scenario for RT fanatics. He's joined by Judith Owen (vocals and keyboards) and Debra Dobkin (percussion and vocals), and together they launch good humouredly into Sumer Is Icumen In, which dates from 1260. Then it's a dash into the 15th century with King Henry, which describes events leading up to the Battle of Agincourt. There are 22 tracks, ranging from Gilbert & Sullivan to an unrecognisable version of Britney's I Did It Again. While all may not be desert island discs material, they are at the very least humorous and/or informative. Thompson plays up to his eccentric Englishman persona: "I am unqualified to sing 98 per cent of the material here, but having a go could be considered part of the fun." It is, and it was fun, with the audience willing co-conspirators. Joe Breen
STEVIE WONDER Broadcasting Live Ragnarock Films *
Stevie Wonder has been billed as the "eighth wonder of the world" for perhaps longer than he should have been, but there's little doubt about his stellar standing in the pantheon of pop. This DVD, however, wouldn't too easily convert those resistant to his popular charms. Featuring visually inferior (and uncredited) US television clips from the '60s onwards, this is a ragbag collection of substandard performances of such fine pop/funk songs as For Once in My Life, Signed, Sealed, Delivered, Superstition, You Are the Sunshine of My Life and You Haven't Done Nothin'. To add insult to injury, the likes of I Just Called to Say I Loved You, Part Time Lover and That's What Friends Are For are trotted out like bewildered turkeys at Christmas. No extras, no sleeve notes, no quality. Rubbish? Yep. Tony Clayton-Lea
