Richard Thompson – Music From Grizzly Man (Clear Smoke vinyl, Number 796)
RARITY - Sealed
Guitar, Bass – Richard Thompson
Acoustic Bass – Damon Smith
Cello – Danielle DeGruttola
Percussion, Drums – John Hanes
Piano, Guitar – James O'Rourke
Written by Danielle DeGruttola (A6, B4-5), Scott Skinner (A5), James O'Rourke (B2), Richard Thompson (A1-4, B6 to B6)
1LP, Gatefold jacket
Limited to 1,000 numbered copies (Number 796)
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : Clear Smoke
Speed : 33 RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : unspecified
Label : VMP (Vinyl Me Please)
Original Label : Cooking Vinyl
Recorded in December 2004 at Fantasy Studios Berkeley, California
Recorded by Stephen Hart
Produced by Henry Kaiser
Originally released in 2005
Reissued in 2022
Tracks:
Side A:
- Tim and the Bears
- Grizzly Man
- Foxes
- Ghosts in the Maze
- Glencoe
- Parents
- Twilight Cowboy
- Streamwalk
Side B:
- Treadwell No More
- The Kibosh
- Small Racket
- Teddy Bear
- Bear Swim
- Grizzly Man (Revisited)
Reviews:
“Filmmaker Werner Herzog commissioned legendary guitarist Richard Thompson to compose and perform the musical score for his documentary Grizzly Man, about the life and death of Timothy Treadwell, a man who fled society to live among the grizzly bears in the Alaskan wilderness. In the manner of Thompson's previous film scores, the Grizzly Man album is longer on atmosphere than on songcraft; anyone expecting the British folk-derived melodies of Thompson's most familiar work will be disappointed, though if you love the expressive modalities of his electric guitar playing, there's plenty of them on display, and they conjure up the beautiful but dangerous surroundings of Treadwell's environment very well indeed. Along with some lovely but subdued guitar-based pieces from Thompson, his periodic collaborator Henry Kaiser and Sonic Youth/Wilco interloper Jim O'Rourke sit in for a handful of harsher, atonal pieces that represent the more discordant and unforgiving aspects of life among the bears; fans of Thompson the folkie will probably be turned off by "Big Racket," "Bear Fight," and "Corona for Mr. Chocolate," but those who embraced the expressive angularity of the French-Frith-Kaiser-Thompson recordings will certainly want to hear this. In short, this isn't an essential Thompson release, but his more discerning fans will find it firmly possessed of the great man's magic, and it offers a trip down a few paths he doesn't often visit.” AllMusic Review by Mark Deming
Ratings:
AllMusic : 3.5 / 5 ; Discogs : 4.55 / 5