{"id":43806,"date":"2011-11-09T17:02:34","date_gmt":"2011-11-09T22:02:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=43806"},"modified":"2011-11-09T20:40:54","modified_gmt":"2011-11-10T01:40:54","slug":"from-galway-to-graceland-by-brendan-omalley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=43806","title":{"rendered":"From Galway to Graceland, by Brendan O’Malley"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have given my brother writing assignments before, basically because I like to hear him talk about things he loves. He has a site where he does just that<\/a> from time to time. He has written pieces on Nirvana<\/a>, The Replacements<\/a>, and, most recently, Elvis<\/a>. The new documentary, “Color Me Obsessed”, currently touring America, is about Replacements fans and my brother is interviewed for the film! A month or so ago, I asked him if he could write something up on Richard Thompson<\/strong>, one of my brother’s idols. Brendan complied. As always, I am happy and proud to present to you, my brother – Brendan O’Malley.<\/i><\/p>\n

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From Galway to Graceland<\/big>
\nBy Brendan O’Malley<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been playing guitar for roughly 25 years, the first 5 on and off and the last 20 regularly.<\/p>\n

If I won the lottery later today and dedicated the rest of my natural life to the instrument and was lucky enough to live until I was 100 years old, on my dying day I wouldn\u2019t be able to touch Richard Thompson at his absolute worst.<\/p>\n

I first became aware of him in college through the 1982 album \u201cShoot Out The Lights\u201d, attributed to Richard & Linda Thompson. <\/p>\n

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\nThe couple had recorded it in 1980 under trying circumstances while Linda was pregnant. They were divorced by the time of the album\u2019s release.<\/p>\n

It was named one of the decade\u2019s best albums by Rolling Stone<\/a> and something about the review fascinated me to the point that I went out and bought it, never having heard a note of Thompson\u2019s music before. To say that I was blown away would be an understatement. The combination of songwriting and guitar virtuosity is extraordinary. Add the fact that these heartbreaking songs are being sung by a couple in the middle of a breakup and it becomes almost impossible to listen to. It makes Fleetwood Mac look like the last song at a junior high dance.<\/p>\n

I seem to be drawn towards music figures that never quite achieve the level of success that their talent merits. The Replacements. Terry Reid. The Fatima Mansions. Richard Thompson is another. If you ask any half-knowledgeable guitar player about him, they all simply shake their heads. He makes Eric Clapton look like a novice. And for whatever reason, he simply never had the kind of mainstream success that could make him a household name.<\/p>\n

I crusade for these types of artists. Don\u2019t get me wrong. I am not one of those people who begrudge anyone their success. Eric Clapton EARNED it. I have little patience for fans who use their love of one artist as a weapon against another. At the Los Angeles screening of Color Me Obsessed<\/i><\/a>, the film about fans of The Replacements, some drunken idiots booed every time The Goo Goo Dolls came on screen. As if their mainstream success meant that they weren\u2019t qualified to be fans of The Replacements??? Stupid.<\/p>\n

But I will make the extra effort to bring fans into the various folds of fandom that I enjoy. To do this, I am going to do a cross-promotional thing here. I am going to try and funnel all of the Elvis Presley energy channeled here on Sheila\u2019s site towards Richard Thompson.<\/p>\n

Mr. Thompson has made that quite easy because he wrote the song \u201cFrom Galway To Graceland\u201d which might be the most poignant expression of fandom ever. He imagines an Irish housewife who journeys to Memphis, believing in her heart of hearts that Elvis is her man. The storytelling in that song is impeccable. It renders analysis superfluous. He creates a movie in your mind.<\/p>\n

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