13 Rivers

13 Rivers was written after a period of difficulty for Thompson's family{{cite web | url=https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2018/09/13/richard-thompson-the-aquarium-drunkard-interview/ | title=Richard Thompson :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview | work=Aquarium Drunkard | date=13 September 2018 | accessdate=16 September 2018 | last=Woodbury | first=Jason}} with songs that stick "close to a vision of darkness, gloom, and noise". Thompson explains that the songs were written in a "fairly tight time period of about six months", giving them a sense of commonality.{{cite web | url=http://www.folkradio.co.uk/2018/09/richard-thompson-13-rivers-interview/ | title=RICHARD THOMPSON: 13 RIVERS INTERVIEW | work=Folk Radio UK | date=14 September 2018 | accessdate=16 September 2018 | last=Kimpton | first=Glenn}} He states that "many of these songs came to him as a pleasant surprise and that feeling of grabbing the creative urge and running with it is what comes across throughout the running time".

The record was self-produced by Thompson with the album and some minor overdubs being recorded entirely on analogue equipment over a 10-day period.{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/richard-thompsons-new-song-my-rock-my-rope-717267/ | title=Hear Richard Thompson's Meditative New Song 'My Rock, My Rope' | magazine=Rolling Stone | date=29 August 2018 | accessdate=16 September 2018 | last=Freeman | first=Jon}}

The album title derives from the song count, with Thompson explaining that "there are 13 songs on the record, and each one is like a river. Some flow faster than others". This is illustrated further by the album's cover art which features a map by Thompson "showing the individual songs on the album flowing into a central lake".

In 2019 Robin Denselow, interviewing Thompson for The Guardian suggested the album was "filled with religious imagery"; Thompson explained, "... because I love the King James Bible, a beautiful piece of poetry, and you have to speak to people in a language that's familiar." Although coming after his divorce from Nancy Covey and his move to New Jersey, he insisted, that the album was not autobiographical: "I have no perspective on what I am doing. I write a song and think, 'Where does this come from?' Me? I wrote this? I write fiction ... I'm just enjoying myself, throwing lines together. I think it always reflects your own experience and feelings, but it isn’t always in a way that’s clear. If you find something honest enough in yourself then it will be universal."{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/sep/30/richard-thompson-at-70-on-love-loss-and-being-a-muslim-in-trump-us |title=Richard Thompson at 70: on love, loss and being a Muslim in Trump's US |first=Robin |last=Denselow |author-link=Robin Denselow |date=30 September 2019 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=17 March 2024}}

{{Album ratings

| MC = 81/100{{cite web | url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/13-rivers/richard-thompson | title=13 Rivers by Richard Thompson | work=Metacritic | accessdate=16 September 2018}}

|rev1=AllMusic

|rev1score={{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web | url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/13-rivers-mw0003195680 | title=Richard Thompson 13 Rivers | work=AllMusic | accessdate=16 September 2018 | last =Deming| first =Mark}}

| rev2 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music

| rev2Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|year=2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|edition=4th|isbn=978-0195313734}}

|rev3=The Financial Times

|rev3score={{Rating|3|5}}{{Cite web | url=https://www.ft.com/content/87c5f2f0-af71-11e8-99ca-68cf89602132 | title=Richard Thompson: 13 Rivers — microtonal alleyways | work=The Financial Times | date=7 September 2018 | accessdate=16 September 2018 | last=Honigmann | first=David}}

|rev5=The Irish Times

|rev5score={{Rating|4|5}}{{cite news | url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/richard-thompson-13-rivers-review-baker-s-dozen-of-british-folk-rock-brilliance-1.3625688 | title=Richard Thompson: 13 Rivers review – Baker's dozen of British folk-rock brilliance | newspaper=The Irish Times | date=12 September 2018 | accessdate=16 September 2018 | last=Breen | first=Joe}}

|rev6=Mojo

|rev6score={{Rating|4|5}}{{cite journal | last=Hodgkinson | first=Will |author-link=Will Hodgkinson | title=Filter Albums | journal=Mojo | issue=October 2018 | page=92}}

|rev8=PopMatters

|rev8score={{Rating|8|10}}{{cite web | url=https://www.popmatters.com/richard-thompson-13-rivers-2604373474.html | title=Richard Thompson Gets Back to Basics with '13 Rivers' | work=PopMatters | date=13 September 2018 | accessdate=16 September 2018 | last=Ingalls | first=Chris}}

|rev9= Uncut

|rev9score = 9/10{{cite journal | last=Pinnock | first=Tom | title=Reviews | journal=Uncut | issue=October 2018 | page=37}}}}

On Metacritic, which aggregates reviews from critics and assigns a normalised rating out of 100, 13 Rivers received a score of 81, based on one mixed and six positive reviews.

The album received generally favourable reviews from the press,{{Cite web|url=http://www.proper-records.co.uk/2018/09/richard-thompson-13-rivers-in-review/|title=Richard Thompson – 13 Rivers in review | Proper Records|date=21 September 2018}} with it being described as "brilliant" and "engaging" by PopMatters who stated that 13 Rivers was "a raw, unfiltered affair from a veteran artist who shows no signs of slowing down". Folk Radio UK called 13 Rivers "a toothy energetic album"{{cite web | url=https://www.folkradio.co.uk/2018/09/richard-thompson-13-rivers/ | title=RICHARD THOMPSON: 13 RIVERS | work=Folk Radio UK | date=1 September 2018 | accessdate=16 September 2018 | last=Kimpton | first=Glenn}} and Uncut wrote that "13 Rivers is a sparse, raging and noisy record". The Irish Times agreed that "the tone is ominous from the get-go"" and Mojo wrote that "this may be Richard Thompson's most creative album in decades" describing the record as being "driven along by a renewed sense of urgency and purpose". NPR felt that the album had captured Thompson's live sound, explaining that "the live show is always spectacular, and on 13 Rivers, Thompson more than manages to bring that live energy and those searing and soaring guitar solos to life in the studio".{{cite web | url=https://www.npr.org/2018/09/06/644565625/first-listen-richard-thompson-13-rivers?t=1537086409858 | title=Richard Thompson Navigates '13 Rivers' Of Love And Loathing | work=NPR Music | date=6 September 2018 | accessdate=16 September 2018 | last=Warren | first=Bruce}} AllMusic wrote that "Thompson's vocals are superb throughout" claiming that "13 Rivers is striking music from a musician who remains fresh, contemporary, and peerless".

All tracks written by Richard Thompson:13 Rivers, 2018. Proper Records: PRPCD150. Sleeve notes

1. "The Storm Won't Come" – 6:11
2. "The Rattle Within" – 3:06
3. "Her Love Was Meant for Me" – 5:01
4. "Bones of Gilead" – 4:21
5. "The Dog in You" – 4:54
6. "Trying" – 3:35
7. "Do All These Tears Belong to You?" – 4:13
8. "My Rock, My Rope" – 3:19
9. "You Can't Reach Me" – 3:58
10. "O, Cinderella" – 3:49
11. "No Matter" – 3:46
12. "Pride" – 3:17
13. "Shaking the Gates" – 4:00

• Richard Thompson – vocals, guitar and keyboards
• Michael Jerome – drums, percussion and vocals
• Taras Prodaniuk – bass guitar and vocals
• Bobby Eichorn – guitar
• Siobhan Maher Kennedy – harmony vocal
• Judith Owen – harmony vocal on "No Matter"
• Zara Phillips – harmony vocal

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{{Richard Thompson}}

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Category:Richard Thompson (musician) albums

Category:2018 albums

Category:New West Records albums

Category:Proper Records albums