Veteran Musician Steps Out on His Own

Richard Thompson puffs up his words, talking brave.

“Hey,” he says. “I’m not afraid.”

But in the very next breath, the veteran singer-songwriter confesses that his current tour as the opening act for Joan Armatrading--they appear Tuesday night with Susan Werner at the Universal Amphitheatre--is tougher than most. It marks the first time that he has performed the far-ranging material from his latest album without help from a backing band.

Released a month ago, “you? me? us?” roams courageously from bristling rock ‘n’ roll to tender laments, a collection of 19 tracks from a man as dexterous with words as he is with a guitar. Covering so much ground, Thompson split the music into two compact discs, one electric and the other utterly acoustic.

“I just finished a European tour,” he said. “I have been playing a long show that encompasses solo portions and acoustic band portions and electric band portions that really covered the whole range of stuff.”

Now he goes it alone. Just him, a guitar and all those songs.

“When you’re playing solo, people concentrate on the lyrics. A performer has to involve them in the emotion of the story,” he said. “If people clap, they like it, and if they don’t clap, it hasn’t been well-communicated.

“You find out pretty quickly.”

At the very least, the London native can expect the acceptance of loyal followers, some of whom date back as fans to the late 1960s when he helped form Fairport Convention. That band spearheaded the English folk-rock movement, using electric guitars to transform the triple-time jigs and lively reels of traditional Celtic music.

Thompson split in 1971 to stake his own musical claim, a landscape populated by characters with high hopes who, more often than not, trip over life’s disappointments and outright cruelties.

Such stories were told by a man whose gallows humor and long face, framed by a beard, suited the subject matter. His wife, Linda, contributed a mellifluous counterpoint. A string of well-reviewed albums ensued. Then there was a hiatus, in the mid-1970s, as the couple converted to Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam, and established a religious community in the English countryside. By 1983, they had divorced and Thompson chronicled the breakup with the country-tinged album “Hand of Kindness.”

Now comes a release as brooding and darkly witty as anything he has written, although it is uncharacteristically long. Neither Thompson nor his record company were terribly eager to release a 72-minute collection.

“It’s a lot for people to listen to,” he said. “But I’m just a wild, creative artist and I said, ‘How about a double album in the spirit of the ‘70s?’ ”

Times reviewer Elysa Gardner suggested that Thompson “may be getting just a little too prolific for his own good. There are a whopping 19 tracks on this two-disc collection, and while there’s not a dud among them, there aren’t enough gems to keep the average listener compelled throughout.” Other critics reveled in the abundance. “This new release contains some of Thompson’s best melodies,” Geoffrey Himes wrote in the Washington Post, characterizing the album’s length as a “generous helping.”

Familiar faces such as co-producer Mitchell Froom and ex-Fairport guitarist Simon Nicol contribute, as does drummer Pete Thomas of the Attractions. The material, however, is pure Thompson.

In the very first song, “Razor Dance,” ex-lovers compete to see “who can spit the meanest venom from the poison of their lungs.” Bitter humor rears its head amid the backhanded pleasantries of “Put It There Pal.” Thompson deadpans: “When you pat me on the back, that was quite some slap. That kind of compliment could kill a chap.”

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As always, deft guitar work runs throughout, notably so in “Dark Hand Over My Heart” and “Business on You,” where a mandolin duels with electric riffs. And the writer’s meticulous craft emerges from the harmonies, the gentle lead work, in “The Ghost of You Walks.”

Thompson wrote many of the songs sitting around his house with a guitar on one knee. Honing the material for a solo concert required some attention to detail.

“The challenge is how much I can play and what’s desirable to leave out,” he said. “Am I able to keep the rhythm going? Can I play a lead line over the top?”

Such performances thrive on both technique and a connection forged between player and listeners, what Thompson refers to as “feeling in touch with the audience.” This relationship will no doubt benefit from his tendency for between-song banter. But with 6,000 seats, the amphitheater stretches the bounds of intimacy.

“It’s about the limit,” he said. “Maybe you have to concentrate harder.”

Therein lies the test, the ruler against which Thompson and his music will be measured on Tuesday night. They should pass nicely if a June 1995 appearance at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano serves as an indicator.

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Reviewing the show for The Times, Jim Washburn wrote: “While singing with as much passion and nuance as anyone could ask for, he also somehow managed to simultaneously play rhythm, driving bass lines and spontaneous solo fills.”

For good measure, Thompson plans to come back through Los Angeles in the fall--with a band.

“I enjoy the fact that I can do both a band tour and an acoustic tour,” he said. “It keeps it all fresh and creative.”

Then a slight pause.

“Hopefully.”

DETAILS

* WHAT: Susan Werner, Richard Thompson, Joan Armatrading.

* WHERE: Universal Amphitheatre, 100 Universal City Plaza.

* WHEN: 8:15 p.m. Tuesday.

* HOW MUCH: $28, $23, $20.50.

* CALL: (213) 480-3232.