{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox album | name = 13 Rivers | type = studio | artist = Richard Thompson | cover = Richard Thompson 13 Rivers album_cover.jpg | alt = | released = 14 September 2018 | recorded = | studio = Boulevard Recording, Hollywood | genre = Folk rock | length = 53:30 | label = New West (US)<br />Proper (UK) | producer = Richard Thompson | prev_title = Acoustic Rarities | prev_year = 2017 | next_title = Ship to Shore | next_year = 2024 }}
'''''13 Rivers''''' is the eighteenth solo studio album by British singer/songwriter Richard Thompson. It was released on 14 September 2018 by New West Records in the US and by Proper Records in the UK.
==Background== ''13 Rivers'' was written after a period of difficulty for Thompson's family<ref name="aqd">{{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}}</ref><ref name="mojo" /> with songs that stick "close to a vision of darkness, gloom, and noise".<ref name="pm" /> Thompson explains that the songs were written in a "fairly tight time period of about six months", giving them a sense of commonality.<ref name="folkradio2">{{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}}</ref> 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".<ref name="folkradio" />
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.<ref name="pm" /><ref name="folkradio2" /><ref name="Rolling">{{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}}</ref><ref name="unc" /> 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".<ref name="npr" /> 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".<ref name="FT" />
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."<ref>{{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}}</ref>
==Critical reception== {{Album ratings | MC = 81/100<ref name="meta">{{cite web | url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/13-rivers/richard-thompson | title=13 Rivers by Richard Thompson | work=Metacritic | accessdate=16 September 2018}}</ref> |rev1=AllMusic |rev1score={{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="AM">{{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}}</ref> | rev2 = ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' | rev2Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{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}}</ref> |rev3=''The Financial Times'' |rev3score={{Rating|3|5}}<ref name="FT">{{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}}</ref> |rev5=''The Irish Times'' |rev5score={{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="irish">{{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}}</ref> |rev6=''Mojo'' |rev6score={{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="mojo">{{cite journal | last=Hodgkinson | first=Will |author-link=Will Hodgkinson | title=Filter Albums | journal=Mojo | issue=October 2018 | page=92}}</ref> |rev8=''PopMatters'' |rev8score=8/10<ref name="pm">{{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}}</ref> |rev9= ''Uncut'' |rev9score = 9/10<ref name="unc">{{cite journal | last=Pinnock | first=Tom | title=Reviews | journal=Uncut | issue=October 2018 | page=37}}</ref>}}
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.<ref name="meta" />
The album received generally favourable reviews from the press,<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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".<ref name="pm" /> ''Folk Radio UK'' called ''13 Rivers'' "a toothy energetic album"<ref name="folkradio">{{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}}</ref> and ''Uncut'' wrote that "''13 Rivers'' is a sparse, raging and noisy record".<ref name="unc" /> ''The Irish Times'' agreed that "the tone is ominous from the get-go"<ref name="irish" />" 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".<ref name="mojo" /> 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".<ref name="npr">{{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}}</ref> 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".<ref name="AM" />
==Track listing== All tracks written by Richard Thompson:<ref name="credits">''13 Rivers'', 2018. Proper Records: PRPCD150. Sleeve notes</ref>
#"The Storm Won't Come" – 6:11 #"The Rattle Within" – 3:06 #"Her Love Was Meant for Me" – 5:01 #"Bones of Gilead" – 4:21 #"The Dog in You" – 4:54 #"Trying" – 3:35 #"Do All These Tears Belong to You?" – 4:13 #"My Rock, My Rope" – 3:19 #"You Can't Reach Me" – 3:58 #"O, Cinderella" – 3:49 #"No Matter" – 3:46 #"Pride" – 3:17 #"Shaking the Gates" – 4:00
==Personnel== *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<ref name="credits"/>
==Charts== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |- ! scope="col"| Chart (2018) ! scope="col"| Peak<br /> position |- {{album chart|Flanders|61|artist=Richard Thompson|album=13 Rivers|rowheader=true|accessdate=21 September 2018}} |- {{album chart|Scotland|10|date=20180921|rowheader=true|accessdate=22 September 2018}} |- {{album chart|Switzerland|96|artist=Richard Thompson|album=13 Rivers|rowheader=true|accessdate=26 September 2018}} |- {{album chart|UK2|18|date=20180921|rowheader=true|accessdate=22 September 2018}} |}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{Discogs master}} * {{youtube|f_rLE3uTO1c|"Her Love Was Meant for Me"}}
{{Richard Thompson}} {{Authority control}} Category:Richard Thompson (musician) albums Category:2018 albums Category:New West Records albums Category:Proper Records albums