Strict Tempo (Reissue)

Strict Tempo! was originally released on Thompson's own imprint, Elixir, in 1981 and later reissued by the Hannibal label but has been out of print for some time. The year 2011 marks the 30th Anniversary of this dexterous collection of traditional jigs and reels—with an original Thompson composition and a Duke Ellington cover thrown in for good measure. Omnivore Recordings is proud to celebrate the reissue of this recording by releasing it both digitally and on CD. The first run of the CD is packaged in a special "greeting card" digipack and features new notes on each song by Thompson.

The songwriters' songwriter, and a consummate artist. As a founder of the legendary British folk-rock group Fairport Convention, through the '70s releases with his then-wife, Linda Thompson, to his highly successful solo career and work as a session player for other artists, Thompson has left behind a trail of recordings and compositions nearly unequaled in modern music history.

His solo career can be traced to 1972's Henry The Human Fly, after which he went on to record a string of critically acclaimed albums with Linda Thompson. It wasn't until 1981 that Thompson released another solo album, this time it was called Strict Tempo! and, not surprisingly, due to his gifts as an instrumentalist, was an instrumental album that showcased his extraordinary talents by Thompson playing all instruments himself, accompanied only by former Fairport bandmate Dave Mattacks on drums/percussion.