Attention, folkies! Who's Singing This Song?
March 17, 2007 8:02 AM   Subscribe

Music Mystery! Can someone identify the performer or group who does this version of Richard Thompson's "I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight"?

I downloaded this ages ago somewhere, and it was mislabelled as being Richard & Linda Thompson. It's not, but I really love the version. I don't know who's singing it, though!

I want to buy the album it's on, or seek out more music by this performer or band. (I have an emusic subscription now for legit music purchasing, and I'm willing to buy through Amazon.) The mp3 cuts off abruptly near the end.

The mp3 is here:
http://members.shaw.ca/nubblenoel/brightlights.mp3
posted by Savannah to Media & Arts (6 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
I don't have a definitive answer, but here's a (likely incomplete) list of musicians who have recorded a cover of this song:

Julie Covington (October 1978)
Ron Kavana (1993)
Barrence Whitfield & Tom Russell (1993)
Ida (1997)
Continental Drifters (October 2001)
Matt Pond (2005?)
Weddings Parties Anything (2005?)

Hope this in some way helps you "track" down (sorry 'bout the atrocious pun) who you're looking for.
posted by vers at 8:53 AM on March 17, 2007


Best answer: A little googling makes me think that it might be Ida, off of their "Poor Dumb Bird" EP. That's just a guess, though, and I can't find a sound clip to confirm that it makes sense.
posted by craichead at 8:56 AM on March 17, 2007


Best answer: It's definitely Ida's cover.

(Though if you want a cover that goes in the opposite direction, look for one of Sleater-Kinney's live versions.)
posted by holgate at 9:13 AM on March 17, 2007


I couldn't find an MP3 of this song, but for comparison purposes, here's Ida doing "Walk Away Renee." So yeah, I'd say definitely Ida.
posted by craichead at 9:24 AM on March 17, 2007


Response by poster: Thank you!

And argh... Out of print. Anyone want to toss in links to good resources for purchasing out-of-print music, please do!

Meantime, I'll try some of Ida's other releases with this month's emusic allotment.
posted by Savannah at 9:26 AM on March 17, 2007


Response by poster: Last thing, I promise: Ask Metafilter has awesome people. You've made my day.
posted by Savannah at 3:50 PM on March 17, 2007


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