Richard Thompson and Neil Young

Here are a few of the intersections of Richard Thompson and Neil Young:

From BoiseWeekly.com:

"Like his historical contemporary Neil Young (popularity aside, the two could be viewed as parallel phenomena of different continents), Thompson still thrives on fuzzed-out folk rock spliced with distorted solos. Like Young, Thompson knows that special cheer of audience recognition that happens at the start of an old song 30-plus years into a career, and utilizes it often. Also like Young, Thompson is not averse to an occasional contemporary political statement, and uses his devout Islamic faith as a starting point to criticize fundamentalist dogma of all varieties. "

From CityBeat:

"CB: There is a lot of stylistic variety on this record in terms of the songs. One of the songs I particularly like is 'Hard On Me.' I love the way it plods along. It makes me wonder if you might have a secret affinity for Heavy-Seventies-British-Rock!
RT: (Laughs) I probably don't and I'd probably die if I thought it had any relationship to '70s British Rock records. Um, what do I want to say about that?
CB: Actually, it really sounds more like something Neil Young and Crazy Horse might do.
RT: Yeah (sounding relieved). That's probably more like it. I wouldn't say it's a deliberate quote. I think I started off with a tune which is actually quite a modal, Celtic sounding tune, if you divorce it from the power chords. And I think the chords just slid in under the tune somehow, and it became sort of this foursquare heavy thing. "

From Emphasis Added:

"Because [Thompson] brings a little bit more to the table in terms of raw musicianship, he is far more consistent than those others both as a recording artist and a performer. At his best, Thompson is nearly as great as Neil Young, but at his worst, he's not nearly as bad as some of Young's more appalling failed experiments. Like Young, Thompson began in a late 60s folk rock group Fairport Convention in his case where he penned several of their finest songs including the glittering pop gem 'Time Will Show the Wiser,' and, at age 18, proved himself one of the elite guitarists in England"