Hokey Pokey (album)

Hokey Pokey
Studio album by
Richard and Linda Thompson
ReleasedApril 1975
RecordedSeptember – October 1974
StudioSound Techniques, London
GenreFolk rock
Length36:02 (original)
52:36 (2004 reissue)
LabelIsland
ProducerRichard Thompson and Simon Nicol
Richard and Linda Thompson chronology
I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight
(1974) 		Hokey Pokey
(1975) 		Pour Down Like Silver
(1975)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideA[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]

Hokey Pokey is the second album by the British duo of singer Linda Thompson and singer/songwriter/guitarist Richard Thompson. It was recorded in the autumn of 1974 and released in the year 1975.

Much of the material on the Hokey Pokey album was written sometime before the album was recorded and even predates the Thompsons' conversion to Islam.

In terms of musical style Thompson's songwriting on this album reflects a number of British styles despite not being in the English folk-rock style of "Bright Lights": Music Hall, English hymns, traditional brass bands, pub sing-alongs and even the double entendres of George Formby are all discernible. In many cases, Thompson juxtaposes an upbeat tune with a bleak lyric.

It was voted number 604 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).[4]

  1. ^ Hartenbach, Brett (2011). "Hokey Pokey - Richard & Linda Thompson | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: T". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 16 March 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. p. 3074. ISBN 978-0857125958.
  4. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 201. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.