Crowdfunding Campaigns of the Week: Richard Thompson and Joan Osborne

As I’m writing this week’s edition of Crowdfunding Campaigns of the Week, it is New Year’s Day, 2017. It’s a time to not only look back at the year past, but to look forward to the blank slate that is the year to come. If you’re reading this column, you probably didn’t even put “listen to more new music” in your list of New Year’s resolutions, because it’s a way of life. So for this week, I wanted to explore that past/future mix through a crowdfunding lens with a pair of new albums featuring old material. One is a covers album from an established artist paying tribute to one of the greatest songwriters ever. The other is a titan of the British folk movement taking a new look at songs he wrote both for himself and for other people.

Richard Thompson- Acoustic Classics Vol. 2 and Acoustic Rarities

In the world of British folk music, there are few names that carry as much weight as Richard Thompson. From his work with Fairport Convention to his albums with Linda Thompson to his more recent solo albums, Thompson’s legacy as a singer and guitarist is solid. But he may be best remembered as a songwriter, with tunes covered by artists across a multitude of genres. With his new album Acoustic Classics Vol. 2 and Acoustic Rarities, Thompson will delve into his catalog to bring acoustic renderings of some of his classic songs, including some that were written for others, some only available as covers, and some that were originally only available in band form. Backer rewards include a signed vinyl copy of the double album, a signed 7” vinyl of “Haul Me Up”/”1952 Vincent Black Lightning”, and even a guitar lesson from the master himself.

Joan Osborne- Joan Osborne Sings the Songs of Bob Dylan

Joan Osborne has enjoyed a successful career both as a solo artist with radio hits like “One of Us” and as part of roots music supergroup Trigger Hippy. Like most successful artists with a roots music background, Osborne owes a great debt of influence to the works of Bob Dylan. Now she’s ready to explore that influence with an entire album of Dylan covers. Osborne has covered Dylan before, most notably doing “Man in the Long Black Coat” on her Triple Platinum debut album Relish and an all-Dylan covers night during her two week NYC residency in 2016. With an entire album to work with and hundreds of songs from the Nobel Prize winning songwriter to choose from, it should be interesting to see Osborne’s choices when it comes to familiar classics vs. deeper album cuts. All pre-orders of the album will include an instant stream of “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome.” Other backer rewards include a disposable camera full of pictures taken by Osborne, a signed tambourine, and a chance to chat about Bob Dylan with Osborne via Google Hangout.