Music and Songwriting/The Songwriter's Grooves Project - A Guide to Singing and Playing Guitar/The Synthetic Strumming Song Series/Wall of Death

Wall of Death - Richard Thompson

Wall of Death has Richard's characteristic potpourri of picking techniques that are notoriously difficult to pin down. There is a simplified lesson that includes the iconic riffs and focuses on a basic interpretation of the song without oversimplifying.

History

The song was originally released on Shoot Out the Lights in 1982 and has since been performed many times by Richard in live shows.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoot_Out_the_Lights#Track_listing

Flagship Recordings/Performances

On Acoustic Classics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFcl3Y9nJBI

With Linda

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSwu88ZMFPI

McCarter Theater from Afar, 2013

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qAcbUCkTFU

Seattle 1990

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm5veik7Di0

Playing tips

It's helpful to understand the chord shapes and develop a simplified interpretation of the song which you can then expand on. Copying Richard's performances is extremely difficult due to the constant variation in performances and the noisy style of picking/strumming the song.