Variations on a Theme (David Thomas album)

This article is about the David Thomas album. For the musical technique, see Variation (music). For other uses, see Variations on a Theme.

Variations on a Theme

Studio album by David Thomas &
The Pedestrians with Richard Thompson

Released

June 1983

Recorded

March 1983

Studio

Suma Recording
(Painesville, OH)

Genre

Art rock

Length

38:04

David Thomas chronology

Winter Comes Home
(1982)

Variations on a Theme
(1983)

More Places Forever
(1985)

Richard Thompson chronology

Shoot Out the Lights
(1982)

Variations on a Theme
(1983)

Hand of Kindness
(1983)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]
Robert Christgau	B^[2]

Variations on a Theme is the second studio album by experimental singer-songwriter David Thomas, released in May 1983 by Rough Trade Records. Like its predecessor The Sound of the Sand, Variations on a Theme features prominent guitar work from Richard Thompson.^[3] In 1997, the album was remastered by Paul Hamann and David Thomas for its inclusion in the Monster anthology box set.

Track listing

All lyrics written by David Thomas.

Side one
No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"A Day at the Botanical Gardens"	David Thomas	3:21
2.	"Pedestrian Walk"	David Thomas, Eddie Thornton	4:34
3.	"Bird Town"	Richard Thompson	2:43
4.	"The Egg & I"	Anton Fier	2:55
5.	"Who Is It?"	Lindsay Cooper, Chris Cutler	3:39

Side two
No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Song of Hoe"	David Thomas	6:03
2.	"Hurry Back"	Jim Jones	4:19
3.	"The Rain"	Chris Cutler, Anton Fier	5:17
4.	"Semaphore"	Lindsay Cooper, Chris Cutler, Jack Monck	5:13

Personnel

Adapted from the Variations on a Theme liner notes.^[4]

The Pedestrians

Anton Fier – drums
Paul Hamann – bass guitar, engineering
Jim Jones – guitar
Jack Monck – guitar
David Thomas – lead vocals
Richard Thompson – guitar

Additional musicians

Lindsay Cooper – bassoon (A5, B3, B4)
Chris Cutler – drums (A5, B3, B4)

Production and additional personnel

Ken Hamann – engineering
Adam Kidron – engineering (A5, B3, B4)
Mary Thomas – cover art, illustrations
Robert Vogel – engineering

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
United Kingdom	1983	Rough Trade	LP	ROUGH 60
United States	1983	Sixth International	LP	Silo2

References

↑ Anderson, Rick. "David Thomas: Variations on a Theme > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
↑ Christgau, Robert. "David Thomas". Robert Christgau.com. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
↑ Grant, Steven; Sheridan, David (2007). "David Thomas". Trouser Press. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
↑ Variations on a Theme (sleeve). David Thomas & the Pedestrians. London, United Kingdom: Rough Trade Records. 1983.

External links

Variations on a Theme at Discogs (list of releases)

David Thomas

Studio albums

Live albums

Winter Comes Home

Extended plays

Vocal Performances

Compilations

Monster

Pere Ubu

Articles	Rough Trade Records Twin/Tone Records Thirsty Ear

Groups	Pere Ubu Red Krayola Rocket from the Tombs

Richard Thompson

Studio albums	Henry the Human Fly (1972) I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight (1974) Hokey Pokey (1975) Pour Down Like Silver (1975) First Light (1978) Sunnyvista (1979) Shoot Out the Lights (1982) Hand of Kindness (1983) Across a Crowded Room (1985) Daring Adventures (1986) Amnesia (1988) Rumor and Sigh (1991) Mirror Blue (1994) You? Me? Us? (1996) Mock Tudor (1999) The Old Kit Bag (2003) Front Parlour Ballads (2005) Sweet Warrior (2007) Dream Attic (2010) Electric (2013) Acoustic Classics (2014) Still (2015)

Live albums	Small Town Romance (1984) 1000 Years of Popular Music (2003) Live from Austin, TX (2005) In Concert, November 1975 (2007) Live at the BBC (2011)

Fan club and boutique label releases	Strict Tempo! (1981) Live at Crawley (1995) Two Letter Words: Live 1994 (1996) Celtschmerz: Live in the UK ‘98 (1998) Semi-Detached Mock Tudor (2002) More Guitar (2003) 1000 Years of Popular Music (2003) Ducknapped! (2003) Faithless (2004) The Chrono Show (2004) Live Warrior (2009) Cabaret of Souls (2012)

Compilation albums	(guitar, vocal) (1976) Live! (More or Less) (1976) Watching the Dark (1993) The Best of Richard & Linda Thompson: The Island Record Years (2000) Action Packed (2001) RT- The Life and Music of Richard Thompson (2006) Walking on a Wire (2009)

Songs	"Dimming of the Day" "Tear-Stained Letter"

Related articles	Discography Linda Thompson Teddy Thompson French Frith Kaiser Thompson Fairport Convention

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