Strict Tempo!

"Strict Tempo!" is an instrumental album by Richard Thompson released in 1981. After the modest sales for their 1979 album Sunnyvista, Richard and Linda Thompson found themselves without a record deal. An album produced and financed by Gerry Rafferty "Shoot Out the Lights" failed to secure them a deal with a major label. To generate some income, Richard Thompson formed his own record label Elixir Records and recorded this album at a small studio in London. The album consists of some of the artist's favourite tunes, all rendered as instrumentals and all arranged for guitar, mandolin, and other instruments played by Thompson. The only other musician is drummer Dave Mattacks. The album was re-released, on CD by Omnivore Recordings in 2011.