“I'Ll Tag Along” by Richard Thompson

Richard Thompson's "I'll Tag Along" comes from The Old Kit Bag, his 11th studio album and his first for the small independent label Cooking Vinyl, released in 2003 after years as a respected name who never moved many records for a big label. He paid for the sessions himself and left marketing and distribution to the label, and he wrote this one alone, singing it and playing the guitar.

The record was kept deliberately small, with fewer backing players and John Chelew producing with a light touch; Jimmy Hoyson recorded and mixed it, with Mike Glines assisting. The title nods to the old World War I marching song about packing up your troubles, and Thompson allowed that it was about as close to a theme as the album had.

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