“Tear Stained Letter” by Richard Thompson

"Tear Stained Letter" kicks open Hand of Kindness, Richard Thompson's 1983 album, at a fast clip and with a strong shot of zydeco in its veins. Thompson wrote it, Joe Boyd produced, and the band behind him has Simon Nicol on electric guitar next to Thompson's own, Dave Pegg on bass and Dave Mattacks on drums. The main riff goes to the horns and the squeezebox: saxophones from Pete Thomas and Pete Zorn, who also sings backup, and accordion from John Kirkpatrick.

The narrator has just gotten clear of a stormy love affair, and then the tear-stained letter of the title turns up. It rattles along in G major for 4 minutes and 40 seconds, and the coda turns into a three-way shootout between sax, accordion and Thompson's guitar.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.