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 (1983-06)
Recorded	March 1983 (1983-03)
Studio	Suma (Painesville, Ohio)
Genre	Art rock
Length	38:04
Label	Rough Trade
Producer	David Thomas
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. It was the only album in the set to be remixed, and its running order was changed.

Track listing

All lyrics are 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		Sixth International		Silo2

References

1. Anderson, Rick. "David Thomas: Variations on a Theme > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
2. Christgau, Robert. "David Thomas". Robert Christgau.com. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
3. Grant, Steven; Sheridan, David (2007). "David Thomas". Trouser Press . Retrieved July 1, 2016.
4. 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)