Strict Tempo! is an oddity in Richard Thompson’s discography: an all-instrumental album. On it he expresses his love for the various strains of traditional music that shaped him as a guitarist and that have continued to influence his own writing: Scottish pipe tunes, Irish jigs and reels, Morris tunes, and ceilidh-ready polkas. There’s also a fun arrangement of Duke Ellington’s “Rockin’ in Rhythm” and a solitary original composition, “The Knife-Edge.” Thompson is joined by his trusty drummer Dave Mattacks, but otherwise plays all the instruments himself.

– Rick Anderson