Thompson mixes sweetness, anger with ease Guitar master wows Camden crowd

Each of Richard Thompson’s songs exist somewhere on a spectrum, with out-and-out rage and frustration on one end, and the sweetest lyricism one could hope to find in contemporary songwriting on the other. He’ll unleash a tightly coiled blast of indignant, sarcastic vitriol – and then follow it up with a wistful, intimately detailed ballad.

Both those sides of the musical coin were presented during Thompson’s two-hour concert at the Camden Opera House on Tuesday, sponsored by Ellsworth-based production company Shangri-La. Performing with just his acoustic guitar for a packed house, Thompson played such fan favorites as “I Feel So Good” and “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight,” as well as a number of songs from his latest album, “Sweet Warrior.”

“Dad’s Gonna Kill Me,” the radio single from “Sweet Warrior,” showcases that angry energy. It’s one of Thompson’s most overtly political songs, telling the story of a soldier in the Iraq war in graphic detail. A six-minute version of “Crawl Back (Under My Stone),” originally on his 1999 album “Mock Tudor,” speeds along on a syncopated beat, trading in one of Thompson’s favorite lyrical subjects: the trials of being in a relationship. He does scorned lover very well.

But then Thompson slows it down for something more contemplative, such as on “Beeswing” and “From Galway to Graceland,” the former a gentle ode to young love, the latter the sad tale of an Irish woman’s quest to see Elvis. That’s not to say, however, that all he can do is either angry or sad – songs such as “Cooksferry Queen” and “’52 Black Lightning” are celebratory, even joyful. He even played live favorite “Hots for the Smarts,” a hilarious ditty about lusting after smart girls (“I need a polymath/Called Cindy or Cath /Who likes her Plato not too platonic”).

Thompson’s onstage persona is dry, witty and self-deprecating. He’s a familiar face in Maine, having played in this state almost every year for over a decade, so the audience was receptive. They yelled out song requests, and one person even inquired as to his health after a scorpion sting on his hand endangered his guitar-playing capabilities. “I now have the scorpion’s power,” he said, “And immunity to various diseases.”

Which would have been a tremendous loss indeed. The common thread between all of Thompson’s varied styles and lyrical subjects is his stunning guitar work. Rightfully proclaimed as one of the best guitarists of all time by Rolling Stone magazine, Thompson seamlessly melds British and Celtic folk with rock, blues, reggae, swing and other guitar traditions. His fingerpicking, especially, shines – his fingers move impossibly fast, thumbing a bass line while racing up and down the fretboard to sound a melody.

Thompson’s the total package – songwriter, guitarist and vocalist. We’re lucky here in Maine that he comes to visit so often.