This show is one for the ages.

Byline: Serena Markstrom The Register-Guard

The fact that one of the most respected guitar players in the Western world routinely covers a song Britney Spears made popular gets people's attention, but there's a whole lot more to Richard Thompson's "1000 Years of Popular Music" project than "Oops! I Did it Again."

When Thompson does "Oops!" he gets a few laughs. But when reached by phone at his Los Angeles home, he says the song has a chord sequence similar to 16th century dance music.

"If you take it out of context, it actually reveals itself to be a good song," says Thompson, who in February was honored with a lifetime achievement award at the BBC Folk Awards.

"It's actually a really well-structured pop song. It has a good sort of sardonic lyric and an interesting tune."

He says he thinks it appeals to people because it's strange and ironic. And he often uses the song to close out the show, doing it once "in the style of Britney" and again as a 16th century dance song.

"It kind of brings the show full circle. ... It seems an unlikely choice, especially considering Britney being sort of a tabloid doozy," says the British singer-songwriter, who Rolling Stone ranked 19th on its list of 100 Greatest Guitarists.

"Especially since she doesn't do any of my songs, which is rather de- pressing."

Thompson is traveling with Judith Owen and Debra Dobkin for this project, which samples songs literally from the past 1,000 years, including medieval Italian ballads, Gilbert and Sullivan, Hank Williams, the Beatles and Prince. It's tangential to all three players' careers, but he says it's a fun show to perform.

The show has "evolved slowly as we've been doing it," he says. "The shape of it is very good now, and I think it's quite entertaining and it has nice chronology to it. It has a nice climax in the 20th century."

Back in 1999, Playboy magazine solicited top 10 lists from musicians. The magazine called for the best songs of "the millennium." Thompson figured they wanted his favorite songs of, say, the past 50 years.

"So I thought this was a very pretentious use of the word millennium," he says. "I thought I'd call their bluff. They didn't print my list."

But it sparked an idea. Soon after, someone at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles asked him to do a concert there, but to do something different from his usual show. That event was a success, and the project has grown from there.

Thompson says he already had a love of music history, and he's always "rooting around" for new music to explore. He avoids listening to recordings and favors coming up with his own, fresh arrangements.

Thompson's career has spanned four decades. As a teenager in the 1960s he was a member of the folk-rock group Fairport Convention, a band that made its American debut touring with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young in 1971.

The 1993 release "Watching the Dark," a three CD compi- lation is often selected by fans as a good starting point for those unfamiliar with Thompson's work.

According to an All Music Guide discography, Thompson has put out more than 30 albums over the years. His latest releases are a box set called "RT - The Life and Music of Richard Thompson" and the DVD version of "1,000 Years of Popular Music DVD," with the first volume of the long-awaited Richard Thompson songbook coming out later this year.

CONCERT PREVIEW

Richard Thompson

What: "1000 Years of Popular Music"

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday

Where: The Shedd, 285 East Broadway

Tickets: Reserved seating $26 to $36

CAPTION(S):

Richard Thompson was a member of the band Fairport Convention, which made its American debut in 1971 by touring with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. His latest project is "1000 Years of Popular Music."