LINDA THOMPSON - Versatile Heart

Five years have passed since the previous "Fashionably Late", released in 2002 after more than twenty years of silence caused by a psychological and physical breakdown following the breakup of her marriage and artistic partnership with Richard Thompson. Drawing on collaborators of unforgettable talent, such as the great John Kirkpatrick and John Doyle, Linda delivers a labour of love, with most of the original compositions written together with her son Teddy, a fine musician in his own right, plus a few covers (an extraordinary "Day After Tomorrow" by Tom Waits with Kathleen Brennan, and "Beauty", written for her by Rufus Wainwright, sung by Linda with aching pathos, with vocal harmonies and co-lead vocals from Antony Hegarty of Antony And The Johnsons). It's "Beauty", in fact, that stands out among the album's finest tracks, built around a small chamber orchestra that lends the song a timeless, suspended atmosphere, drawing singular parallels between the fates of Oscar Wilde and Michael Jackson. A true masterpiece about the passage of time and maturity, its lyrics possessing an intensity that recalls Byronic depths.

There are decidedly folk songs, such as the lovely "Blue & Gold", with its Albion Band flavour, or the stunning version of the traditional "Katy Cruel", and others that are more experimental, such as "Nice Cars", written by Kamila Thompson, daughter of Richard and Linda and herself a hugely talented young singer-songwriter, along with Linda's tribute to the patriarch of English folk Bob Copper, in "Whisky, Bob Copper And Me". Worth noting is the "comic-strip" cover art, drawn by Peter Blegvad. This is certainly Linda's finest work since the Seventies, one of her very best records overall, a memorable album produced with taste, passion and experience.

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12/11/2007