Customer Reviews

Fashionably Late

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Linda Thompson's new songs are just as good as the best stuff she did with ex-husband Richard. For example, if you love "Dimming of the Day," you'll soon be equally fond of "Dear Old Man of Mine." I can't fully express how grand it is to have Linda's voice back again. These tunes are extremely well produced and recorded with an ear for the acoustic instruments that fill the spaces behind Linda's beautiful singing. Son Teddy co-wrote many of the songs and he played guitar and sang on most of them. This CD immediately jumps to the top of my list of the best of 2002, and I'll be recommending it to all of my friends and relatives!

After "Shoot Out the Lights," their monumental and often harrowing final album together, Richard and Linda Thompson went their separate ways both personally and professionally. Richard resumed his critically praised, though commercially nonexistent solo career and Linda recorded a 1985 album called "One Clear Moment." With its polished pop sound and a wonderfully singable lead off shouda-been-a-massive-hit-single track "Can't Stop the Girl," it was highly accessible, held lots of commercial promise, and promptly tanked. A follow-up album was abandoned in the studio and Linda announced her retirement from music and began to build her life with her new husband as co-owner of a jewelry shop in London. One of the loveliest voices in the British folk movement was silenced.

But now, 17 years later it is back, and this comeback album is one of the most impressive to emerge from the British folk movement in many a moon. With mostly acoustic backing from many of the top names of the genre -- names like Martin Carthy,
Dave Mattacks, Kate Rusby, etc. as well as Linda's son Teddy and daughter Kamilia it is not only beautifully sung, but marvelously accompanied. Diehard Richard and Linda fans will revel over the fact that the opening track, "Dear Mary" represents the first recording the two have done together in 20 years.

This is very much a folk based recording. Somber? Yes, but as anyone who really listened to the six albums Richard and Linda recorded together knows, somber is a word that describes the subject matter of many of their classic songs. Cuts here, such as "Dear Mary," "Miss Murray," "Nine Stone Rig," "Dear Old Man of Mine," and the stunning "Banks of the Clyde" all fit into that tradition quite nicely and some fit perfectly within the often harrowing nature of the very Child ballad traditions that are responsible for much of the British folk traditions.

So, if you liked any of the six Richard and Linda Thompson albums, like Fairport Convention and/or Steeleye Span in their heyday this album is for you -- whether you have shoes or not.

Not bad for a woman who lost her voice for 17 years. I am stunned; she sounds exactly like she did on "Shoot Out the Lights," and that was over 20 years ago!

Yes, it's dark. Yes, it's moody. Sure, it can be depressing as all hell. But folk isn't always pretty...lyrically anyway. Often in the best of folk music, the singer is dwelling on their own pain or the pain of others. That's what makes the music what it is; music for the people by the people. Everyone can relate to it.

As a rule I'm not a huge fan of albums that are basically family affairs. But I make an exception in the case of the Thompsons. Why? Because the whole damn family has so much talent as to make many prostrate themselves in homage. It's great that Richard & Linda were able to reconcile enough to work together on "Dear Mary," and Linda wrote half the album with her son Teddy. Standout tracks in my opinion are "Dear Mary," "No Telling," "The Banks of the Clyde," and "Weary Life." Welcome back, Linda.

Most reviews of this stunning new album refer to the remarkable quality of Linda Thompson's return to singing and recording. And rightly so! This is a terrific record. It may take time to grow on you and you may need to be in the 'right' mood to listen to it-personally I prefer headphones in bed. As it grows on you, it becomes evident that what really is astounding is the quality of the material. The songs, almost all original and many written with son Teddy, are brilliant-ageless but entirely contemporary. Coupled with this, the arrangements are varied, suitable for each song and beautifully played by an impressive list of musicians. 'All I see' (written by Teddy)is a quintessential Thompson song, whether Richard, Linda or Teddy. The closing trio of songs, 'Weary Life', 'Paint and Powder Beauty' and 'Dear Old Man of Mine'consitutue one of the most perfect endings, climaxes, to a record that I have heard for a long time. This is real music, beautiful, moving and deeply human. A total triumph.

After a 17 year absence from the music world, one of the most gifted voices has returned and this album represents one of the most stunning comebacks in recent memory.

Stark, captivating, and also beautiful, this album reminds fans of British folk/rock of what has been missing from the scene for nearly two decades. Most of the songs here were co-written by Linda and her son Teddy, but all of them maintain a folkish quality that makes them sound like they could have been around for hundreds of years (and this is high praise). Each track brims with the promise that Linda's voice gave us as half the duo with her former husband Richard (who makes a guest appearance on the wonderful opening track "Dear Mary"). That this is their first collaboration in 20 years should be motivation enough for fans to want to buy this. That this collaboration is rather low key will not disappoint, simply because the results are so triumphant. In short this is one of the very best album of 2002, and with any luck Linda is now ready to move out of her former husband's shadow and take her rightful place in the music world. Wonderful!

This album came out of nowhere. Those who hadn't written Linda Thompson off as a mere vocal accompaniment to ex-husband Richard had pretty much given up hope of her recovering from hysterical dysphonia--a condition that effectively turned her into a musical mute. Meanwhile, her son Teddy began touring with his dad, singing Linda's parts to the songs that gave goose-bumps to a small but devoted following from 1971 to 1983. Richard and Linda Thompson divorced just before their Shoot out the Lights farewell tour, a traveling show featuring actual strife and occasional violence. (Linda bloodied Richard in the forehead with a microphone and stomped off the stage as Richard began the opening bars to Walking on a Wire.) Richard's subsequent, increasingly brilliant, solo albums seemed to burst with cheeky gripes about and fiery retorts to their rocky relationship--while Linda's only solo effort, 1985's One Clear Moment, countered with the memorable Telling Me Lies, an estranged lover's lament I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.
I offer this juicy background because it was the turmoil that first drew me (and probably a host of other broken-home products) to this star-crossed duo. When I finally got around to listening to their six records, I realized their music was unlike anything I'd heard, a gritty, morose, Celtic sanctuary from heavy metal, disco and then new wave.
Until now, it was an all-too-finite pursuit. Fashionably Late might as well be a sequel to 1975's Pour Down Like Silver, featuring originals that sound beautifully weathered, like they've evolved out of lifetimes of sadness and hardship. Her voice sounds as wise and wonderful as it did thirty years ago. A nice surprise was learning that Linda co-wrote most of the songs with Teddy, who also does some singing and restrained guitar playing. A complete shock was hearing Richard's voice and guitar in Dear Mary, the deceptively cheery opening number. Any hopes of a reunion, even a musical one, die with the final track, Dear Old Man of Mine, a gloomy toast to Richard that dares to mention "the child that he loved best"-presumably the woman for whom he left his family.
But that's okay. My parents aren't getting back together either; it still makes for a captivating story at the local tavern. Fashionably Late would be great even without the great story behind it.

I'm stunned that Linda could lose her voice for so many years and have it return with the same beauty and vitality it had before. She sounds better than ever, actually, and her choice of material here is excellent as always. In addition to songs by others, she and her son, Teddy, have written some gorgeous originals and his voice complements hers really well. There's a particularly haunting song about Linda's ex-husband, the brilliant Richard Thompson, and he even helps out on guitar on the opening track. If you're a fan of Linda's, this will be a real treasure. It's great to have her back.

Make no mistake, this is a roots record. Unlike 1985's overproduced One Clear Moment, Linda makes a record here that is really an extension of the work she did with ex-husband Richard. It feels like home. The songwriting, arrangements and musicianship are all flawless, and her voice blends with Teddy Thompsons like, well, they were family. Linda's songwriting, mostly in concert with son Teddy, is as amazing as her singing. And Teddy plays beautifully understated acoustic guitar on many of the songs. Daughter Camilla is also around to harmonize beautifully on several songs. Richard shows up to play guitar on the opening cut, and it sets the standard for the whole album.

If you like Fairport, Sandy Denny and Richard and Linda Thompson's work, you will love this album. Guaranteed.

A simply stunning album on a par with Nic Jones' "Penguin Eggs," June Tabor's "Airs and Graces," the entire Nick Drake canon, and -- of course -- the best of Thompson's early work with her ex-husband Richard. This perfectly-crafted mix of singer-songwriter material and traditional folk comes after Thompson's 17-year bout with an extreme, career-crippling form of mic fright, which prevented her from singing for nearly two decades. Well, this disc was definitely worth the wait. Features heavyweight guest appearances by folks the like of Eliza and Martin Carthy, Kathryn Tickell, Dave Pegg, Rufus Wainwright, a marvellously restrained Van Dyke Parks, a tasteful opening number with Richard Thompson himself, and the especially subtle, sympathetic backing of Thompson's son, Teddy Thompson. From the urgent opening notes of "Dear Mary" to the closing murmurs of "Dear Old Man Of Mine," this is a thoroughly captivating musical set -- I haven't been able to get it out of my CD carosel for several months! Highly recommended.

Great new album from Linda Thompson. If you liked her music on the old Richard and Linda Thompson albums, you will love this album. Beautiful singing of lovely sad songs that sound timeless. Also, great instrumentals from her son Teddy on the guitar and many others. There is such an economy to Linda's vocals; no wasted notes. It is a pleasure to have this great artist back in form.