Versatile Heart

Linda Thompson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 14, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rounder / Umgd
• ASIN: B000SQLBQI
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #106,627 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Acoustic balladry exquisitely arranged highlights the first album from Linda Thompson in five years (and only her second in 22). With even much of the original material steeped in English traditionalism, the album recalls the best of her early work with former husband Richard, though the romantic recriminations of the title track and "Go Home" showcase a songwriter who has very much found her own voice. Her key collaborator is son Teddy, who cowrote four songs with Linda as well as the instrumental that opens and closes the album. Daughter Kamila Thompson contributes "Nice Cars," perhaps the most contemporary-sounding track, as well as harmonies on a stripped-down rendition of "Day After Tomorrow" by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan. Perhaps the most striking track is "Beauty," written for Thompson by Rufus Wainwright, with chamber strings, a bluesy undercurrent, and tremulous harmony vocals by Antony (of Antony and the Johnsons). Thompson doesn't release many albums, but she has never crafted a more cohesive and consistently inspired one than this. --Don McLeese

Product Description

Superlatives fail to justly describe the voice of Linda Thompson. Steely yet vulnerable, comforting yet haunting, Thompson's singing is never less than riveting, and has played a crucial role in some of the most powerful, influential music of the past thirty years. On Versatile Heart, only her third solo album, Thompson demonstrates that, in addition to being an incomparable interpreter, she is an equally astonishing songwriter - stitching traditional British Isles music and more contemporary influences into a sound that is expressive and direct, yet timeless. From the brass-flecked acoustic pop of the title track to the cool rockabilly of "Do Your Best for Rock 'n Roll," her writing forms the core of Versatile Heart. Other writers represented on Versatile Heart include Thompson's son Teddy, daughter Kamila, Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan, and Rufus Wainwright, who contributes the devastating "Beauty," performed as a duet with Antony.

Featuring Teddy Thompson, Antony, Martin Carthy, Martha Wainwright, Kamila Thompson, Eliza Carthy, John Kirkpatrick, and more. "One of rock & roll's finest voices..."-Rolling Stone "One of the loveliest, most dramatic voices in the English language..."-No Depression

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a remarkable comeback !, August 16, 2007

By 

Philly in New York - See all my reviews

This review is from: Versatile Heart (Audio CD)

Five years after her last 2002's warmly received Fashionably Late -- which arrived after an 11-year silence -- this album is no less effective in reminding us of Thompson's still impressive songwriting and vocal talents.
Time Magazine has said "Linda Thompson may be rock's best woman singer", and anybody with an interest in contemporary music would expect that description to be expanded to include folk music.
Like the turnout for Rufus Wainwright's Release the Stars, the gang is all here for this rare and lovely album by Linda Thompson - even Richard Thompson, in spirit, who contributed "the idea" for the verses on "Blue & Gold"(that song was actually written by Linda and their son, Teddy Thompson).
Linda has long recovered from the rare throat condition that silenced her at the peak of her career.
"Versatile Heart", her third album is a relaxed batch of folk ballads. The pure, fragile beauty of her voice hasn't deserted her on this one, time has only increased the emotional quality of her singing.
Ably assisted by son Teddy Thompson, who's becoming a star in his own right, dark themes and tales of love gone bad dominate.
The brilliant "Day After Tomorrow", written by Tom Waits and his wife, Kathleen Brennan, is an anti-war song to rival her ex-husband Richard Thompson's recent "Dad's Gonna Kill Me".
Her gorgeous voice also does wonders with the traditional "Katy Cruel", though it's lots sweeter than Karen Dalton's definitive version.
The amazing Antony Hegarty adds vocals to "Beauty", a gift of a song by Rufus Wainwright.
Little touches, such as the Salvation Army Band brass that begins the title song, enhance the mood. The disc may not match the greatness of Thompson's long-ago partnership with Richard, but what could?
This CD is a revelation and a triumph : so many styles and yet such consistency and quality.
It is a beautiful,important album.
Deeply lovely stuff, by one of popular music's most expressive, emotive singers.

Sweet Warrior
Up Front and Down Low
Release the Stars

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Linda Thompson's "Versatile Heart" Is A Gem!, September 26, 2007

By 

Thomas H. Moody "Music Enthusiast" (Nobleboro, ME United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Versatile Heart (Audio CD)

Linda Thompson's extraordinary "Versatile Heart" is exactly what its title implies - it's versatile and full of heart. This opus finds Thompson moving a little further a field from her comeback album of five years ago (has it been that long?) "Fashionably Late." The risks taken here pay off primarily due to Thompson's haunting, plaintive and somewhat melancholy voice and because of a sense of vision and determination that she displays.
Her son, Teddy Thompson, plays a huge role in this recording and its obvious, as it was on "Fashionably Late", that he is her number one fan!

Every track here is a gem. The title song, which opens and closes with a wonderful horn band, is a catchy piece with some rather cutting remarks ("Stay on the road you two faced fool, that way we'll never come to blows") about someone who uses their versatile heart to the detriment of another. Jenni Muldaur lends a lovely harmony on this track. With a voice sounding like a cross between her mother, Maria Muldaur, and Dolly Parton she pushes the song up a notch by being a nice contrast to Thompson's vocals.

Thompson takes a winning stab at country and honky-tonk with "Do Your Best For Rock And Roll" and "Give Me A Sad Song" - tracks that sound very much like they could have come right out of Nashville. She also moves into a cabaret/chanteuse like mode for Rufus Wainwright's "Beauty" and she successfully treads into the indie folk arena with her daughter Kamila Thompson's "Nice Cars" - probably the most unusual track on the CD.

And then there's "Katy Cruel" and "Blue and Gold" - the first an old song and the second a new song that sounds like an old song - which finds Thompson on familiar ground. Blue and Gold's chorus has an especially subtle hook to it that I could listen to over and over, and is what gives it it's more modern edge.

Lastly, there are the ballads, and no one sings a sad song like Linda Thompson. "The Way I Love You", with Martha Wainwright singing background vocals, and the devastating "Go Home" are the kinds of performances that make Linda Thompson such a treasure. And its her stark performance of Tom Waits' and Kathleen Brennan's "The Day After Tomorrow" that is probably the pinnacle of the album. Recorded live with her daughter Kamila, if any listener has a dry eye after hearing that performance, well, then they don't have much of a soul. (It's interesting how wonderfully some women artists have taken on Waits' material and made truly distinguished performances of it. Valerie Carter's "Whistle Down The Wind", Carol Noonan's "Tom Traubert's Blues" and Christine Collister's "Dirt In The Ground" come to mind.)

I would be amiss not to mention the very English "Whiskey, Bob Copper, and Me" (an ode of sorts to the legendary Copper Family), penned by Linda and featuring Martin & Eliza Carthy and Susan McKeown, as well as the lovely instrumental "bookends" written by Teddy titled "Stay Bright".

It's very sweet to see how many of Teddy and Kamila's friends (most children of Linda's musical contemporaries from the early seventies) turn up on this recording. It's truly a testament to the endearing quality of Linda Thompson. So, pick yourself up a copy of "Versatile Heart" and discover that endearing quality, because it's a rare find indeed!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sometimes superlatives seem inadequate to the task......, September 4, 2007

By 

Graeme H (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Versatile Heart (Audio CD)

Linda Thompson's singing - powerful, spare, devoid of tricks or unecessary ornamentation - stands in stark contrast to the fashions of today; it is showcased perfectly on this album. Her collaboration with her children and family friends (Rufus Wainwright composed one of the standout tracks, and Martha Wainwright and Antony provide vocals)has produced an album that is hugely satisfying and hard to classify (iTunes lists it as alternative). There is the British folk influence on tracks such as Katy Cruel, but overall Versatile Heart has a quite contemporary feel. Beauty, composed by Rufus Wainwright, is a haunting chamber piece, Nice Cars is dark and edgy, and Thompson's reading of Day After Tomorrow makes it a protest song that feels right for today.

This is an exceptional recording where the arrangements, song choices and performances combine perfectly. Let's all hope that Ms Thompson doesn't make us wait too long for her next piece of work.