(My review from Amazon.co.uk)
Uptempo for the most part, although not always cheerful (when is RT ever!) this is a welcome return, showing the form you’d expect of a thoroughbred who has consistently produced good music and good performances since his early days as a very young member of Fairport Convention (now in their 40th year) with whom he will be performing at this years Cropredy Convention in August 2007.
Some highlights:
Opening the album, “Needle And Thread” is just great, hitting you between the ears where it is most pleasurable.
As noted above, the music can be uptempo even when the subject matter is death, destruction and the horrors of war. “‘Dad’s going to kill me” (as in Baghdad) is memorable and an instant modern classic.
Straying almost into zydeco for “Bad Monkey”, Thompson continues to show his ability to assimilate other styles and incorporate it into his virtuoso guitar playing.
“Francesca” is reggae - once more the musical roots of the sixties give rise to a great little song.
“She Sang Angels To Rest” is, in shorthand, this album’s “Beeswing” commemorating a summer affair.
“Johnny’s Far Away” is a folk-like tale of a sailors cuckoldry with a great violin part, played by Sarah Watkins of Nickel Creek fame. With Danny Thompson on double bass, this is a memorable track.
Other musicians featured on this album include Taras Prodaniuk (electric guitar), Michael Jerome (drums), Michael Hayes (guitar) and Judith Owen (backing vocals) (from “1,000 years of Popular Music”).
To classify this album - or this musician - as merely “folk” or “folk-rock” belies the width of his appeal and the variety that his years of superb musicianship have brought to his style.
Buy it and you’ll not be wasting a penny.
