Upfront And Down Low
Article summary
Yes, Teddy Thompson's parents are renowned folkies Richard and Linda Thompson. And, sure, he's spent the past few years touring the world with his good friend Rufus Wainwright, who recently wrote a song about their inimitable relationship called "Nobody's off the Hook." But it's Thompson's rich, twangy voice that deserves the spotlight. After turning out two thoroughly underappreciated albums of original material--it would be pushing it to even call them cult favorites--the lovelorn singer-songwriter takes on a dozen classic country tunes on Up Front and Down Low. It's a good fit, the bitter sentiments the inform his own work paired with the sterling melodies of Ernest Tubb's "Walking the Floor Over You" and Elvis Presley's "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone." Thompson gives each of the tunes a masterful makeover, polishing them up with an all-star cast of players that includes Iris DeMent, Tift Merritt, and Marc Ribot. Wainwright offers string arrangements on Dolly Parton's "My Blue Tears," naturally. Thompson even slips in his own "Down Low" into the mix without breaking the mood. It's the kind of stuff that could represent a breakthrough moment, as long as nobody gets distracted by the fact that he was born and raised in a Sufi commune. --Aidin Vaziri
Customer's review
Fresh and emotional interpretations.
Judging by the quality of his two previous solo albums, Teddy Thompson's "son of folk legends Richard and Linda Thompson" tag will soon become redundant: he's a singer and songwriter of very high quality in his own right, with a rich voice and some choice songs that moves easily between pop, folk and rock.
On his latest record, "Upfront & Down Low" he covers country songs of the classic era.
These finely crafted pieces, marked by mournful wit, were penned by writers like Ernest Tubb, Dolly Parton and Boudleaux Bryant and made famous by singers like Merle Haggard, George Jones and Elvis Presley.
Though a first-rate songwriter himself, Thompson only put one of his own pieces into the mix, "Down Low", in which he sings "You're better off dead/ with a bullet in your head/ than comin' back to me..."
He hired the renowned Robert Kirby, the man who distinctively and innovatively scored the prim strings on Nick Drake's albums, to arrange a tidy clutch of cello, violin and viola on the tracks.
"My Blue Tears," also from the album, sounds great with minimal instrumentation, because Rufus Wainwright contributed a "wacky" string arrangement for the piece.
(Just for the record "No One's off the Hook" on Wainwright's new album "Release the Stars" was written for and about Teddy, who continues to tour with Rufus as an opening act ).
No doubting, of course, that Teddy's choice of guest musicians sets a hell of a seal on the proceedings too - there's his illustrious father Richard Thompson on guitar, his mate Rufus , guitarist Marc Ribot, David Mansfield, Jenni Muldaur, Tift Merritt and Iris DeMent on vocals , Greg Leinz for a start!
But whatever, it's Teddy's excellent choice of material and his very own musical personality that's stamped on these thirteen tracks, encompassing a basic honesty of approach and harnessing a gentle power that's very attractive indeed.
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