Richard Thompson: "You? Me? Us?" Capitol 7243 833704 2
Dial-a-track code: 1201
G'day pop pickers. Ready for more songs about bitterness, disillusion, hatred? Oh come on, don't be like that. It's good for you, at least it is when Richard Thompson is waving the big stick of righteous indignation.
Thompson is the quintessential eccentric Englishman who continues to ply his lonely trade, while all around him fight blandly for market share and royalty points. He is a magnificent commercial failure, the kind of dramatic folly the record industry occasionally indulges itself in as a figleaf for its more obvious purpose. We should be thankful and indeed, a small number of us are.
Yet though he is not exactly a barrel of laughs, there is nothing deadening about his music. This double CD, one acoustic, the other electric, shows that he has given up the ghost of commercial success, preferring to bask in the small spotlight of cult worship. The traditional music influences are stronger than ever. Listen to the stunning She Cut Off Her Long Silken Hair and marvel at the clarity of image and mood, or bite into the betrayal of Put It There, Pal, a song of dedication with a difference.
Though he's nearly a romantic, romance hasn't been kind to him and he is not shy about spilling the beans and the blood. His language is almost medieval at times, as he delights in razor sharp observation and abuse while his guitar playing, particularly on the acoustic selection (colourfully titled Nude; the first CD is Voltage Enhanced) is a model of accomplished understatement. That just leaves his voice. No disappointment here either. Controlled, focused, sensitive, charged, his voice reflects the musical mood swings. So are we talking perfection here then? Well, not quite, but then for fans like me, even the imperfections are interesting.
Clannad: Lore (BMG 74321 359752) Dial-a-track code: 1311
Misty, moody, meandering mazes of sound surround the sweetly fragile voice of Maire Brennan and that of other multi tracked relatives; snatches of traditional music flicker in the immaculately burnished production: Clannad are back and, apparently, are in fine shape. Little has changed, the style remains essentially the same, though the Irish influence is gradually giving way to more ambient inclinations.
The little sister may be notching up the big sales, but Clannad remain distinctive and appealing, if predictable and prone to accusations of creating nothing more than tasteful aural wallpaper.
Tracy Lawrence: "Time Marches On" (Atlantic 7567-82866-2). Dial a track code: 1421
Confederate Railroad: "When and Where" (Atlantic 7567 82774-2). Dial a track code: 1531
Various Artists: "Country Gold" (Global RADCD 25). Dial-a-track code: 1641
Chet Atkins: "Almost Alone" (Columbia 483524-2). Dial-a-track code: 1751
Back to more mundane fair, filed under country: predictable. Tracy Lawrence has, we are told, "hit precious metal on three of his previous studio albums in the USA." Not surprising, I suppose, given the US predilection for music of infinite tweeness; which is packaged as sensitivity. This is his fourth album in three years - and sounds like it. Most of the tracks are doe eyed reflections on the past or true love, all performed with an awesome earnestness. Do they really believe this stuff?
Confederate Railroad at least have the virtue of simple expectations. This is blue collar drinking music, at best crude, and a bit of hairy chested fun. In a packed bar, songs like Toss A Little Bone (to the working man) would justify a stomped cowboy boot or two, but outside it, much of the music would sound lame and predictable.
As TV collections go, Country Gold is worthy of investment. Elvis (Presley that is), Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and many more are included in the 40 track compilation. Among the more interesting tracks are Gram Parsons's Return of the Grievous Angel, Emmylou Harris's Together Again, Dwight Yoakam's Honky Tonk Man and Willie Nelson's Funny How Time Slips Away.
Another country legend, guitarist Chet Atkins, still has life in them there fingers to judge by Almost Alone. The CD is a low key collection of quiet guitar pieces, but the playing is accomplished and assured.
