A Piece of What You Need - Teddy Thompson Album Review

Teddy Thompson

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Album Review

Fact: One of THE best albums of 2008.

Britain's answer to Rufus Wainwright ? Yep!

Having a famous father - legendary folk rocker Richard Thompson - is no guarantee for success. Close your eyes and you'd swear this was actually Rufus Wainwright, who he'd, coincidentally, supported at Kenwood House on July 5. It's taken our Teddy eight years and four albums to hit this immaculate peak of creativity: very much like his American born Canadian raised counterpart. Funny too, he's used Rufus' producer Marius De Vries. Simply put, this is a truly stunning album, though it's not exactly been plain sailing reaching this point. Maybe he cast his eyes (and more specifically his ears) over the pond towards Wainwright himself, or maybe it was only a matter of time before his dad's pedigree eventually surfaced, making it one of the best albums ever from a British artist - so go out and get it for yourself. Anyway, before I get really carried away (I'm tingling with excitement as I write this piece) let me guide you through this audio delight. His mum (iconic Linda) and dad Richard have, despite critical acclaim, never been big sellers, so maybe 'junior' will eclipse their sterling efforts like Rufus has done over papa Loudon and mummy Kate (McGarrigle). Dropping a lot of his previous clutter, De Vries has kept things neat and tidy, exemplified by pop rocker opener The Things I Do.

He has a propensity for being sort of negative and gloomy, which is evident here still, on the confident What This?!!, his take on relationship commitment fears. The throbbing start unfolds into something much grander, much like Rufus excels at. It's at this point we hear his vocal range and its very impressive, holding a clever drone at all the right points. Things get even better when he hits the single In My Arms (out Aug 18), a favourite of Radio 2 already. It's adult pop at its best. He soars vocally and he's clearly hit his stride and having a ball t'boot.

For Where To Go From Here he definitely(or even deliberately ) goes into mellow Rufus modus operandi. This smooth and shifting ballad is quite exquisite. If that wasn't enough, Don't Know...is when the album really takes off, propelled by daddy's twanging guitar licks - ah. Can't Sing Straight is a nifty country shuffle and possible contender as a single...mh..nice. The brass blasts (and swing) just add to the sense of fun at it goes into overdrive. Alas, Slippery Slope is typical Rufus moody balladry and it's wonderful, and heavenly, adding enough quiver to match Roy Orbison too. On a more straight forward note, Jonathan's Book bounces joyously leading nicely to beat heavy One Of These Days where the brass drop-ins add spectacular colours and timbre. Then we're back to good ol' crooning for piano lead gem, even gloomy, Turning The Gun On Myself ( Rufus casts along shadow over this again). If you're gonna cap a sensational album, you might as well do it in style. The title track starts pacey enough, building, adding instrumentation like majestic horns snorting and stuttering to the very end, as if to say there's more to come next time. Breathtaking.

File under: Absolutely brilliant...and worth the wait.

Elly Roberts