Versatile Heart

Versatile Heart

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



Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0011661321724
Label: Rounder / Umgd
Manufacturer: Rounder / Umgd
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Rounder / Umgd
Release Date: 2007-08-14
Studio: Rounder / Umgd



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Spotlight customer reviews:

Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
Summary: Can't Stop Listening
Comment: I have to confess I love Linda Thompson's voice and her music. As a personality, she has considerable charm.
This music is versatile in style and every other way. Good writing and good musicians add to the allure. The list of songs I love is so inclusive I won't type them all.

Customer Rating: Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5
Summary: Linda Thompson - Versatile Heart
Comment: Very enjoyable, reminds why she was part of such a well known duo for so long. This is not a whispery, ghost voice from the 60's but is right up there with anyone else doing this music today. And this music remains timely; contexts change, but these songs and this performance are going to continue to stand the test of time. Note that many of these songs were written or co-written by Teddy Thompson, Linda Thompson's son. Teddy now seems to have achieved some wider independent solo success with his recent "Up Front and Low Down" CD.

Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
Summary: She's just so good!
Comment: I am a longtime fan of Linda Thompson, and was really looking forward to this new collection of songs. The more I play this CD, the more I love it. Standouts for me are Nice Cars, Day After Tomorrow, Versatile Heart, and Katy Cruel. Really, though, it's just an exceptional piece of work. Kudos to Teddy Thompson for being the perfect collaborator with his mother (he's a great singer/songwriter/musician in his own right). Linda is someone I think I'd love to know in real life, and I hope she keeps making wonderful music.

Customer Rating: Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5
Summary: nice grown up english folk
Comment: nice grown up english folkmusic. not her best but good quality and some high level songs

Customer Rating: Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5
Summary: versatile linda
Comment: "Versatile Heart" is Linda Thompson's very worthy follow-up to her "comeback album" of five years ago, "Fashionably Late." For the most part, it follows the pattern established by that album, but it is a bit more relaxed in feel and shows more of Linda's range as a vocalist/performer.

A few of the songs, including the upbeat title track, consciously invoke the style of Linda's first collaboration with her ex-husband Richard, the classic "I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight". That early album established Linda as a first-rate interpreter of "dramatic" song material, and "Versatile Heart" shows that Linda is still doing these types of dry and pristine takes on traditional English folk music better than anyone with the possible exception of June Tabor. The best example of this on the album is Rufus Wainright's lovely "Beauty", similar in feel (and title) to "Paint and Powder Beauty" from "Fashionably Late".

"Beauty", pretty sounding as it is, also contains what I believe is the only significant flaw in this album--a clumsy, warbling counterharmony sung by Antony, of Antony and the Johnsons. Linda and Antony's vocals don't mesh very well, and they each seem to be consciously trying to get out of each other's way. It's as if she was dueting with Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead--an interesting, but unsuccessful experiment, and the only drawback to a most enjoyable album.




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