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Teddy Thompson - Up Front & Down Low (2007)

One usually doesn't think of men as being classic torch singers, but with Up Front & Down Low, New York-based young Brit singer/songwritier Teddy Thompson makes a stunning claim to that style of heart-achey pop music. Backed with tasteful arrangements on classic country tunes and his one original, Thompson unleashes his clear, plaintive and often soaring tenor to astonishing effect - particularly on "Walking the Floor Over You", "My Heart Echoes", "She Thinks I Still Care", Dolly Partron's "My Blue Tears" and his own "Down Low". Thompson delivers terrific phrasing on all tracks, especially putting over the wonderfully sarcastic edge of "You Finally Said Something Good (When You Said Goodbye)", which opens with a jaunty string quartet cakewalk. That number and the witty "Let's Think About Living" are the most upbeat among the album's 12 listed and one hidden track, a sweet and mournful "Don't Ask Me to Be Friends". Listeners who enjoyed Thompson's contributions to the Brokeback Mountain soundtrack will be delighted to find that Up Front & Down Low continues his forary into classic country & western music and delivers one of 2007's best sung albums in the process. No doubt about it - Teddy Thompson is absolute torch and twang. Look out, k.d.... Amazon Customer Comment

Tracks:

01. Change Of Heart

02. Touching Home

03. Walking the Floor Over You

04. From Now On All My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers

05. I'm Left, You're left, She's Gone

06. My Heart Echoes

07. The Worst Is Yet to Come

08. My Blue Tears

09. Down Low

10. You Finally Said Something Good (When You Said Goodbye)

11. She Thinks I Still Care

12. Let's Think About Living

13. Don't Ask Me To Be Friends

D/L Link:

Buy It at Lowest Price on Amazon

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 that 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 left, 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 stirs 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 , Amazon

Review by Mark Deming

Given Teddy Thompson's talent as a songwriter and the cool, intelligent folk-rock leanings of his first two albums, he would hardly seem like a likely candidate to record an album of covers, especially one devoted to interpretations of old-school country classics made famous by the likes of George Jones, Ernest Tubb, Dolly Parton and Merle Haggard. But that's just what Thompson has done with his third album, Upfront & Down Low, and while the arrangements occasionally refer to the honky tonk roots of these songs, for the most part Thompson strives to give these tunes a fresh interpretation, and the secret theme of this album seems to be one songwriter paying homage to gifted colleagues in his field. Thompson's voice is essentially devoid of any southern twang, and his phrasing owes little clear allegiance to traditional country styles, but he clearly understands the emotional weight of the songs on this album, and his performances allows these classic tunes to be heard by fresh ears in a new context. While you can't take "She Thinks I Still Care" away from George Jones, and Ernest Tubb will always be linked to "Walking the Floor Over You," Thompson's renditions cast them in a new light, and his clear, unforced but emotionally resonant performances offer a striking reminder of how strong and timeless they really are, and the other songs fare every bit as well (and he contributes one new song, "Down Low," that shows his chops as a tunesmith are still in fine shape). Thompson has assembled a superb band for these sessions (including his father Richard Thompson on guitar, as well as Marc Ribot, Greg Leisz and David Mansfield), and Iris DeMent, Tift Merritt and Jenni Muldaur contribute excellent vocal support. But what makes Upfront & Down Low most effective is Thompson's excellent choices in material, and while this doesn't dig especially deep into the catalog of great Nashville songwriting, the 11 vintage numbers included here show how easy it is to find superb material in this context, and how striking they can be in the hands of a gifted interpreter.

Those unfamiliar with his family history might be surprised that Teddy Thompson chose to do an album of country covers. But given his parents' -- that'd be Richard and Linda Thompson -- fondness for American country standards, it's no surprise at all. Richard, in particular, has covered quite a few country songs, in particular those by Hank Williams, over the years in concert and in various side projects.

"I was obsessed with country music when I was a kid, and it's definitely had a huge influence on the way I write songs," Teddy says in the press release that accompanies this album. "I was always attracted to songs that had a brilliant pun or a clever turn of phrase, but came from a dark, bitter place. As a writer, I've always gravitated towards that feeling."

That pretty well sums up the atmosphere surrounding the dozen tracks on Upfront & Down Low, Thompson's third full-length release, his second for Verve Forecast. Some of these are bona fide classics of countrypolitan, honky-tonk and rockabilly: Ernest Tubb's "Walking The Floor Over You," which was covered by everybody who was anybody; Liz Anderson's "(From Now On All My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers," which charted for both George Jones and Merle Haggard; "She Thinks I Still Care," another hit for The Possum which has also been widely covered; a lovely take on Dolly Parton's "My Blue Tears"; and a country-leaning Elvis Presley side, "I'm Left, You're left, She's Gone."

In some cases, Thompson presents these in arrangements that would be recognizable to country fans in the 1950s, but some, such as "Walking The Floor," he rearranges radically; this particular one from its usual bouncy four-beat setting to a slow, tear-in-your-beer six/eight tempo that I find very effective. He sets "She Thinks I Still Care" to a string quartet plus strummed acoustic guitar -- it's startling at first, but captures the sweet melancholy of the song perfectly.

The selections are rounded out with some more "deep cut" choices, such as a couple by Boudleaux and/or Felice Bryant (who wrote many songs for the Everly Brothers), the opening "Change of Heart" and the closer, "Let's Think About Living"; the very touching "My Heart Echoes," with harmony vocals from Iris DeMent (whom I can never hear too much of); and the bitterly humorous rockabilly song, "You Finally Said Something Good (When You Said Goodbye)," with Tift Merrit singing harmony and Richard Thompson doing his best James Burton imitation on guitar. Richard also plays some snakey licks on "Walking the Floor" and more subtle dubs on the one song written by Teddy, "Down Low." This last, with harmony vocals from Jenni Muldaur, is a particularly dark breakup song that fits well with the album's overall theme.

Teddy produced the album himself, quite professionally. In addition to the already mentioned contributors, Upfront & Down Low has an impressive lists of musicians, including Greg Leisz on pedal steel and dobro ("I'm Left"), and Tony Scherr, Marc Ribot and Jim Campilongo on guitars. His voice, which combines some of both his parents' qualities but is increasingly his own, is well suited to the material. The cover design, which mimicks that of a late-'50s country album in typography, is another nice touch.

Oh, and don't miss the hidden bonus track, yet another semi-obscure Everly Brothers song like those he tacked onto the end of his previous two full-length releases. This one is "Don't Ask Me To Be Friends," which barely broke into the charts for a few weeks in 1962. Ms. Muldaur (I think) sings on this one with Teddy. Very nice. Maybe he'll do a whole Everly tribute album next! Until then, if you like classic country or Teddy Thompson, you're sure to like this album.

[Gary Whitehouse]

I've included in the archive a 19-minute NPR segment about TT.

Rating:
2.5 out of 5 by Book123