Originally published in The
Aquarian Weekly
Linda Thompson
/ Versatile Heart
Rounder Records
On her third solo
album, Linda
Thompson once again
manages
to bring emotional
impact to the
material without ever
resorting to
the kind of vocal
ornamentation
that is in vogue today. She
is aided
by songwriting,
production and
playing contributions from
son
Teddy Thompson, and daughter
Kamila Thompson adds the
sparse, experimental song,
“Nice
Cars.”
The album’s most
compelling
song, “Beauty,” was
written
specifically for Thompson by
Rufus
Wainwright, and is
presented here
as a magnificent duet
with noted
vocalist
standout version of Tom
Waits
and Kathleen Brennan’s
anti-war
prayer, “Day After
Tomorrow.”
Though Thompson has
surrounded herself with
friends
and family, the sense of
autumnal
melancholy is inescapable
here.
Hers is a voice for
the ages.
Whether she’s
singing folk,
rockabilly or chamber pop, no
one
does it better.
In A Word:
Grade: A-
—by Ken Shane