Teddy Thompson – Heartbreaker Please
Chalky Sounds/Thirty Tigers – 29 May 2020
A Thompson album that charts the demise of a real-life relationship? If that sounds familiar, then that’s probably just about all that does here. As with Heartbreaker Please, Teddy Thompson has once again proved he is much more than the sum of his lineage.
Although a recording and performing artist in his own right for more than 20 years, there’s not a review or interview that doesn’t mention his parents Richard and Linda Thompson (yes, I know I’ve done it now too). And to be fair, Teddy has always had close musical links with his family, appearing on his dad’s albums (and vice versa), producing records for his mum. And back in 2014 he even brought the whole clan together for the Thompson Family album.
But what Teddy achieves more convincingly here than anything he has recorded so far is a musical approach and style all of his own. I know we Folk Radio types have broad and varied tastes. And beyond folk, roots and acoustic music, I’m sure we share a passion for crafted songs, intelligent lyrics and an artist with integrity. And that’s what we have here.
You may have to accept that there is little that might be called ‘folk’ on the album, even more so than with his eclectic and musically-adventurous parents’ releases. Teddy explains that his songwriting is inspired by the music he enjoyed as a child: Sam Cooke, Hank Williams, Chuck Berry and the Everly Brothers. And while that’s certainly not the result of your typical 90s childhood listening, it is certainly aspiring to be among the greats.
The album kicks off with a confident backbeat and funky Motown horns that herald Why Wait with its wry opening couplet, ‘Here’s the thing, you don’t love me anymore/ I can tell you’ve got one foot out the door…’ It’s a showcase for all that’s great about the album: Teddy’s confident vocals, the transatlantic voice of a Brit who’s spent 26 years in New York, alongside that is his sharp and economical songwriting, with most of the songs clocking in at around three minutes.
At a Light sounds, like the opener, a lost 60s classic, albeit with more of a country twang. It’s catchy and cool. The title track is a melancholy masterpiece with dad Richard adding his unmistakable guitar licks. In a different era where songwriting was valued over profile, this could have been a hit. It certainly lingers in the consciousness like the classic artists that Teddy aspired to emulate. It’s brevity often prompts me to hit the repeat button.
The core band is made up of Zach Jones on drums and percussion, Jeff Hill on bass, Al Street on electric guitar and Eric Finland on keys. Four tracks are augmented by Cole Kamen’s horns, all arranged by Alec Spiegelman. While the wistful waltz Take Me Away (which sounds the most like a Thompson senior composition) has elegant strings arranged and performed by Chris Carmichael with Mauro Refosco on percussion.
‘I’ll never write a song as good as Chuck Berry’s Maybellene,’ says Teddy when introducing these songs. But with the best songs on Heartbreaker Please, such as the country-pop of It’s Not Easy and the emotionally-raw closer Move at Speed, boy does Teddy come so very close.
Photo Credit: Gary Waldman