Front Parlour Ballads [Import]

Front Parlour Ballads [Import]

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Japanese pressing of 2005 album, includes two exclusive bonus live tracks 'John The Gun' & 'Lottery Land'. The bonus tracks are listed inside on the Japanese only insert. P-Vine.

Tracks:

Let it Blow
For Who's Sake?
Miss Patsy
Old Thames Side
How Does Your Garden Grow
My Soul, My Soul
Cressida
Row, Boys, Row
Mutton Street
Precious One
A Solitary Life
Should I Betray?
When We Were Boys At School

Amazon.com

This selection of largely acoustic, predominately solo performances finds Richard Thompson trading the guitar pyrotechnics of his electric albums for greater intimacy, vocal subtlety, and emphasis on his storytelling lyrics. Though this is Thompson's first acoustic release of all-original material, "Row, Boys, Row" and "The Boys of Mutton Street" could pass as traditional British folk balladry, while the droll humor and stately musical grace of "Miss Patsy" recall some of Thompson's early work with Fairport Convention. The songwriting is as ambitious as the arrangements are minimal, from the bitter misanthropy of the character study in "A Solitary Life" to the bittersweet yearning of "Cressida" to the hypnotic insistence of "My Soul, My Soul." In "Let It Blow," Thompson applies his sharp wit to the tale of a serial husband with a penchant for quickie marriages, as the weddings signal the end of the romance. Even when he turns down the volume, he never tones down the creative intensity. --Don McLeese

Recommended Richard Thompson Discography

Fairport Convention, Unhalfbricking
Fairport Convention, Liege & Lief
Fairport Convention, Full House

Richard & Linda Thompson, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight
Richard & Linda Thompson, Shoot Out the Lights
Hand of Kindness

From Amazon.co.uk

Front Parlour Ballads is almost entirely acoustic, with all instruments but percussion played by Richard Thompson himself. Despite the basic approach, however, this is not a sparse album. His guitar playing is as complex as ever, and the songs stand comparison with any of his best. The opening track, "Let It Blow," is a funny account of a relationship conducted in the grubby glare of the tabloids, and "For Whose Sake?" and "Miss Patsy" are sterling illustrations of Thompson's ability to frame modern sentiments and stories within time-served folk idioms. "Boys of Mutton Street" starts with a riff which is surely intentionally an echo of Thompson's previously best-known acoustic song, "1952 Vincent Black Lightning," and "Solitary Life" sounds like it might be Thompson's take on Radiohead's "Fitter Happier." There has been bizarrely little recognition of the possibility, but after the resounding classics Mock Tudor and The Old Kit Bag, Front Parlour Ballads suggests that Thompson may well be in the prime of his long and extraordinary career. --Andrew Mueller

Customer Reviews:

splendid! .......2006-01-03

I live with a Fairport/Richard junkie, and I've had 6 years luxurious exposure to this music now. I love it, but I'm no expert. That said... Miss Patsy and a couple other elements of this album bring Steve Tilston to mind-- not just the spare guitar sound, but the bluesiness. When We Were Boys At School is classic Richard, boiling a bit of life down to the really sad reduction; the depressing reality, expressed so beautifully. This album is growing more captivating with each play, and is already one of my favorites. Acoustic Richard is the best.

The essence of a hidden protest song.......2005-12-09

This is the first RT solo album I've heard. A friend had been recommending him to me for a while. Probably because of his fine guitar playing and his tendency to arrange his lyrics to the note, i.e. break the rhythm and simply parallel a vocal line with the guitar.
This happens in "Row, Boys Row" (should have read the small print) But what makes this song so striking to me is it's veiled message of protest. This falls in line right where I am striving for, simple acoustic songs protesting the Iraq War and the lies and perpetrations of the current administration. But to disguise the message in the guise of a sailor's song is a sign of songwriting genius. In the choruses alone, he speaks of the plight of the homeless and refugees of Katrina, the soldiers in Iraq who are sitting ducks "in a shark-filled sea" the obiesance of the minions forced to fall in line with W. Alas, the ship must push on for fear of the captain's lash.

Richard Thompson's "Pink Moon?".......2005-10-24

Listening to this CD (something I, sadly, don't foresee myself doing much in the future), I was struck by its resemblance to Nick Drake's brilliant "Pink Moon." But the resemblance proved to be superficial. When Joe Boyd received the tapes of PM, he remarked that he thought they were just demos, but soon realized he was listening to the finished product.

No such luck here. This CD seems incomplete. While the musicianship is first-rate as always, the songs themselves are unfinished, and the vocal work is downright sloppy in spots. The melodies, such as they are, are too high-pitched for Richard to reach, and reach he does, almost always unsuccessfully.

The CD almost sounds like a recording made simply to fulfill contractual obligations. I have seen Richard in concert every time he has come to town in the last fifteen years. If his current tour will be including a lot of songs from this collection, I may have to pass up the opportunity this time and wait until only a few of these are sprinkled into future concerts.

RT Scores Again.......2005-10-07

By my count, this is Richard Thompson's twentieth studio release as a solo artist (or duo with former wife Linda), and like all of his other albums it is uniformly excellent. There is certainly a laid back feel to this release, but the 13 tracks contain Thompson's usual flair for poignant lyrics and impressive if understated guitar playing.

The album begins with the rollicking "Let It Blow." [Favorite line: "A life of volcanic activity/Left him nothing to spout but hot air."] Other uptempo numbers include "The Boys of Mutton Street," which recalls "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" with its folky acoustic fingerpicking; and the melanchalia of "A Solitary Life." [Favorite line: "You work on your pallor, complexion like paste/Like the grey defeat on an inmate's face."] Thompson also adds some mandolin flourishes to the jaunty "Miss Patsy."

The rest of the album falls loosely under the heading of brooding ballads with tracks like the haunting "My Soul, My Soul" and the remorseful "For Whose Sake?"

All told, this is a thoroughly satisfying album from arguably the greatest singer-songwriter-guitarist of our time. Why Richard Thompson has spent the better part of forty years without mainstream success simply shows the ignorance of the music-buying public. For those of us who enjoy finely crafted music, let's be grateful that he continues to follow his muse. [Running Time - 46:55] VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

One of Thompson's very best.......2005-10-03

First of all, I'd like to say that the reviewer who compared the tracks on this CD to "outtakes from the Nude disc of You? Me? Us?" spoke quite disingenuously. The only comparison that can truly be made is that the tracks on both discs are acoustic; there, the comparisons part company. You? Me? Us? was produced by Mitchell Froom, who had a tendency to overproduce RT's music, which benefits from the stripped-down treatment Thompson himself gives it here. Froom would have been out of his element with Front Parlour Ballads.

Are these the absolute best of RT's career, these songs? That's for the listener to judge; personally, after just a few listens, I quite like them. "Let it Blow" is the wickedly funny tale of a serial husband who blows his own cover ("As she lay on the sand/He said "Isn't it grand?/I bring all of my wives to this spot!"), "Should I Betray?" has the protagonist pondering whether to tell a philandering friend's wife about his friend's reprehensible behaviour, "The Boys of Mutton Street" is about a young street gang of a bygone era (before drugs and guns), and "Miss Patsy" could easily pass for a traditional Appalachian folk song. Another reviewer speaks of the focus being on RT's songs, not his always-excellent playing, but you certainly can't miss his guitar work; technically brilliant without being flashy, melodic and even emotional without being overwrought, Thompson is my candidate for the best guitarist on the planet.

And here, Thompson also proves himself an able producer. There's not a wasted note or outright throwaway track on this CD; indeed, only bassist extraordinaire Danny Thompson (no relation) is truly conspicuous in his absence. Fortunately, he'll be with RT on RT's U.S. tour this fall; I myself have plans to see them in Albany, NY, on 21 Oct. Don't miss this album, or that tour.

Average customer rating:

Front Parlour Ballads
Richard Thompson
Manufacturer: P-Vine
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

British Folk | Traditional British & Celtic Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0009V1EJ6
Release Date: 2005-08-09

Album Description

Japanese pressing of 2005 album, includes two exclusive bonus live tracks 'John The Gun' & 'Lottery Land'. The bonus tracks are listed inside on the Japanese only insert. P-Vine.

Music Review:

Music Review

music review

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Frame by Frame

Fairport Convention, Unhalfbricking	Fairport Convention, Liege & Lief	Fairport Convention, Full House
Richard & Linda Thompson, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight	Richard & Linda Thompson, Shoot Out the Lights	Hand of Kindness