My first exposure to the Thompsons was via a John Peel show devoted to the Fairport family and associated artists, and I listened to early Fairport albums in my teens. I didn’t really listen to much from Richard Thompson until much later, and saw him do his 1000 Years Of Popular Music Tour about 15 years ago.
I’ve no recollection of buying this CD, nor actually ever listening to it. And on checking I find this is their second album, so the debut will have to wait.
Halfway in, and I’ve got a few impressions. Linda’s voice seems much stronger than Richard’s at this point, very early in his ‘front man’ career. The songs sound very dated, but don’t seem to embrace any genre - almost more music-hall singalong than folk rock, and up to now, nothing’s made an impression other than the lovely I’ll Regret It All In The Morning. Later on it feels a little more Thompsonesque on Old Man Inside A Young Man, and Linda delivers A Heart Needs A Home well, before the rousing finale, Mike Waterson’s Mole In A Hole.
But it’s not really my thing. Richard Thompson hasn’t yet become the incisive lyricist we know he will, and as a whole it seems to lack direction.
2* - I much preferred their earlier and later output. This was a disappointment.
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