Reviews

Artist:Paul Thompson
Album: Playing With Nadine
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 26
Website: https://www.paulthompsonmusic.co.uk/

Paul is a gifted and versatile singer-songwriter and a better-than-respectable guitarist-accompanist. He also happens to be one of the world experts on the life and music of Jake Thackray - he and John Watterson co-authored the utterly magnificent 2023 biography of Jake (Beware Of The Bull), which was the culmination of many years both men have spent championing and promoting Jake's songs (John memorably performing them under the nom-de-guerre of "Fake Thackray") and tirelessly researching everything Jake! The "carrot" by which Paul's album is unashamedly dangled before us is the inclusion of no fewer than eight "lost" Jake Thackray songs. Admittedly some are quite ephemeral, and one or two are little more than shavings, fragments, but all are worth hearing and some are quite substantial in both scope and creative execution - at least one of these possibly ranking among his finest creations. Pick of the bunch for me are Soon Get The Hang Of It, a darkly cynical observation on the subject of National Service, and Those Are The Days, which takes a poignant, wistfully nostalgic look at student rites of passage undergone in selected Leeds pubs. But You & Your Child (a perceptive look at child development), A Ripe Old Age (a jocular look at the benefits of retirement) and God Bless Newcastle Fest (celebrated as much for its beers as its arts!) are also of more than passing interest, while Jake clearly had gunk-debunking fun in the face of custard pies on The TISWAS Song. Jake's own performances of five of those eight "lost" songs do in fact survive, though at present they languish in obscure film and TV archives; Paul is thus doing a great service in ensuring they get heard.

So let us now turn to Paul's own compositions, no fewer than 18 of which are showcased on this gloriously well-stocked 76-minute disc. They well complement, and can I believe stand credibly alongside, the eight "lost" Jake Thackray songs. They tackle a comparable breadth of subject matter and inhabit a comparable stylistic comfort zone, but significantly also exhibit a well-developed sense of wordplay, containing many similarly inspired turns of phrase. Like his role-model, Paul can turn his pen to the overtly comic and the serious with equal aplomb, and Paul has well mastered both the chummy scurrying patter-song and the laconic mode, although inevitably one or two of Paul's comic songs may enjoy a relatively brief shelf-life (time will tell, I suspect). Generally speaking, Paul's songs can be classed as old-school in the best sense: niftily crafted with a ready appeal and a genial wit with an undercurrent of commentary. The kind of thoroughly companionable, perennially topical songs that you might encounter on say, BBC Radio 4 or a popular TV "consumer affairs" (think back to That's Life!, where Jake had a regular slot). The more "serious" of Paul's songs make their point in well-observed phrasing that can be belied by their deceptive lightness of touch and their accessible, conversational musical idiom. Several songs playfully lead the listener up the garden path by artfully concealing their core subject at first, often right up to almost the last moment!

Before I go too much further, I must give special mention to standout track The Shepherd From Hawes, where Paul draws his inspiration from a moving First World War memoir (fortuitously carrying a resonance of Jake's own sheep-counter). In contrast, the "funny" songs tend to adopt a neat satirical stance, with varying degrees of subtlety… subjects range from our relationship with phones (Calling Time) to Brexit (The B Word), Trump (You-Know-Who) to Boris Johnson (Bojo The Clown) to barrier wars (The Wall), misguided patriotism (Foisting The Flag) and Kafkaesque incompetence (Eight Inches Down, reminiscent of classic Flanders & Swann) - leavened with reflections on loneliness and hope (The Pave Bar Light and Hold The Light) and genetic disposition (Sonny Outlook) with a healthy dose of self-deprecation (Father Dear Father). Musical accompaniments are kept admirably simple: mostly just voice and guitar, with occasional overdubs and excursions onto ukulele (A Lidl Lockdown Love Story), piano (the cheeky Ode To Randy Newman, which tells of the frustrations of being a fan!) and even synth-pop (The Rhythm of Algorithm, a timely ode to technological dystopia). One minor reservation is that a small handful of songs suffer a little from the "whoopee cushion effect", where the interpolation of "comedy" sound effects wears thin after first hearing.

Paul readily acknowledges the rationale for making this CD as being the great response to his own songs at concerts, It's clear that he has unashamedly taken Jake as his role-model and a pivotal influence on his own writing. However, while there are definite stylistic similarities there's no sense of anything but affectionate and respectful homage in his unashamedly quirky portrait of humanity. And it is entirely fitting that Paul should be "playing with Nadine" here - Nadine being the very guitar once owned - and named! - by Jake himself.

Finally, it's so refreshing these days to come across a new CD whose presentation espouses old-fashioned values - in that it includes a booklet containing informative background notes, full credits, and attractive and cohesive artwork and design. Like the music within, kind of old-fashioned, but in the best sense of the term. I congratulate Paul on a fine product.

David Kidman

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