Linda Thompson
Album: Won't Be Long Now
Label: Topic
Tracks: 11
Website: http://www.lindathompsonmusic.com

At long last we're treated to a new album from Linda, which is an even greater achievement when you consider her long-running, and ongoing, battle with spasmodic dysphonia (a debilitating voice disorder). Following close on two decades during which Linda believed she would never be able to sing again, she returned to the recording scene in 2002 with the superb Fashionably Late, since followed only by the equally stunning Versatile Heart in 2007 - until now, that is.

The third chapter in Linda's resurgence is thus marked by the present release of Won't Be Long Now, another powerful set of songs in many of which Linda herself had a direct compositional involvement. For the listener, the record possesses both the character of an intimate, personal encounter and an inclusive, sociable family affair. In the latter context, it sometimes has much of the feel of a comparable McGarrigles venture, a feel that's accentuated by the inclusion of Anna McGarrigle's rocking As Fast As My Feet as a pick-me-up shortly before the album's mid-point; this joyous little number unites on the studio stage three generations of Thompsons - including Linda's children Kamila, Teddy and Muna, Muna's eldest son Zak (Hobbs) and Richard's youngest son Jack

For a significant quotient of the disc's items, though, Linda sings to a tellingly sparse and understated instrumental backdrop, over which the key nuances and distinctive, commanding nature of her voice are captured to perfection by producer Edward Haber; in these instances, the role of faithful minstrel-accompanist is taken either by Martin Carthy, son Teddy, master Irish guitarist John Doyle, or, in one really special case, ex-husband Richard. As it happens, the latter's one and only appearance on the disc occurs on the very first track, Love's For Babies And Fools, a masterpiece of fatalism and defiant anguish that Linda originally wrote for Rufus Wainwright (she was only pushed to finish the song by Kate McGarrigle), here receiving an outstanding, achingly heart-on-sleeve and knowingly vulnerable performance that's a nigh-impossible act to follow. But followed it is, by Never Put To Sea Boys, the first of several of the album's songs that display a strong sense of folk tradition in kind-of-modernised settings of time-honoured scenarios:(this cautionary tale, a co-write with John Doyle, gains extra atmosphere from the incorporation of subtle programming from The Flight), and If I Were A Bluebird, Linda's own take on the traditional song done to a fresh and quirky tune by Ron Sexsmith and featuring the musical talents of guests Sam Amidon (guitar and banjo) and David Mansfield.(Weissenborn guitar).

The unmistakable signature fiddle playing of Dave Swarbrick graces two highly contrasted tracks: the chilling yet simple Father Son Ballad (written for Linda by Teddy) and the boisterous, if strangely ramshackle would-be-drinking-song in tribute to Mr. Tams (the latter track also boasting cameo vocals from Eliza Carthy and Susan McKeown). At the other extreme is a striking a cappella performance (a rare live recording) of Blue Bleezin' Blind Drunk, for which Linda penned an apt extra verse; equally striking is Linda's intensely realised, private rendition of Tony Callen's setting of Charles Causley's Nursery Rhyme Of Innocence And Experience, another brave choice for inclusion here and brilliantly accompanied by Martin Carthy. The ostensibly mob-handed (but sensitively handled) folk-rock musical setting for Never The Bride, a writing collaboration between Linda and Teddy, involves John Kirkpatrick and James Walbourne. Teddy accompanies Linda on Paddy's Lamentation, a superlative interpretation recorded for the Gangs Of New York film soundtrack, while Teddy's also responsible for penning the affectionate meditation of the title track which (entirely fittingly) closes the album, a model of economy of expression taken at a deceptively chirpy lick and sporting some tasty banjo fills from guest Tony Trischka.

Understandably, there'll be no tour to promote this album, but we can be immensely, and eternally, grateful for the fact that it's been recorded at all. Here's to chapter four, whenever.

David Kidman