[3]
By
Published: 2007
Category: Rock [4]
“I should get up, I should go out, there must be something I can't do without,” Teddy Thompson sings on Separate Ways. [5]
Right: The singer --- okay, the character in the song --- is depressed. And the singer --- well, the character in the song --- has a bit of a problem with women.
And on the one song wrote on his new CD, the out of left field country collection called Upfront and Down Low [6], he --- yes, yes, the guy in the song --- tells his lover he's toxic and urges her to flee and never look back.
But here's the thing about these songs: They're beautiful. Word perfect. Musically riveting. And does Teddy Thompson ever have a lovely voice.
Videos
Change of Heart [7]
I Should Get Up [8]
Everybody Moving [9]
Shine So Bright [10]
Well, he should. His parents are Linda and Richard Thompson [11], eminent for decades. As a snip, he was playing guitar for Emmylou Harris [12]. Repeated study of his three CDs does not reveal a single dud. And every woman I know who's seen him says.....
Bottom line: Teddy Thompson deserves a bigger audience. Why doesn't he have one? My primitive analysis: that corrosive persona, those bummer lyrics. Maybe Teddy Thompson isn't a witty Brit whose songs are too wry, too special, for a mass audience --- maybe he really does have a lot in common with the most consistent character in his music. Misunderstood angel or seductive misanthrope: will the real Teddy Thompson please stand up?
I report. You decide.
JK: Critics and listeners alike thought “Separate Ways” was a masterpiece. What were your expectations for it? And how did they play out?
TT: My first record [13] sank without a trace, so my expectations were modest. “Separate Ways” did better than I expected --- but not well enough to make me greedy.
JK: I can hardly imagine that anyone close to you said, “Hey, here's a great marketing idea --- why don't you do a country CD next?”
TT: “Down Low” was a side project. I got home from touring “Separate Ways” --- a year on the road --- and I had no new songs. Staying home and writing new songs: That's not a good idea for me, I'm likely to sit around and watch TV. So I went into the studio, just for fun, and recorded a few songs. I thought: 'These are really good.” And the record company liked the music.
JK: You're kidding.
TT: Well, then it got hazy. People were....worried. And as soon as they started to say no, I got really into it. I had to bitch and moan and jump through hoops --- it was a fight --- but it was worth it. “Down Low” is a good idea because it was such a bad idea.
JK: Would it be better if it were a worse idea --- if you performed in chaps and cowboy boots?
TT: You don't know. I could be wearing cowboy boots and chaps right now!
JK: And if you wear them downtown, you can tour with the Village People. So...it seems to me you may just have postponed your problem. Now you're touring for “Down Low” --- when are you going to write new songs?
TT: I've written some --- between country shows. And not having a bunch of songs was just a small part of my reasons for making “Down Low.” Like a lot of English folk musicians, my parents didn't listen to English folk music at home. I was raised on country. It was the first music I remember hearing and liking, in the car and at home.
JK: If it's that much in your veins, won't it influence what comes next?
TT: Yes. I thought this CD would get country bug out of my head, then I'd turn back toward pop. Now I'm not sure it's going to be that way entirely. If I hadn't used it on this CD, that song of mine --- “Down Low” --- could have been on the next record.
JK: How is this audience different from the one that used to come out for you?
TT: More country fans now. That's fine. I'm a country fan too. And the state of country is sad.
JK: With all the changes in the music business, shouldn't you...blog?
TT: A lot of people can self-promote and be successful. But it only works if that is who you are. I have had lunches with marketing people. I've heard, “You should blog.” But that's not me. I tried it. It seemed like a waste of time for me--- though I want to be successful and sell records, I'm not an 18 year-old YouTube phenomenon.
JK: Are you a reader?
TT: I can read. I am a reader who doesn't read. Except magazines --- I like short, and in segments. But I do read The New Yorker cover to cover.
JK: What feeds you?
TT: Whatever's going on. I'm not at the stage of writing about politics, or story songs. I just write about me.
JK: Your love songs almost invariably end badly. What should we conclude?
TT: Most songs to me are just moments. It's a cutthroat business. You're looking for a moment, a phrase, and then you exploit it. It's not how you feel all the time.
JK: Okay, but why does your persona --- smart, verbal, self-aware and, a lot of the time, filled with self-loathing --- have so much trouble with women?
TT: It's all phases. “Separate Ways” was a particular time. Although I do prefer sad and funny, please tell them it's not always like that. Happy lies ahead. But you never know --- it could turn nasty.
To buy “Upfront & Down Low” from Amazon.com [14], click here. [15]
To buy “Separate Ways” from Amazon.com [14], click here. [16]
To buy “Teddy Thompson” from Amazon.com [14], click here. [13]
For Teddy Thompson's web site, click here. [17]