Teddy Thompson is one of the best living interpreters of classic country songs (not counting Willie Nelson, who’s in a class all his own), and he only further cements his status on his latest album My Love of Country. On this album he rolls out a bunch of classics, a couple of deep cuts, and one well-placed surprise, and he does it all with tears in your beer authenticity that reveal his own love of the music.
Country music was the first music Thompson connected with. No surprise, since both of his parents – yeah, them – were big fans as well. “Country music has been inescapable for me, a recurring theme,” he says. “At the age of 10 or 11, that’s the first thing I heard where my ears pricked up and I’m like, ‘Oh, this is music? I like this.’ ”
This is Teddy’s second solo country album, following Up Front & Down Low way back in 2007. That was a good but less straightforward production, with some string quartet interludes arranged by that disc’s producer and Thompson’s friend Rufus Wainwright. (Don’t overlook Little Windows, his duet country record with Kelly Jones.) This time out it’s all solid Nashville style arrangements and production, and it pays off in spades. Multi-instrumentalist David Mansfield is on board as producer this time, with a resumé that includes touring with Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue, scoring Oscar-nominated films like The Apostle and sessions with the likes of Johnny Cash, Lucinda Williams and Dwight Yoakam. Mansfield plays electric and pedal steel guitars and probably some other things. In addition, Thompson is backed by a high-octane crew of the versatile Jon Cowherd on piano, Byron Isaacs of the Lumineers on bass, and Charlie Drayton on drums.
But front and center is Teddy Thompson and the lyrics of these classics. He leans hard into songs either written for or covered by the greatest, George Jones, opening the album with “A Picture of Me Without You,” which was a No. 5 country hit for Jones; followed immediately with “I Don’t Love You Anymore,” by songwriting hall of famer Bill Anderson and recorded by Jones and many, many more. And he completes a 1-2-3 combination with Buck Owens’s “Crying Time,” most memorably covered by Ray Charles. Now, I’m not going to claim that Teddy matches Brother Ray’s incredible version, or even Buck and Don Rich’s original … but he wisely doesn’t try. His is arranged as a Tex-Mex border ballad, a slow one-step with some sweet accordion, and harmony vocals by native Texan Rodney Crowell. It’s great.
And the hits just keep on coming. Batting cleanup is the reliable standard “I Fall To Pieces,” and vocally Thompson’s version is as strong as any cover I’ve heard – phrasing, voice breaks and other vocal embellishments are all spot-on, and he nails both the highs and lows of this one. “A Satisfied Mind,” which has been recorded more than 100 times (I first heard it by The Byrds) is nice, with some sweet Dobro rather than pedal steel, but doesn’t really light my fire.
Just to wrap up the stone-cold classics, the final track is Cindy Walker’s lovely tear-jerker “You Don’t Know Me.” Again, everyone has done this one, from Willie to Ray to Emmylou and dozens in between, and of course the best known is the original by Eddy Arnold, which is the one that was played in my home when I was growing up. Mansfield’s pedal steel brings the proper note of pathos, Cowherd nails the delicate piano fills, and Teddy once again adds all the right vocal touches.
Randy Travis’s “Is It Still Over,” which Teddy does as a peppy two-step shuffle with harmony vocals from Vince Gill, was a No. 1 hit in 1989 so it hardly qualifies as a deep cut, but it’s new to me. It’s one of my favorites on the album. Less well known are “It Must Be Love” by the Everlys and “Love And Learn” (recorded by Brenda Lee and Dolly Parton in the ’60s) are nice but unspectacular, although I like the duet Aoife O’Donovan sings with Teddy on the latter song. Wouldn’t a joint tour by Aoife and Teddy be something? Not to overlook Krystle Warren, who does a lovely duet with him on the former song.
The surprise is his cover of one of his dad’s darkest songs, “I’ll Regret It All In The Morning” from Richard and Linda Thompson’s second album Hokey Pokey. He’s arranged it as a gently swinging two-step, and I don’t know why nobody else has thought of it as a country song. Except that maybe it’s a bit too dark for anybody but George Jones. Mansfield adds a great baritone guitar solo.
“Many of these songs I thought were a bit beyond me when I was younger, too big to tackle,” Teddy says. “’A Picture Of Me,’ ‘You Don’t Know Me,’ big ballads like that, which I think maybe take a little bit of maturity to do justice to. I was excited to sing those songs now, after knowing them for decades. I think at least I’ve earned the chance to try.”
I couldn’t agree more. Thompson has matured immensely as a singer and interpreter. My Love of Country gets my vote for Americana album of the year.
(Chalky Sounds, 2023)
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