blackleatherbookshelf | Feb. 1st, 2011

Parlour Picking with Richard Thompson
3 Out Of 5 Stars

This is one of those low key efforts by Ricard Thompson, where almost half the songs are just him and his acoustic, telling stories about the down trodden and those whom ultimately will arrive there. "Front Parlour Ballads" is not the album you could use to convert new listeners to Richard's music, as it tends to stay in a mostly dour mind-set and the playing is not the lightening fingered style of Richard at his best.

The only real toe-tapper here is "Let it Blow," a song about a serial husband, which also displays Richard's oft-wicked sense of humor. The remaining cast of characters range from a violent gang of vandals ("The Boys of Mutton Street"), the boy the likely bullies ("When We Were Boys at School") and one of the hooligans grown to become a drab office worker we lives for 'smug little victories' ("A Solitary Life"). As always, the album is also laden with songs of haunted love like "For Whose Sake" and "Precious One," but none to mach such pinnacles as "When The Spell is Broken" or "1952 Vincent Black Lightning."

Overall, "Front Parlour Ballads" (named after Richard's garage studio) is a modestly satisfying record by his own exacting standards. Fans will enjoy, others should looks towards "Action Packed" or "Across a Crowded Room."