Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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56 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A new star for 2006, 1 Nov 2005
Stunning, just stunning. Make no bones, Teddy Thompson will be the name to look out for in 2006. This album is sensational from start to finish, 12 tracks of pure song-writing class, Separate Ways establishes Teddy Thompson as a star waiting to be catapulted into the stratosphere. It is, as they say, all killer no filler. The first half of this record is simply astounding and you’d have to go back as far as Dylan’s ‘Blood On The Tracks’ to better it. I genuinely cannot think of another album in recent memory that opens with so many strong songs and the quality never lets up. ‘Shine So Bright’ is an awesome opener – sparse backing, clever lyrics and a tempting little melody that gently pulls you in. It’s then followed by the rocking ‘I Should Get Up’ which leads into - anthem in waiting - ‘Everybody Move It’. For only his second full album Teddy sure knows his way round a song. As with all the songs here ‘Everybody Move It’ is catchy without ever being annoying, clever without ever being smug and simple without ever being too basic. The songs aren’t over produced or overly long, yet you’re never left wanting or expecting more. It is of course true that Teddy is of good song writing stock and being the son of Richard and Linda Thompson may go some way to explaining his brilliant knowledge of song craft, but Teddy isn’t trading on the family name and Separate Ways will mark him out as a star in his own right. I could literally go through every song on the album, they are all that good, but when you have something this special it doesn’t make sense to over analyse it – suffice to say that ‘I Wish It Was Over’, ‘Separate Ways’ and ‘Altered State’ are just some more of the gems. Some other famous musical offspring appear in the form of Rufus and Martha Wainwright yet even these established performers don’t overshadow Teddy and thankfully the guest spots don’t fall into the novelty category. All the tracks here have that special quality of sounding like instant classics and old favourites after only a couple of listens and quite simply the quality of these songs will speak for themselves. Some people probably think that the last thing the world needs is another singer-songwriter, but when it is this good, believe me, the world does need Teddy Thompson. After the release of his self titled debut album a few years back it would be fair to say that Teddy ‘made a solid start but could try harder’ yet now a couple of years on, with Separate Ways, there is no doubt that Teddy Thompson will be sitting pretty at the top of the class.
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Melodic, catchy, infectious, cynical and self-pitying - a classic!, 5 Sep 2006
In my experience great albums are typically not those that grab you on first listening, but those that creep up on you and finally get under your skin until you can't stop playing them. This has been my experience with Teddy Thompson's second album Separate Ways. I knew of him as Richard Thompson's son and, in fact, saw him accompany his father for a few songs some years ago in an unmemorable concert in Belfast. To hear a record so complete in its musical and lyrical content was, therefore, a huge surprise. The thirteen songs (including one hidden) are all played immaculately, incorporating different melodic, rhythmic and catchy styles. Teddy himself has a rather flat but lonesome and infectious voice. His father plays sublime electric guitar on some of the tracks while Garth Hudson of The Band also helps out on keyboards. It's arguably the lyrics, however, that mark this album down as a classic. It's been a long time since I've heard a songwriter bring such fresh, if cynical and self-pitying, insights into personal relationships and their almost inevitable breakdown. Moreover, despite his mere thirty years, he provides searingly contemptuous comment on the mundanity of modern life. This album is the best I've heard for sometime.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buy Seperate Ways..NOW!, 28 Nov 2005
The reviews have said it all. This guy is going to be huge. There isn't a bad track on this album and the brilliant 'Altered State' will stay with you for a very long time to come. Not only can you here the quite wonderful Jackson Brown floating around in the beautiful atmospheric lyrics, but here and there on the album is Crowded House. Buy it now before everyone else does..you won't be dissapointed. And after you do, uncork the wine, turn the lights down and just revel in the best album of 2005.
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