Richard Thompson: Dream Attic | CD review

Recording a new album in concert is a calculated risk, but it pays off handsomely here, injecting a new batch of Thompson songs with more energy than the studio would likely have supplied. Thompson's brooding moods are balanced by jaunty outings such as the Beatleseque "Big Sun Falling in the River", the rolling "Haul Me up" and the mischievous "Here Comes Geordie", a droll snipe at Sting. Mortality and sorrow animate "Crimescene" and "A Brother Slips Away", but the musical touch is always sure, with a well-drilled band backing a guitar masterclass from Thompson. A disc of demos on the deluxe edition offers a downbeat counterpart to the live intensity.