Richard Thompson is a guitar hero and exceptional songwriter who has now “done about 40 albums on my own”. So what next? Bring in producer Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, and record more impressive songs. This time he plays electric guitar, and is joined by bass and drums, with Tweedy adding extra effects. The set starts with a slow, sturdy ballad of hope and change, She Never Could Resist a Winding Road, then settles into stories of pained love and sexual frustration that will, I suspect, sound even better live. The best is left for last: Dungeons for Eyes is a furious, personal-political study of a former killer turned respectable politician (“Am I supposed to shake his hand?”), while Guitar Heroes is another autobiographical piece with inspired musical references to Django Reinhardt, Les Paul and Hank Marvin. Thompson is still unique.
