Shout Factory
2007
Sweet Warrior
About This Album
After being given his walking papers by Capitol Records in 2000, Richard Thompson has taken a modest approach to his subsequent studio releases, 2003's The Old Kit Bag (a purposefully spare trio set) and 2005's Front Parlour Ballads (an acoustic collection recorded in Thompson's home studio). But Thompson seems to have relaxed a bit with 2007's Sweet Warrior, which boasts a more expansive sound and ambitious reach than those two albums. Produced by Thompson with his longtime aide de camp Simon Tassano, Sweet Warrior more clearly recalls 1991's Rumor and Sigh than any of Thompson's other albums; it lacks the high gloss of Mitchell Froom's production on that disc, but the broad dynamic between upbeat and dour numbers and the thematic sweep of these 14 songs certainly suggest Thompson was thinking big while making this album, and it suits him. Thompson is able to play his traditional theme of romance on the rocks for laughs on this set with the witty "Needle and Thread" and the droll but pointed "Mr. Stupid," while the sax-infused "Bad Monkey" is downright rollicking and the ska-influenced offbeat of "Francesca" is slinky and sensual.
Track List (try tracks 1,4,5,6,7,8,9,11 and 13)

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