Son of English folk-rock veterans Richard and Linda Thompson, Teddy Thompson has been blessed with a similar musical talent to his famous parents, yet his three albums to date have failed to break through into the mainstream. A Piece of What You Need however--his fourth album--has been helmed by Marius de Vries (Bjork, Madonna, Rufus Wainwright) and appears to have ‘commercial success’ written all over it. De Vries has given Thompson’s music a newfound confidence. The tunes here are upbeat and strutting, with cerebral lyrics that merge the heavier side of life--suicide, alcoholism, drugs--with wry looks at love and happiness. As on previous albums, Thompson mellifluously mixes together folk, pop, country and rock, with De Vries adding extra production flourishes that give the album a thoroughly contemporary edge. Sensibly, it was decided to leave Thompson’s silky vocals fully centre-stage, since it’s his voice more than anything else that draws the listener in and keeps him there. The trio of opening tracks--the introspective “The Things I Do,” the humorous “What’s This?” and recent single “In My Arms”--get the album off to a captivating start, and Thompson ensures standards don’t slip, following up with the Springsteen-esque rocker “Don’t Know What I Was Thinking” and the catchy country shuffle “Can’t Sing Straight”. Ballads like “Where To Go From Here” and “Slippery Slope” show the singer’s ability to be touching without turning up the kitsch, while “Turning The Gun On Myself” really is as gloomy as it sounds. Full of skilfully executed, well-crafted modern pop, this is arguably Thompson's best work to date. --Danny McKenna
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