Up Front and Down Low - Dark Publications

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Similar Items:

•	Separate Ways
•	A Piece of What You Need
•	Versatile Heart
•	Raising Sand
•	Teddy Thompson

Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
Yes, Teddy Thompson's parents are renowned folkies Richard and Linda Thompson. And, sure, he's spent the past few years touring the world with his good friend Rufus Wainwright, who recently wrote a song about their inimitable relationship called "Nobody's off the Hook." But it's Thompson's rich, twangy voice that deserves the spotlight. After turning out two thoroughly underappreciated albums of original material--it would be pushing it to even call them cult favorites--the lovelorn singer-songwriter takes on a dozen classic country tunes on Up Front and Down Low. It's a good fit, the bitter sentiments the inform his own work paired with the sterling melodies of Ernest Tubb's "Walking the Floor Over You" and Elvis Presley's "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone." Thompson gives each of the tunes a masterful makeover, polishing them up with an all-star cast of players that includes Iris DeMent, Tift Merritt, and Marc Ribot. Wainwright offers string his own "Down Low" into the mix without breaking the mood. It's the kind of stuff that could represent a breakthrough moment, as long as nobody gets distracted by the fact that he was born and raised in a Sufi commune. --Aidin Vaziri

Album Description
Teddy Thompson's self-produced Upfront & Down Low features his angelic voice in distinctive and heartfelt readings of beloved country classics: George Jones' "She Thinks I Still Care" Ernest Tubb's "Walking the Floor over You" and Merle Haggard's "My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers." It also includes Dolly Parton's bittersweet "My Blue Tears" and the Elvis Presley chesnut "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone."

Customer Reviews: Read 21 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

He's too cool for the room (so join the cult) July 18, 2007
37 out of 47 found this review helpful

When last I considered Teddy Thomp'son, he was building his cult. A very elite cult, because 'Separate Ways seemed to be so special that you could say, well, a lot of people just didn't have ears good enough for it.

Except it wasn't "special." And it wasn't "too good." It was great writing and great music and a remarkable voice, start to finish, without a single dud. I don't know why only a few of my nearest and dearest flipped for it. Maybe because it was depressing, in a wonderfully funny way.

Like this line: "I wish when the phone rang/it wasn't always you."

Not exactly a universal sentiment, is it?

So let's call Teddy Thompson an acquired taste --- until the day one of his songs becomes an unlikely hit and tens of thousands rush back to fall in love with all the great music they so breezily rejected.

And what of the follow-up to "Separate Ways"?

It's no follow-up at all. "Upfront & Down Low" is country. Classic country, if you will: songs by George Jones, Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard, the Everly Brothers, Elvis. Thompson uses a standard backup band, but he adds a string section, courtesy of the arranger responsible for the strings on Nick Drake's CDs.

Sounds like a vanity project? Not in the least. Teddy Thompson --- who didn't hear music that wasn't country until he was 16 --- understands this music completely. And delivers it authentically. But that understates. What happens in "Upfront & Down low" is captured magic, the alchemy of great taste and a compelling voice.

I went to see Teddy Thompson preview this CD in a downtown club. It was one of those rare nights: a small room, no more than a hundred people in the audience, all of them very much on the singer's side. Two violinists, a cellist and a string bass player came onstage first, then a drummer and a slide guitarist, then Thompson. Hard to miss him --- he was wearing a white suit. "I'm from the corporate office of Willie Wonka," he explained.

Naturally he apologized for the tone of the songs: "These songs are depressing. That's what country music is about."

But the songs needed no apology. They were flawless, if not exactly fun, and the title song, which he wrote, just might be the best. That song was, of course, the most depressing. Funny. I can't get it out of my head.

5 out of 5 stars

Teddy Thompson's Torch & Twang July 24, 2007
23 out of 32 found this review helpful

One usually doesn't think of men as being classic torch singers, but with UP FRONT AND DOWN LOW, New York-based young Brit singer/songwritier Teddy Thompson makes a stunning claim to that style of heart-achey pop music. Backed with tasteful arrangements on classic country tunes and his one original, Thompson unleashes his clear, plaintive and often soaring tenor to astonishing effect - particularly on "Walking the Floor Over You", "My Heart Echoes", "She Thinks I Still Care", Dolly Partron's "My Blue Tears" and his own "Down Low". Thompson delivers terrific phrasing on all tracks, especially putting over the wonderfully sarcastic edge of "You Finally Said Something Good (When You Said Goodbye)", which opens with a jaunty string quartet cakewalk. That number and the witty "Let's Think About Living" are the most upbeat among the album's 12 listed and one hidden track, a sweet and mournful "Don't Ask Me to Be Friends". Listeners who enjoyed Thompson's contributions to the BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN soundtrack will be delighted to find that UP FRONT AND DOWN LOW continues his forary into classic country & western music and delivers one of 2007's best sung albums in the process. No doubt about it - Teddy Thompson is absolute torch and twang. Look out, k.d....

5 out of 5 stars

From a non-country fan... July 18, 2007
20 out of 29 found this review helpful

I guess this is technically a country album, but he brings a very folk/alt vibe to these songs. The result is just beautiful. Really, from start to finish. The emotion carried in his voice is so very moving. Just so soulful and touching.
If country isn't your "thing" I still say there is a place in any alt-rock collection for this CD. Perfect for a night of missing that certain someone. Perfect for a night of drowning your sorrows. Perfect for that long trip you didn't want to make in the first place. Ah, it's just perfect.

5 out of 5 stars

Fresh and innovative July 22, 2007
11 out of 13 found this review helpful

This is the best (new) album I've heard in years. The arrangements are
great. It sure beats 99% of what's being released as country music-
even though this CD is in the "pop" section at the stores.

Teddy Thompson is my kind of singer-not trying to sound like anybody
else (even though there is a little, but less twangy, Dwight Yoakam
in a couple of the tracks). I hope he does some more of the older
country classics with a couple of his own songs thrown in.

I could only rate this album 5 stars, but would have rated it higher.

5 out of 5 stars

Perfectly Magical September 2, 2007
11 out of 12 found this review helpful

TEDDY THOMPSON can sing whatever he pleases - I'm all ears for his big beautiful, expressive voice! Teddy is a genuine rarity and one of the finest singers to come along in quite some time. A haunting vocalist you yearn to hear more and more of. Universally appealing singer's singer and musician's musician. His rich vocal range soars magnificently from gorgeous baritone lows to compelling tenor highs. Like that melodic lonely howl of a wolf in the moonlit darkness of night, Thompson's singing stirs, haunts your ears and soul with his well chosen material and original compositions...he leaves you yearning for more. Unforgettable. Linda & Richard blessed us with an angel to sing for us here on Earth. His music surpasses even their finest moments on wax-vinyl-plastic; etc. I've got all three official Teddy Thompson cd-albums, and I highly recommend each one. He moves effortlessly from folk to rock to country, everything in between and beyond with his soulful singing voice. Teddy Thompson deserves to be a superstar.

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