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| A Piece of What You Need | 
 enlarge | Artist: Teddy Thompson
Label: Verve Forecast
Category: Music
List Price: $13.98
Buy New: $6.89
You Save: $7.09 (51%)
New (52) Used (19) from $3.49
Avg. Customer Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 2757
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 001093002
UPC: 602517643482
EAN: 0602517643482
ASIN: B0019ESNDM
Release Date: June 17, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Factory Sealed. Free upgrade to First Class Shipping.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Wish I liked this more July 1, 2008
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
I have all of Teddy Thompson's albums and was really looking forward to this one, but I'm disappointed. The voice is still great, but I'm tired of all the self-absorption. I think Teddy would be a better storyteller if he wrote about subjects other than himself. My advice: get your groove and sense of humor back, and stay away from Rufus Wainwright-like arrangements. Still love you, though.
 excellent album but... July 2, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
This is classic Teddy Thompson and well worth the purchase.
Two complaints though. There are absolutely no liner notes with the CD - aside from listing the song titles. The CD sleeve invites you to go to the website but the credits are shown there in such a complicated way. (I wanted to print them and put them with the CD).
Second complaint... what is the point in having a hidden track (The Everly's 'Price Of Love') that to access requires you to fast forward 10 minutes along from the end of the final listed track. The easier solution (if you must have a hidden track) is to add it as an extra track, and thereby is readily accessible. Great album - sloppy finishing work.
 Who said happiness kills creativity? This is a small masterpiece. June 25, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Teddy's in love.
Or, knowing how sly Teddy Thompson can be, I should say: At the very least, his persona is.
Either way, this is very good news.
"Happy lies ahead," Teddy Thompson predicted when I interviewed him in the spring of 2007.
And then he hedged: "But you never know --- it could turn nasty."
If you're in the Teddy Thompson cult --- and it's ridiculous that a cult is still all there is, because this guy is about as major as it gets --- you know that's classic Teddyspeak. He's invariably divided. His own worst enemy. Shockingly self-loathing, a genius at sabotaging relationships. And, of course, hopelessly romantic.
He writes pop songs that get crazy-glued to your memory, but he delights in project like a CD of country songs; he can make a Leonard Cohen song sound fresh. For a child of veteran musicians, he's way too articulate, ironic and self-effacing --- way too complicated --- for the business he's in.
In the past, he's been that character. Now, in "A Piece of What You Want", he confronts that guy with thrilling directness.
As you might expect, the CD starts with the singer stumbling: "It's getting harder and harder to live with myself/ I'm getting weaker in mental and physical health." He's "one night out away from the analyst's couch." But disgust is, of course, shot through with irony: "My standards are slipping day by day/ I'll sleep with anyone who gets in my way." The punch line: "No one's coming to save me now."
But wait! The second song is a total reversal: "What's this, what's this/Am I happy or something?" The voices in his head say "this will never work" but this time he's not running scared, this time it's all good. And while his arms are "not an easy place to be", he does grasp that it's hard to get lost there. So far, so great.
But wait yet again! This is Teddy Thompson --- by the fourth song, he's screwed it up. And feeling awful: "I'm minutes away, I'm taking the next train/ Don't know what I was thinking."
And so it goes, back and forth, a novel told in monologues. Or, better, a song cycle that, by turns, invokes Johnny Cash ("Maybe I'll learn to walk the line"), big band music, the powerhouse anthems of a Springsteen and much, much more. He can rock, he can boogie, he can steal your woman with a broken-hearted ballad --- musically, the CD burns hot and shiny.
And smart. Above all, smart. The kids who like simple and stupid are gonna wonder why Mom and Dad are listening to this English guy. Their loss. "A Piece of What You Want" is music for grown-ups who can still tap their toes, raise a fist, confront demons, hate phonies and come back for more. Very simply, it's a small masterpiece.
Who said happiness kills creativity?
Different, yet nice... July 4, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Definitely a different style of production for Teddy Thompson. I like that he challenges himself on each record and this one is no exception. It is more "poppy," but I think that it works well for him. Teddy is one of the few new artists that I look forward to each new release. There's nothing about this CD that won't have me buying the next one.
Really good music, played well, and with a great vibe.
I love Teddy Thompson, but.... July 21, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
who had the brilliant idea of not including any lyrics or credits with the CD (you can access them on individual pages on his website) and leaving a 5 minute break before you 'discover' the hidden track. Why do record companies do that ? Why not just put a track marker in and call it a bonus track, as it is a real pain. Is it any wonder the music business is in trouble ?
That said, it is always a joy to get another album by Teddy, despite my grumblings. I just like to know who did what to who and when. After repeated listenings I don't think it is as strong as his first two albums, but definitely better than his last, where I felt the best track was ironically the one he wrote.
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