Sweet Warrior

Spin (p.96) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he main attraction remains his bristling, zigzag guitar licks, which still astound nearly 40 years on." Entertainment Weekly (p.69) - "[He] consistently imbues his compositions with lyrics and melodies that shimmer with humor and humanism..." -- Grade: A- Uncut (p.102) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[H]e sounds more like a loner -- intense, precise, impervious to fashion -- than ever." Down Beat (p.74) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "The album's strongest moments are, as usual for Thompson, about as good as rock music gets." Dirty Linen (p.51) - "The album builds to a climax with two amazing rousing songs....There are full novels lurking in the narratives Thompson spins in just a few minutes." No Depression (p.95) - "It's an unflinching, relentless performance through the barbed-wire guitar finale....As for the bittersweet fatalism of the breath-stopping 'Take Care The Road You Choose', it serves to remind that, for all the things Thompson does so well, nobody does this sort of balladry better."

英国を代表するギタリスト、リチャード・トンプソンの新作。ここ数年、サントラやカヴァー集などのリリースが続いただけにご無沙汰感はないのだが、バンド編成でのアルバムとなると実に4年ぶりのこと。その間にジム・オルークやルーファス・ウェインライトなど才気溢れる若手との交流を果たしたことで御大の血が騒いだか、本作では重量感あるエレキ・サウンドが久々に炸裂している。歌声も力強く、まだまだ若いぞ、58歳!
bounce (C)田中 幹也