Richard Thompson – Mock Tudor (1999/2016) [HDTracks FLAC 24bit/192kHz]

Richard Thompson – Mock Tudor (1999/2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/192 kHz | Time – 55:18 minutes | 2,25 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks | © Capitol Records
Recorded: November 1998 at The Sound Factory, Los Angeles and RAK Studios, London

Mock Tudor is the ninth studio album by Richard Thompson. Released in 1999, it was his final album released by Capitol Records. For this, his fifth album for Capitol, Thompson teamed up with producers Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf, and Mock Tudor had a more straightforward production than his preceding albums on Capitol which had been produced by Mitchell Froom. In this album Thompson draws predominantly on the musical styles of 1960s England—the time and place of his youth. The lyrics have a nostalgic tinge and are rich with allusion to fairy tales and children’s books as well as to Shakespeare and T. S. Eliot.

Just how lost Richard Thompson was under Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake’s direction during the ’90s is made clear by Mock Tudor, the brilliant sequel to the botched You? Me? Us? Producers/engineers Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf keep the production clean and direct, allowing the songs to breathe and letting Thompson play guitar. That decision alone would have made Mock Tudor a satisfying listen, but what elevates it into the first rank of his albums is, naturally, the songs themselves. Thompson structured the album as a portrait of suburbia, tackling a different subject with each song. It’s not all about desperation, although there certainly is a lot of that there. Instead, Thompson is at the top of his form, offering subtle shadings in his lyrics and remarkably catchy, memorable melodies throughout the album. As a matter of fact, it’s a bit of a tour de force, opening with the rollicking “Cooksferry Queen” and closing with its polar opposite, the hushed, intimate black comedy of “Hope You Like the New Me.” Between those two songs, Thompson covers all sorts of emotional textures, resulting in his most affecting effort in years. Since even on his uneven ’90s efforts he demonstrated that he still was in full grasp of his talents, it can’t be said that Mock Tudor is a comeback, but it’s certainly the best album he’s made in over a decade. -AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Tracklist:
1 Cooksferry Queen 04:13
2 Sibella 04:15
3 Bathsheba Smiles 03:56
4 Two-Faced Love 04:03
5 Hard On Me 05:58
6 Crawl Back (Under My Stone) 04:06
7 Uninhabited Man 04:52
8 Dry My Tears And Move On 03:50
9 Walking The Long Miles Home 04:11
10 Sights And Sounds Of London Town 04:57
11 That’s All, Amen, Close The Door 05:56
12 Hope You Like The New Me 05:01

Personnel:
Richard Thompson – guitar, vocals, mandolin, harmonium, hurdy-gurdy, dulcimer
Mitchell Froom – keyboards
Atom Ellis – bass guitar
Dave Mattacks – drums, percussion
Judith Owen – backing vocals on Uninhabited Man & Two-Faced Love
Danny Thompson – double bass
Teddy Thompson – guitar and backing vocals
David McKelsy – harmonica
Jeff Turmes – baritone saxophone
Charles Davis – cornet
Leslie Benedict – trombone
Randall Aldcroft – trombone
Larry Hall – cornet
Joey Waronker – extra drums on Bathsheba Smiles
Lovely Previn – violin on Mr. Rebound
John Bergamot – percussion on Mr. Rebound