Album review: Richard Thompson, Electric (Proper)

Richard Thompson, Electric (Proper)

Recorded at Buddy Miller's Nashville home studio with little more than his core trio, Electric finds Richard Thompson at his most stripped-down and potent, spinning cautionary tales of misplaced wanderers, foolish would-be lotharios, depressed factory workers and dangerously charismatic women with a punch and urgency belied by their often reflective manner.

The folk-rock sound is leavened with touches of funk, particularly on “Stuck on the Treadmill”, and Thompson's trademark guitar tendrils weave arabesques through songs like “Stony Ground” and “Sally B”; but the standout track is “Another Small Thing in Her Favour”, sure to become a country standard in coming years.

Download: Another Small Thing in Her Favour; Stony Ground; Stuck on the Treadmill; Good Things Happen to Bad People