CMT Blog: Archive

Being the performing child of a famous or at least successful artist has never been easy. Think Liza Minnelli. In country, there is more of a tradition for that but that does not guarantee an easy path. Here are a few recent star-children in country music: John Carter Cash, Carlene Carter and Rosanne Cash (Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash); Dean Miller (Roger Miller); Pam Tillis (Mel Tillis); Bobby Bare Jr. (Bobby Bare); Ronny Robbins (Marty Robbins); and Lorrie Morgan (George Morgan). In folk and bluegrass, there have been Doc & Merle Watson and Ralph Stanley and Ralph II, among many others.

Now a folk child reaches across to country music to try his hand at some standards and lesser-known material.  Teddy Thompson, son of famed duo Richard and Linda Thompson, brings a fresh take to country songs that have been around for decades. His new CD, Upfront and Down Low, is a mostly gorgeous collection of vintage country and one Thompson original. It mostly works but sometimes brings mixed results. A cha-cha arrangement of the old Elvis Presley hit “I’m Left, You’re Right, She’s Gone” doesn’t work for me. Strings here sometimes can’t decide if they’re violins or fiddles. Obviously that’s intentional but it’s also sometimes distracting.

I can tell you one thing: A sturdy song like Merle Haggard's “(My Friends are Gonna Be) Strangers” flatly rejects an airy string arrangement. The listener doesn’t reject it. The song does. Country songs were not made for British drawing rooms or as an accompaniment to afternoon tea. On the other hand, his take on such songs as Dolly Parton’s “My Blue Tears” and Bob Luman’s “Let’s Think About Living” (by Boudleaux Bryant) and the Bailes Brothers’ obscure tune “My Heart Echoes” are exhilarating fresh looks at old material. He gets an A+ for inventive song selection. A real bonus is the hidden track, which is a loving rendition of the old Gerry Goffin-Jack Keller song, “Don’t Ask Me to Be Friends,” which was recorded by both the Everly Brothers and Cliff Richard in the 1960s. I like Thompson’s voice here a lot. It can cut through a cluttered arrangement with his clean British twang. He obviously loves country music. I’d like to hear more country from young Thompson. I think he has a lot to say with it.