Proxy Music

by Linda Thompson

Overview

Linda Thompson is a heroine in the British folk music community, a gifted vocalist who was already a respected singer before she wed Richard Thompson and with him made a string of brilliant albums, bookended by the masterpieces I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight (1974) and Shoot Out the Lights (1982). She would later mature into an outstanding songwriter, and with 2002's Fashionably Late she relaunched her career with a superb LP that blended folk and pop influences old and new, created with the help of her talented family. However, Linda also lives with spasmodic dysphonia, a neurologic disorder that makes it extremely difficult to sing; it kept her away from the studio for years before Fashionably Late, and still reappears periodically to this day. The title of 2024's Proxy Music, along with being a witty reference to the great British art-rock band (Linda parodies the cover of their debut album for Proxy Music's sleeve), also offers a clue to how the album was created. With Linda once again prevented from singing by spasmodic dysphonia, she and co-producers Teddy Thompson and Edward Haber instead recruited a team of vocalists handpicked by Linda and Teddy to handle the vocals in her place for a collection of the latest songs she had written. It's clear that Linda's desire to see these songs documented was based on more than mere vanity. These are great tunes -- from the folkie purity of "Mudlark" and "Bonnie Lass," the elegant classicism of "Or Nothing at All" and "Darling This Will Never Do," to the clever, mature pop of "John Grant" and "Three Shaky Ships," and the deeply personal introspection of "I Used to Be So Pretty" -- and her unpretentious, deeply affecting strength as a lyricist is matched by her graceful way with a melody. The singers who were recruited to deliver the material clearly understand the songs and how good they are, and they uniformly rise to the occasion of singing them with the skill and sensitivity they warrant. Ren Harvieu perfectly embodies the sorrow and betrayal in "I Used to Be So Pretty" (Richard Thompson plays guitar and harmonium on the track), Rufus Wainwright sounds suave and seductive on "Darling This Will Never Do," John Grant sings Linda's fan letter to him, "John Grant," with sensitivity and understated wit, Eliza Carthy's voice and fiddle were made to order for the updated trad sound of "That's the Way the Polka Goes," and the Rails (featuring Linda's daughter Kami Thompson) lend "Mudlark" excellent vocal harmonies that give the nuances of the tune all the support they deserve. (It also features a backing vocal contribution from Linda, her only singing on this project.) And the closer, "Those Damn Roches," with Teddy Thompson on lead while supported by many of the album's participants, is a loving and deeply moving homage to the many musical families she's known and loved over the years, and a celebration of the lasting bonds of blood, friendship, and song. It's a summation of how much Linda Thompson loves music and the people who make it, and that's the not-so-secret theme of Proxy Music -- she clearly wanted an audience to hear these songs, but she also wanted a chance to create with artists she loves and respects, and the joy of creation is matched by the joy of hearing these musicians at work. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	06/21/2024
Label:	1234 Go
UPC:	0634457178229

Tracks

1. The Solitary Traveller
2. Or Nothing at All
3. Bonnie Lass
4. Darling This Will Never Do
5. I Used to Be So Pretty
6. John Grant
7. Mudlark
8. Shores of America
9. That's the Way the Polka Goes
10. Three Shaky Ships
11. Those Damn Roches

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Linda Thompson   Primary Artist,Vocals
Chris Carmichael   Primary Artist
Kami Thompson   Vocal Harmony,Featured Artist,Lead,Vocals
Ben Seal   Vocals (Background)
Chris Price   Bass
Jacob Mann   Piano
Ren Harvieu   Vocals,Featured Artist
Zak Hobbs   Mandolin,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
The Rails   Featured Artist
David Mansfield   Fiddle
John Grant   Juno,Kong,Piano,Vocals,Vocal Harmony,Featured Artist
Jeff Hill   Bass (Electric)
Rob Burger   Pump Organ
Richard Thompson   Harmonium,Vocal Harmony,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Martha Wainwright   Vocals,Featured Artist
The Proclaimers   Featured Artist
Kenny Wollesen   Drums
Charlie Reid   Vocals,Vocal Harmony
The Unthanks   Featured Artist
Daniel Mintseris   Piano
Adrian McNally   Drums,Piano,Keyboards,Fender Rhodes
Aly Bain   Fiddle
Susan McKeown   Vocal Harmony
Tony Scherr   Double Bass
James Walbourne   Bass,Vocals,Keyboards,Guitar (Acoustic)
Teddy Thompson   Vocals,Drum Machine,Vocal Harmony,Featured Artist,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Eliza Carthy   Fiddle,Vocals,Featured Artist
Rufus Wainwright   Vocals,Vocal Harmony,Featured Artist
Doug Wieselman   Clarinet
Kristoffer Sonne   Drums
Craig Reid   Vocals,Vocal Harmony
Rachel Unthank   Vocals
Zach Jones   Drums,Tambourine
Becky Unthank   Vocals
Dori Freeman   Vocals,Vocal Harmony,Featured Artist
Nicholas Falk   Banjo
Ewan Wardrop   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Ben Seal   Engineer
Chris Sorem   Engineer
Sean James   Photography
Zak Hobbs   Engineer
Edward Haber   Engineer
David Mansfield   Engineer
John Grant   Composer,Engineer
Jeff Hill   Engineer
Rob Burger   Engineer
Linda Thompson   Composer,Assistant
Scott Hull   Mastering
Rod Jones   Engineer
Sean Read   Engineer
Phil Cunningham   Fiddle Arrangement
Richard Thompson   Composer
James Frazee   Mixing
Nathan Golub   Design
Adrian McNally   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Vishal Nayak   Engineer
Oliver Straus   Engineer
Tony Maimone   Engineer
Aly Bain   Engineer
Chris Carmichael   String Engineer,String Arrangements
Ed Haber   Assistant
Charlie Dore   Composer
James Walbourne   Composer,Engineer
Teddy Thompson   Composer,Producer
Eliza Carthy   Composer
Doug Wieselman   Arranger,Engineer
Nicholas Falk   Engineer
Danny Herbert   Assistant Engineer
Inna Litvak   Photo Retouching
Isauro Cummins   Photo Assistance
Michael France   Engineer