Play 90 second soundbite of 'Good After bad' @ 'CD quality'
A quick word afterwards and my earlier eavesdropping paid off as I purchased 'Dirt And Details'. Beautifully naive, when asked, "How much is your CD?", she replied sheepishly, "Two pounds I'm afraid." "How many tracks?" I inquired. "Eleven!" "What? That's outrageous!!" I quickly retorted. Even more sheepishly naive, the somewhat shaken looking Laura leaned over and whispered, "OK, a pound!"
Well she may be a good songwriter with a lovely voice but she's certainly not a business woman - I was expecting to pay at least £5 and of course, as those of you who know me would expect, I didn't take her up on the reduced price.
Well, I can't remember ever getting better value for money anywhere! My £2 got me a well put together piece of musical pleasure that will get many many plays over the next few weeks. Eleven nicely crafted, self accompanied, acoustic works that belie her tender years. With a sort of lovely, unhoned maturity, her songs indicate that Laura's future could be very bright and rewarding if she gets the right help and advice along the way.
Sure, there's room for improvement here and there- but that's always the case. 'Good After Bad' kicks the work off in fairly typical fashion, an easy tempo and easy on the ears - if you like this then you'll not be disappointed with anything that follows!! 'Everything You Want' is in the same mould and every bit as good, as are 'Saviour' and 'Until Tomorrow'. Next comes one of my favourites, 'Lullaby' which has a mood and feel that Joni Mitchell would be proud of - heavier in the guitar department here. The superbly titled, 'Hate Fake Craving' eases off the guitar a little but still manages to hold a feel more associated with those that have done the rounds a bit more. 'Siamese Assailant', 'Anymore', 'Why Can't You Love Me?' and 'Alone' maintain the high standards and the CD finishes with 'Illumina' which jumps around a little on all of my hi-fi (ooh hi-fi, get you!!) systems (can I have a rebate please Laura?). This clever little piece sounded a little weak on first listen - but on second listen sounded better - then better, and better etc., etc.
If Laura Thompson can continue putting material like this together then she's hopefully going to create a bit of a storm in the music industry. At this early stage of her development all the requirements are there, they just need honing, refining and developing. Well done Laura Thompson on this fine piece of work. (Oh, and please Laura don't feel that you're ripping people off at the huge sum of £2. This is worth a lot more of anybody's money!!!
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