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 Linda Thompson briefly plays the role of proud parent on her new album, happily slipping into the background while her children sing Anna McGarrigle's "As Fast As My Feet."It's a rousing rendition and a rare moment of peppy pop on "Won't Be Long Now." With Thompson front and center, doom and gloom dominates the rest of the record
-- no surprise to longtime fans of Thompson and her ex-husband, Richard.
She sings of war, fear, domestic abuse, loneliness and death, and like the gray sky on the cover, there's a bleak beauty to the music. Thompson's bracing, unvarnished alto remains a wonder despite her history of career-curtailing voice trouble. She chooses her material wisely, mixing traditional British and Irish folk with songs she wrote that have the same timeless feel.
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 The family provides plenty of help. Daughter Kami takes the lead on "As Fast As My Feet," and son Teddy contributes as a composer on four songs, including the wry title cut. Even Richard lends a hand, with his acoustic guitar the only backing instrument on the lovely opener "Love's for Babies and Fools." It sounds like something they might have performed together 40 years ago
-- again, timeless.
[Associated
Press; By STEVEN WINE]
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