Richard Thompson - Mock Tudor

****

(Capitol/EMI)

Review: Graham Reid

It's highly unlikely Thompson will win over new followers this late in the day for his usually sublime folk-rock guitar playing, often melancholy lyrics and earnest delivery (even of his sometimes deliberately humorous songs).

Thirtysomething years into his acclaimed career, Thompson could safely assume you either know him (he played Womad here a few years back) or you don't.

So for longtime followers, those who picked up on him five years ago with the excellent Mirror Blue, or have heard him cited by the likes of Michael Stipe, Frank Black and others, here's the shorthand: this is fine, it's more of the same, the guitar playing is terrific and he's still coming up a card or two short in the Memorable Song Category.

Here, however, is Bathsheba Smiles - a cracking pop-rocker with an effortlessly fluid, minimal guitar line and nasty biting lyric, there's a crackling and broody Sibella, the bitter Hope You Like the New Me ("I stole your style, hope you don't mind, it suits me more than it ever suited you"), the finger-picking folk of Sights and Sounds of London Town ...

So, another fine Thompson album which rocks harder than most recent efforts but which comes with the customary cautions about the man's perceived misogyny (Two Faced Love, Hard on Me and rather too many more), as do warnings about aficionados overstating the genius.