ALBUM ALSO NAMED "BEST OF '07"
"One of rock and roll's finest voices" – Rolling Stone
(Burlington, MA) – Linda Thompson's album Versatile Heart has been nominated for this year's Pop Award at the 12th annual South Bank Show Awards, the only ceremony to honor the best in British arts in the world. The South Bank Show is an award-winning television arts magazine show produced by London Weekend Television and broadcast on ITV, which is seen in over 60 countries — including Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden and the USA. Its stated aim is to bring both high art and popular culture to a mass audience. The awards will take place Tuesday, January 29th at The Dorchester Hotel in London.
This August Rounder Records released Versatile Heart to critical acclaim. Deeply rooted in haunting arrangements and timeless balladry, Versatile Heart is an album that rivals Thompson's best work from the '70s. It is currently on several "Best of '07" lists including Amazon.com's Top 10 Best Folk Albums of 2007, Mojo's Top 50 Best Albums of 2007, and Paste's Top 100 Albums of 2007. USA Today calls Versatile Heart "A marvel of timeless purity and effortless authority," while Spin describes it as "coolly mesmerizing."
Recorded in New York City and Scotland over a three-year period with producer Ed Haber, the album features seven Thompson originals, four of which she co-wrote with son Teddy Thompson. The rockabilly of "Do Your Best for Rock and Roll," the standout title-track and "The Way I Love You" (featuring Martha Wainwright) are a sample of the songs Linda co-wrote with Teddy. Kamila Thompson contributes one of the most sparse, experimental songs on the album, entitled "Nice Cars," and the Rufus Wainwright-penned "Beauty" was expressly written for Thompson and is performed as a duet with singer Anthony. Thompson also covers Tom Waits' and Kathleen Brennan's "Day After Tomorrow," a plea from a soldier against the war. Linda's facility with traditional folk song is well represented: most notably with a wonderful adaptation of "Katy Cruel" as well as her own song "Whisky, Bob Copper and Me."
For more information, please contact:
Jennifer Sacca at 617.218.4503, or email jsacca@rounder.com
Sarah Leach at 617.218.4480, or email sleach@rounder.com
Press materials (including high-res photos) are available for download at www.rounder.com/publicity.