Don’t get fooled by the cover. Teddy may look a bit Mod-ish in his sharp suit and skinny black tie, but this ain’t no Jam style rhythm and blues. Teddy’s pure Country.
Now, I happen to like Country, from Bonnie Prince Billy right down to good ole Bill Monroe and his Blue Mountain Boys. But this is a mixed bag. There is some cool Country-tinged rock that could have come from a session with Joe Jackson or Elvis Costello. But there is also plenty of crooning - imagine Westlife covering a Garth Brooks song - and a dodgy R&B pastiche.
‘A Piece’ sounds like Nashville dressing up one of its acts to find open ears with a younger more urban audience. The irony is, that it’s actually a young urban artist who’s made the album. Teddy is the son of English folk musicians Richard and Linda Thompson and his L.A. mates include Rufus and Martha Wainwright.
There are a couple of songs where Teddy and his musicians really put a fresh spin on the Country theme, like on ‘What’s This’ and ‘Jonathan’s Book’.
But what Teddy mainly does is honest, no bull Country Rock. If that is your kind of thing, check out ‘Can’t Sing Straight’, ‘One Of These Days’ or the ballad ‘In My Arms’.
A real low on the album is ‘Don’t Know What I Was Thinking’. Spot on, Teddy, I don’t know either. It’s a truly sappy pop ballad. And ‘That Move’ is fortunately the only excursion into R&B on the album. Suffice to say, it doesn’t work.
He’s got some good tunes, however. And if the album wouldn’t be so slick, I might warm to Teddy’s music.
Teddy is playing a few dates in the UK this autumn. Worth checking out if playing live adds an edge to the songs from ‘A Piece’. You can book tickets online at Seetickets.com.
Readers from the UK and Ireland, Download ‘A Piece Of What You Need’ from the iTunes UK store.
We say: 
