The one thing you can depend on is a Richard Thompson album. Since his debut album “Henry The Human Fly” you get deep and dark lyrics accompanied by some amazing guitar work. “Ship To Shore” doesn’t vary far from that formula and in all honesty that is a good thing.
This album at times is bleak in it’s lyrics like the opener “Freeze” with it’s lyrics “another day without a dream, without a hope, without a scheme , another day that finds you crawling on your knees.” Even the track titles carry the theme with names like “What’s Left To Lose”, “The Fear Never Leaves You”, or “The Day That I Give In” but the music is what carries the album.
Get past the titles and you are left with some great storytelling, that Richard Thompson voice and plenty of guitar solos that don’t overtake the song, just enhance it overall. “We Roll” is infectious, it’s the type of song that makes you want to be belly up to a bar with a pint and raise it during the chorus and “Turnstyle Cassanova” is a first class rocker. Overall there is not a dud on the album.
For an album who’s topics are sung about fear, dread, hard times and lots of heartache I don’t know how he makes the album so enjoyable to listen to but to summarize it’s a damn good album. It took over 5 years since his last release, hopefully we don’t have to wait another 5 years.
Track list:
Freeze
The Fear Never Leaves You
Singapore Sadie
Trust
The Day That I Give In
The Old Pack Mule
Turnstile Casanova
Lost In The Crowd
Maybe
Life’s A Bloody Show
What’s Left To Lose
We Roll
