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| ’Beauty’ Is An All-Star Collaboration For Linda Thompson Linda Thompson first met Rufus Wainwright through her son Teddy. Enamored by the British folk rock siren, the celebrated troubadour penned the song "Beauty" especially for Thompson, which she recorded as a duet with acclaimed vocalist Antony on her forthcoming album 'Versatile Heart' (August 14/ Rounder Records). "He came to my house one day and said, 'I've written a song for you, '" explains Thompson. "I was sitting in my bedroom and he took out a guitar and sang it for me. I nearly fell off the edge of the bed. His line 'the world filled with goodness, only hidden by beauty' is so incredible. Most people only see beauty in the world—they don't see the goodness." Of Antony's performance, Thompson recalls "he got out of his sickbed to do this session and still sang like an absolute angel." The gorgeous and melancholy duet, recorded in New York City, is one of the highlights of the 13 tender tracks on the album. Linda Thompson first came to prominence in the 1970's with a string of albums with her then-husband Richard that remain undisputed classics of the singer-songwriter genre. After 1985 she retired from recording due to the rare vocal disorder spasmodic dysphonia, until her triumphant return with 2002's 'Fashionably Late' (Rounder). One of the best reviewed albums of the year, The New Yorker called it "a marvel of modern folk" and The Wall Street Journal hailed it as "a bona fide comeback." In 2005 Linda produced a highly regarded all-star tribute to the English Music Hall era at London's Lyric Hammersmith Theatre and participated in Hal Willner's traveling Leonard Cohen tribute shows in New York, England and Australia. The Leonard Cohen tribute show was also featured in the film 'I'm Your Man.' write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |