Shortly after her solo debut, One Clear Moment, in 1985, Linda Thompson was stricken with a psychological disorder that left her unable to speak. Seventeen years later, she's found her voice again, and applied that rich, textured instrument to 10 new folk-pop songs largely unforgettable in their depth of human suffering. Morose, quirky, and only occasionally optimistic, they chronicle a homesick prostitute ("On the Banks of the Clyde"), a homeless man at the end of his rope ("No Telling"), a spinster who dies with a close-kept secret ("Miss Murray"), and a woman who "may have to run" for something she's done ("Dear Mary"). Fans who remember Thompson's legendary records with ex-husband Richard (who appears briefly in their first reunion in 20 years) will swear that the closing parlor tune "Dear Old Man of Mine" is a regretful meditation on that relationship. But who's to say? Thompson, who cowrote most of the tunes with her son Teddy, has so much fine company (Van Dyke Parks, Rufus Wainwright, and Martin and Eliza Carthy) that an air of celebration can't help but bubble through the gloom. This is one hell of a comeback. --Alanna Nash
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