Teddy Thompson: Bella

I first became aware of Teddy Thompson while he was still a teenager. His father Richard was a frequent guest on Morning Becomes Eclectic in the 90s, sometimes walking with guitar in hand from his house on nearby 20th Street down to our basement studios for live on-air sessions. Richard, of course, is Richard Thompson, lion of the British folk rock scene that mushroomed out of the late 60s.
 
Teddy, now 33, has been quietly fine-tuning his sound over the span of four critically acclaimed releases. For my taste, I've always responded most to his more country-tinged songs, which have been appearing more and more frequently as his catalog has grown, particularly on album three, Up Front and Down Low. So when an early master of his latest album Bella arrived in my mailbox last November, I was hoping he might have further explored the Nashville sound. Well, not only is Bella an unabashedly straight-up country record, but it's his strongest collection of songs to date.
 
In a perfect world, the lead off track "Looking for a Girl", should dominate country radio charts. And the lush "Take Care of Yourself" is the sweetest goodbye to a failed love I've heard in a very long time. All of this good stuff is delivered with a sure hand by veteran producer David Kahne, widely known for his work with Sugar Ray, Paul McCartney and Fishbone among many others.  Bella lives up to its name.
 
-- Chris Douridas, KCRW Music Host
 
Bella will be available to stream on demand starting January 31 through March 1, 2011. The album will be released on Tuesday February 8, 2001.
 
Artist website: http://www.teddythompson.com
 
Track listing
1. Looking For A Girl
2. Delilah
3. I Feel
4. Over and Over
5. Take Me Back Again
6. Tell Me What You Want
7. Home
8. The Next One
9. Take Care Of Yourself
10. The One I Can't Have
11. Gotta Have Someone